Frequently Asked Questions...

  • General
  • I can't see what I want on your website
    It would be almost impossible to list every product and variation that we were able to produce, so we only have a subset of our most popular printed items online. If you can't find the particular product or product variation, please give us a call or send us an email to discuss your requirements. Back to top
  • What exactly is digital printing anyway?
    The most common form of commercial printing is known as offset lithography.
    This process usually involves the creation of film separations and printing plates for each colour. The plates are affixed to the printing press, which then has to be 'made ready' for printing. This involves aligning the printing plates and adjusting the ink flow on to the rollers.
    Due to the processes, materials and time involved, it is very expensive to print small quantities using offset lithography, as the set-up costs remain the same whether you are printing 100 or 100,000 sheets. Furthermore, if your print job has multiple pages, more plates and set-ups will be required.

    The mid 90's saw the arrival of the digital printing press. There are many types of digital presses, but essentially they all do the same thing, which is to write a new image directly from disk for each colour separation (usually cyan magenta yellow and black). Because there are no pre-press processes, and virtually no set-up time, short-run, full colour printing became a viable option. Unfortunately the print quality from these early machines was fairly poor.
    More modern equipment has seen a huge leap in quality and substrate compatibility, which means we can now offer near litho quality print that is more affordable than ever.

    Is traditional litho printing dead then?
    Well, no. The biggest downside of digital printing is the relatively high cost per printed sheet when compared with litho printing.
    Once a litho press has been set-up the cost per sheet is usually fractions of pence compared with several pence per sheet for digital printing. Back to top
  • I need something printing today! Can you help?
    We will always do our best to help with tight deadlines. Please call us to discuss your requirements. Back to top
  • We are a charity, do we have to pay V.A.T.?
    If the product you are ordering attracts VAT (not all printing does), then you will have to pay it and claim it back in the usual way. Back to top
  • What is and isn't VATable?
    The V.A.T. rules on print are fairly complicated but as a guide, leaflets/flyers, brochures and books are zero rated. Business cards, stationery (including wedding stationery), postcards and posters are standard rated. For items that cannot be easily categorised, you will need to contact Customs & Excise for a ruling. Back to top
  • How long will it take to print?
    Turnaround times will depend on a number of factors but most small orders are completed within a couple of days. Jobs that require special finishing such as die-cutting or binding will take a little longer.
    If you are working to a specific deadline, please discuss your requirements at the outset of your order. Back to top
  • Do you offer discounts?
    If you have a large print project or a regular print requirement (such as a monthly magazine) please contact us to discuss discounted pricing. Back to top
  • How will my order be sent?
    The delivery method we use will depend on the weight of the order and your location. As a general rule small orders are sent 1st Class Recorded and larger orders are sent by overnight courier. Back to top
  • Can you visit me to discuss a project?
    We would be happy to visit you to discuss your requirements. Please contact us to arrange this. Back to top
  • Can I visit you to discuss a project?
    You are welcome to visit us at our production facility in Reading, Berkshire. Please contact us first to make an appointment. Back to top
  • Can I have a credit account?
    Customers placing regular orders with us will automatically receive credit account status (subject to credit checks and minimum spend). Back to top
  • Can you send me a sample so I can see the quality of your printing?
    We are happy to send out samples but please note it is not always possible to send something to your exact specification. Please email us with your requirements (remembering to include your address), Back to top
  • Artwork
  • Can you design something for me?
    Our design studio will be more than happy to help.
    Please call to discuss your requirements. Back to top
  • Can you produce artwork from my layout?
    Yes we can. Please contact us for an estimate. Back to top
  • What artwork formats do you accept?
    We recommend that artwork is supplied to us as high resolution PDF files but we also can accept artwork from most popular packages, such as:
    InDesign
    Quark
    Publisher
    Word
    Photoshop
    Illustrator Back to top
  • What is bleed?
    Bleed is where page elements and/or backgrounds need to extend beyond the page boundary i.e. where it is trimmed (all work is produced on oversize sheets and trimmed down to size)
    Please click here for more information. Back to top
  • Technical
  • What settings should I use when exporting a PDF
    If your application has a "High quality print" or "Press" setting you should use that.
    If you are using an Adobe product you might like to use our PDF preset file, which you can download here (please unzip to use it). Back to top
  • What is the largest size you can print?
    The largest sheet size we can print is SRA3+ (320 x 460 mm). Please note, however, the maximum image area is 307 x 447mm, and that should include bleeds and trim marks. Back to top
  • What's the heaviest/thickest material you can print on?
    We can print on card up to 400gsm Back to top
  • Do you print on recycled paper/card?
    All the material we print on (with the exception of plastics and adhesive sheets) is FSC certified. Our standard gloss and silk material is also 50% recycled and 50% from sustainable resources. Back to top
  • Can we supply our own paper?
    If you would like to supply your own material please note we will only accept HP Indigo approved sheets, or sapphire treated sheets (subject to print test) in SRA3 or SRA3+.
    We may reject material if it is not supplied to us in good condition i.e., if curl, excessive paper dust, or damage is evident. Back to top
  • Can you print on pre-printed stock?
    We can overprint litho sheets but it is important that you discuss your project with us BEFORE going to press. Back to top
  • Can you print stickers?
    Yes, we can print bespoke stickers to A3. We can also kiss-cut stickers to your specific shape/size, as well as overprint pre-cut circular, square, rectangular, DVD, CD and wine bottle labels (click here here to see sizes available). Back to top
  • Do you do personalisation?
    Yes, we can print personalised items. All you need to do is provide us with an Excel or CSV file with the details. Back to top
  • What's the lightest/thinest material you can print on?
    The lightest material we print on is 90gsm uncoated and 115gsm coated. Back to top
  • Can you print on coloured paper/card?
    We can print on some coloured material although the available range is fairly limited at the moment. It's worth bearing in mind, however, that when printing digitally you can simply print a background colour rather than pay a premium for coloured material. Back to top
  • Can you print on textured material?
    There are a number of textured products that are suitable for printing digitally. Please contact us to discuss your requirements. Back to top
  • What presses do you use?
    We us HP Indigo digital and Ryobi litho presses. Back to top
  • Does your digital press use toner?
    HP Indigo presses use a liquid ink, which produces results much closer to litho printing than you would expect to see from toner based machines. Back to top
  • I'm not sure about paper sizes, can you explain?
    Common European paper sizes are as follows:
    A0 = 1189 x 841 mm
    A1 = 841 x 594 mm
    A2 = 594 x 420 mm
    A3 = 420 x 297 mm
    A4 = 297 x 210 mm
    A5 = 210 x 148 mm
    A6 = 148 x 105 mm
    A7 = 105 x 74 mm

    For more detailed information, please visit www.papersizes.org

    Pasted Graphic 1 Back to top
  • Can you digitally print envelopes?
    We can only currently print envelopes using our litho presses, which is only suitable for longer, non-variable, print runs. Please call for a quote. Back to top
  • Can you print on newspaper material
    We cannot print on newspaper type material. Back to top
  • How lightfast is the digital ink?
    You can download a technical document in PDF format which discussed the ink properties here. Back to top
  • Can you print metallic inks?
    It is not possible to digitally print using metallic inks. However, we can print on metallic material, which can produce the same effect.
    Alternatively, Please contact us for a litho quote. Back to top