Blueberry Brands takes pride in our imprinting quality and ability to vividly produce your design on any of our products.  

To accomplish this we pay particular attention to the quality of artwork we receive.
 
The following specifications detail our requirements in providing you exceptional imprinting of your logo.  

Artwork not meeting these standards may incur additional costs and time.

It is important to remember that Blueberry Brands represents many diverse manufacturers, and thousands of products, and thus there can be wide variations in exact specifications.  

Imprinting, color separation, halftone and embroidery specifications may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, and from product to product.  

When you place your order, a trained Blueberry Brands Customer Service representative will work with you or your designated graphic artist to review all appropriate requirements and any additional costs.

In general, here are the major industry specifications:

Digital Art:
For best results, we prefer VECTOR ART created in Adobe Illustrator.  Vector images are created in a drawing program and consist of shapes based on mathematics.  

These graphics contain clear, smooth lines that retain their sharpness and proportions when edited.  

When submitting your vector art, we accept the following:

• Media: Zip disks or CD.
• E mail: Please forward your art files to art@BlueberryBrands.com and insert P.O# and
company name in the subject field.
• A printout of all digital and email art must accompany the purchase order.

Important Note: A scanned image (e.g. .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .tiff, .psd, .pdf) or art created in a photo/paint program is not vector art.  In addition, placing, linking, embedding, or copying these images into a drawing program does not convert them into vector art and will not meet our art requirements.

Mechanical Art:
Mechanical art is camera-ready and is the size to be printed; is crisp black and white; requires no touch-up.

Art Charges:
To assist you with achieving the best possible imprint, we will consult with you in defining your project, and completing your artwork at the lowest cost approach.

Typesetting:
There are generally no additional fees for typesetting services.  Minimum requirements for fonts are 12 pt. and 1 pt. for lines.  Some fonts may have to be larger.

Accepted Programs and Formats:
For best results, please submit VECTOR ART.

Preferred Program:
Adobe Illustrator - All versions.  Convert text to outlines.

Accepted Program:
Corel Draw - 11.0.  Export files as .ai   Convert text to curves.
Freehand - 10.0.   Save as editable .eps   Convert text to paths.

Fonts: 
We generally accept Type 1 fonts for Mac.  Be sure to send both screen and printer fonts.  PC fonts need to be converted to paths, curves, or outlines.  Do not send PC fonts.

Multiple Color Designs:
For best results, artwork must be pre-approved by Blueberry Brands for printability.
Digital art must be vector art. Mechanical art must be provided as a black and white composite, with colors indicated.

Color Separations & Halftones:
• Ink imprinting. Colors must be separated by at least 1⁄2" to allow for color movement.  Please note that some color movement will still occur.  Multi-color imprinting is not available on some products.

• Foil Imprinting.  Colors must be separated by at least 1⁄4" to allow for color movement.  Please note that some color movement will still occur.  Designs with tighter registration must be pre-approved.

• Halftones (Photos or Photographic Images):
For best results, artwork consisting of halftones must be pre-approved by Blueberry Brands.  Such designs must be printed at 30 lines per inch at a 45 degree angle, with tint percentages not lower than 20% nor greater than 60%.

Proofs:
For actual pre-production proofs, charges will be assessed, plus applicable plate & art charges.  Virtual samples are available.  Paper proofs are available by request only.

Bleed
The printed area on a mechanical layout which extends from 1/8” to _” beyond the visible print area.

Camera Ready Art
Crisp black and white art that is laid out properly in a format that can be directly taken for reproduction.

Chokes and Spreads
Overlap of overprinted images to avoid color or white fringes or borders around image detail.  Also referred to as trapping.

CMYK
Acronym for Cyan Blue, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.  Printing colors for Process Color reproduction.

Crash Imprinting
When forms with carbons are printed, often the die "crashes" through the pages.  The top page will be imprinted in ink, but all subsequent pages will be imprinted in carbon.

Continuous Tone
A screen image which contains gradient tones from black to white.

Dots per Inch or D.P.I.
A measure of the resolution of an image.  The more dots per inch, thee finer the screen, and the greater the detail.  Also referred as “LPI”, lines per inch.  DPI or LPI tolerances are dependent on the method of printing along with the finish of the printing surface.

Duotone
A two color halftone reproduction.

Fill In
The undesirable effect of type or copy filling in with ink, usually occurring when reverse copy that is not bold or thick enough.

Flexographic Printing
Method of printing most commonly used to print paper, poly bags and other products, using flexible rubber or photopolymer materials to create the printing plates.  Plates are mounted onto cylinders of various diameters for rapid, continuous imprinting.

Font
A complete assortment of letters, numbers, and punctuation marks of a given size and design.

Halftone
The reproduction of a continuous-tone image, through a screening process, which converts the image into dots of various sizes and equal spacing between centers.  Generally refers to one-color dot imprints.

Hot Stamping
The process in which foil is directly transferred by means of pressure and heat to a hot stamp printable surface.

Knock Out
Also known as reverse imprint.  When printed surface allows for image to reproduce in reverse.  Base stock shows through the surrounding inked area.

Moire
The undesirable effect of an unplanned pattern which can be created when two or more screens overlap or overprint with each other at certain incorrect angles.

Negative
Photo film that is a reverse representation of the original copy.  All printed areas are clear, and non print areas are black.  Negatives are required to make Blue Lines, Color Keys, and Plates.

Overrun and Underrun
Modern presses operate at very high speeds, and for many purposes, products are generally produced with an overrun which the customer is expected to pay for.  The presses cannot stop "on a dime," errors must be discarded, and the first items through are often misaligned and need to be recalibrated.  Occasionally, underruns occur as well, but mostly, overruns are the rule.  Though the customer is expected to pay for a certain percentage overrun (3% to 7% depending upon manufacturer, product, and printing process), all will be of acceptable quality.

PMS Colors
Pantone Matching System.  An internationally recognized standard color pallet of over 700 colors allowing designers and manufacturers to consistently specify and reproduce an exact color tones.  PMS coloring generally costs a bit more, but when corporate standards must be maintained, this is the method of choice.

Pre Printing
Custom print of paper or poly film prior to converting into a given product.

Process Printing
A printing method which uses screen separations of the four basic colors, CMYK.  Reproduces vast color spectrum with photographic clarity.  Often called: 4-Color Process, or simply 4-Color.

Rotogravure Printing
A method of printing which uses etched metal cylinders and yields a very high quality imprint.  “Roto” is generally available for printing from off shore facilities and is used for large quantity print runs of product that require ultra-quality output.

Screen
A uniform measurement of dots in rows or lines per square inch.

Step and Repeat
A printed design in which an element is copied and reproduced over a given area, maintaining equal spacing and direction between elements to create a pattern.  Most often identified with simple logo design in repeat pattern on tissue and gift wrap.

Trap
Through the use of “chokes” and “spreads”, overprinting of multiple colors to prevent unprinted areas from showing due potential press movement.