We offer you soeme helpful tips to create your artwork and a series of optimized templates that we tested and it will offer the best quality for your print.

• Our preferred file format is a flattened Photoshop .tif file using LZW compression. Please always name files of this type using the 3 character extension ".tif" at the end of your file name (even if you are on a Mac).
• If you build your file using the recommended format there will be no need to use additional compression software such as WinZip or Stuffit when uploading your files.
• Chicago Printing Center supports the latest versions of all the software listed below for both Macintosh and Windows:
  • Major drawing applications (i.e., Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw)

  NOTE: We do not accept files built in MS Word or Powerpoint or any other word processing or publishing program for that matter.

  NOTE: When using these software packages to create files please follow the same basic information herein, but keep in mind that you will need to compress the files into one archive using Stuffit for Macintosh users and WinZip for Windows users. This helps maintain the file's integrity and prevents fonts from getting corrupted during upload.

• Create your files to a manageable scale (versus the full scale of the final board). We recommend working at a scale of 1/4" = 1' scale and using a .125" amount of bleed.
• Please provide a minimum resolution of 300 dpi for any photographic elements. For example, a 14'x48' billboard would scale to 3.5"x12".
• When building your file, please work in CMYK using US Web Coated (SWOP v2) color profile.
• If assigning PMS color callouts for solids, please use the Pantone Solid to Process library of colors as all jobs will be printed in 4-color process.
• Please create outlines from the fonts you used in your design or, when you create the zip file to send, include the fonts you used so the design will stay intact. We have over 3000 fonts but we cannot guarantee that your fon is among ours.

Production Standards

• Unless otherwise requested, we will apply our "Standard Finish" to your vinyl flex. Our standard finishing is set forth as follows:
  • Bleed: our standard bleed is to provide a 6" bleed around the entire live area dimension. For example, a 14' x 48' (live or image area) will have a finished area of 15' x 49'. We print a full bleed to the edge of the blank (over the pocket area).
  • Our pocket dimension is a standard 3.5 inches.
• We ship in boxes. Shipment in tubes is available at an extra cost to handle tubing and special freight arrangements.
• Our standard folding method for vinyl flexes is to fold left to right and from top to bottom.
• We DO NOT FOLD INK-TO-INK. Circle uses solvent-based inks like all digital printers. These inks have a tendency to "stick to themselves" even when completely dry. Vinyls leaving our factory are not folded where ink touches ink. We use a "release liner" that protects the very first fold from being ink-to-ink.