Since many of our
customers solicit information on how best to prepare their digital art files so as to
assure an adequate reproduction of them on ceramic coffee mugs, we outline some of the
factors that greatly influence the final reproduction of digitized art files on ceramic
coffee mugs.
For both processes the starting point is a digital
art file that lends itself for the best possible reproduction on coffee mugs. To obtain
optimum reproductions, these guidelines should be observed:
Almost any raster/bitmap
file-format is acceptable such as for example:
.psd, .bmp, .png,
.cpt, .pcx, .jpg, .tga, etc.
but we prefer the .tif
file-format for PC's and, as always, the resolution of your
digital artwork is crucial and should never be less than 300 dpi's
and be in the dimensions as they are to appear on the finished
coffee mugs.
(Mac users please save your files in
the PC compatible format before e-mailing it to us);
We
can also use generic .eps files
Gif
images: Please DO
NOT send files saved in the
.gif
format as this format permits only a resolution of 72 dots per
inch (dpi's) which is sufficient for publishing to the Internet
and for web pages but by far not enough to be used on ceramic
coffee mugs which we can decorate in full color and continuous
tone. Please see below for the recommended picture resolution;
The resolution of any raster or bitmap art should
be at least 300 PPI's (pixels
or dots per inch);
The dimensions of the art should be the same as
the one to appear on the finished mugs. That is, no higher than 3" (7.6
cm) for our 11-oz white-glazed ceramic coffee mugs, and 3½"
(8.9 cm) for our 15-oz white-glazed ceramic coffee mugs. For the
different maximum
decoration sizes available, please consult here;
The physical size of a
digital file with dimensions of 3" x 3" and a resolution
of 300 dpi's is about 2.32MB; the same file with dimensions of
3.5" x 3.5" is about 3.15MB.
Thus if your raster/bitmap program does not permit you to
determine the resolution of your digital art, the indications
presented here will tell you if your art is 300 dpi's (or more, or
less) if your file size is as indicated here. Please note that
doubling the dimensions makes the files four times as large (not
twice as large) as this is a geometrical operation;
Do
not up-sample an existing digital art file to arrive at
the required resolution of at least 300 dpi's. Although the result
will be a higher-resolution file, its dimensions will be
diminished proportionally and will not be suitable for use for mug
decorations. Only a new scan will produce the desired resolution
and dimensions. For details please
visit here;
The colors should all be created with the RGB color
model;
All art files so created should be send to us
either in the .tif format or the PhotoShop format (.psd). Remember we are PC
based - see above;
If your art includes
reverse type, that is, for example, white lettering on a dark or
other colored background you should take into consideration that
such "negative" lettering tends to close up in our
decorating process and will appear smaller than in the original
and might even acquire some of the color of the background. To
remedy this somewhat, you might want to consider making the
reverse type a bit wider/bolder than required and to use
sans-serif fonts (such as for example: Arial
or Helvetica) instead of serif fonts such as
Times New Roman, to overcome this
"close-up" effect, as shown below;
|
negative
original |
negative
"enhanced" |
|
Times New Roman |
Arial or Helvetica, bold |
|
Font size: 10 |
Font size: 12 bold |
All digitized art should be compressed before
e-mailing it to us as an attachment (details here);
Fonts should, if at all possible, not be part of a
raster/bitmap file as the original vector fonts will be transformed into raster/bitmap
format and will be reproduced with a "stair-step" appearance. Hence, fonts
should be incorporated into a bitmap/raster file within a vector program, such as
CorelDraw and/or Adobe Illustrator;
-
Color Management
We highly recommend that you temporarily turn-off any color
management features your graphic software may offer (such as, for
example, found in PhotoShop and CorelDraw and similar) before you
start creating your digital image files for a gift mugs decoration.
If you use very unusual fonts which we might not
have in our fonts library, you will have to send them to us in addition to your digital
art files;
Font sizes (letter size)
should be of a reasonable size as smaller fonts (such as for
example an 8-point or smaller font) tend to be reproduced in a way
that they may be difficult to read or are somewhat
"blurry" and un-sharp in appearance;
Please
remember that the decorations seen in this web site have much
more luminosity (similar to slides) as when they are printed on our
mugs. This applies not only to our full-color mug decorations but to
all "printed" vs. "projected" images. (Also consult
the differences between RGB colors and CMYK colors elsewhere in this
web site.)
Only RGB colors should be
used for vector drawings and should to be send in their original format, that is either in the:
- CorelDraw (.cdr) format or the
- Adobe Illustrator format (.ai)
both formatted for PC's. You can also send your files in the
generic .eps format (Encapsulated Post Script) but we prefer the
.ai format by far.
Of course and as always, digital files should only
be send compressed with file compressors such as: WinZip, PKzip for PC-based applications,
and with Stuff-It for Macs. More details on compressing files can be
found here;
All digital art work send to us will be used
AS IS, that is, the way you prepare it. Hence it
is in your own interest to follow our suggestions as much as possible.
We cannot be responsible for the quality of your digital art and
the way it reproduces on our mugs. In case of doubts, a sample mug
decoration should be ordered from us before the start of the
production run.
You might also want to consider the suggestions offered in our FAQ
section especially if you require nice
red and blue colors for your digital vector art work files.
When you use scanned-in art
or create it from scratch with a digital imaging program test it
out before sending it to us by printing it on your own printer.
Print it in the dimensions as they are to be on the finished mugs
to see if all prints according to your needs and that any
lettering can be seen clearly and sharply. This is especially
important for small letter sizes and lettering that is not in
black.
You can then also use this test print and wrap it around a mug to
get a feel of what the finished mug might look like.
Printer differences:
If you print your art on different printers you'll notice that the
results are rather different from one printer to the other. Thus you
should adapt your digital art so as to obtain optimum output on
any of the printers. Since we have to apply heat in the decorating
process of your mugs, some colors may actually shift and appear to be
"lighter" or "darker" than when originally printed
on your printer or seen on your
monitor.
You can send us
your files in six different ways:
| 1.) |
If they're small (up to
about 1.4MB): as an attachment to an e-mail; |
| 2.) |
Larger files should be FTP
uploaded directly to our own server; |
| 3.) |
Digital files can be sent
to us via
snail-mail on PC-formatted ZIP disks of the 100MB size; |
| 4.) |
Digital files can be sent
to us via
snail-mail on
PC-formatted JAZ disks of the 1Gig. size; |
| 5.) |
Burn your files on a
CD-ROM disk and mail it
to us; |
| |
|
For further
explanations on this and other important matters you might want to
also consult our Frequently
Asked Questions - FAQ - pages.
These are only some vital ingredients of a digitized
art file that permit the acceptable reproduction of it onto ceramic coffee mugs.
Due to the limitations of the color calibration
process with respect to any digital input- as well as output-device some limitations on
any reproductive decoration process have to be expected; only the most scrupulously
prepared digital art can be reproduced in an adequate manner. Color shifts and similar
"impurities" have to be accepted as we cannot be 100% color-correct.
You might want to check
your digital artwork before sending it to us to make sure it meets
with our minimum requirements.
Remember:
To preserve the beauty and vibrancy of the image on our full-color
sublimation-decorated mugs, it is best to hand wash them as you
would hand wash any fine China as well as your best glasses.
Also, never leave the mugs in direct sunlight, for example on a windowsill.
You might also want to consult
our FAQ pages for additional
tips and answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
Should you have any questions or observation, please contact us.
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