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1Determine Your
Binder Capacity
If
you have a sample binder to work from, measure its capacity in the following
manner: Open the binder and measure the inside diameter of the ring . DO NOT MEASURE THE OUTSIDE SPINE OF THE
BINDER. The ring diameter will not always measure to the exact
dimension. For example, a 1" ring may measure 1 1/16" but it
still considered a 1" ring. Another method to determine the capacity
you need is to make a mock-up binder. Take a binder and fill it with the
number of sheets you anticipate using. Make sure the sheets turn easily; if
they don't, you may want to consider a larger capacity. Also consider if
you may be adding sheets in the future because this will also increase your
binder capacity.
2Plan Your Artwork
Do it
yourself...
Next
decide what you want to have printed on your binder. Remember that
screen-printing has certain limitations and many techniques used in offset
printing are not suitable.
• Avoid very fine lines, both in type and in illustration.
• If your artwork has close-registration, half-tones, screen tints,* and/or
bleeds, it must be approved by our art department before we can accept the
order. These styles of artwork will require additional production time and
may increase the cost.
• The size of the type should be no smaller than 10 point and type in
reverse areas should be at least 12 point in bold capitals.
*Note: Screen tints or gradients must be in 20-60% tonal range at a 22 ¸°
angle.
Or let us do
it.
If you
need assistance in preparing your artwork, we can help. With our computer
generated artwork capabilities, we can graphically layout a design for your
binder, incorporating your logo and information you provide. Or we can
simply typeset any copy you need (other than your logo). In either case you
will receive a proof of the art. Ask your Customer Service Representative
about art charges and other information.
3 Prepare Your Artwork
When you are ordering any
imprinted product, the shipping schedule is based on receipt of line
artwork furnished on a CD, a zip disk or as an e-mail attachment. We can
process art created on most current graphic arts software. Send a marked-up
hard copy of your artwork and indicate which version of software you have
used. Always include the fonts (screen and printer). PC fonts cannot be
used, so either convert them to paths/outlines or we can substitute with
other fonts.
All binder dimensions must be correct and all artwork must
be in place. Be sure to proofread all art copy for binders and tabs. ATC
cannot be held responsible for misspellings or other errors in customer
provided artwork. If your binder is to be printed in more than one color,
vector art is preferred, using spot colors. You may experience delays on
your order if the artwork is submitted in a form other than described.
Your artwork should look
like the illustration on our Binder Dimension Chart. Put the front and
spine together and use the crop marks to indicate Binder Dimension(refer to
Binder Dimension Chart).
Front Cover Art: Unless your art
bleeds, all images should be kept at least 3/16" away from the heat
seal for vinyl binders and 1/4" away from edge of cover for poly
binders. If art bleeds, allow 1/4" beyond edge of the cover for screen-printed jobs and 1/2" for greATColor® four-color process printing.
Spine Art: Unless you are ordering a
binder with concealed rivets, or a D-Ring binder, locate the art for spine
at least 1/4" away from the rivet centers, and 3/16" away from
the heat seal (unless art bleeds).
4 Choose Your Ink and material
Colors
All of the
colors represented on our color charts are available from
stock. Exact material swatches are available if needed as well as
information on other vinyl and poly colors.
Although there are almost unlimited colors of ink available, you should be
aware of the following:
• Screen-printing inks are not completely opaque. Avoid weak colors (red
and yellow) on dark vinyl or poly (black, green, etc.) This could make matching
your desired ink color difficult.
• If you prefer to use a PMS ink color, please specify whether the ink is
on a coated (C)or uncoated (U) stock. PMS colors are designed for offset
printing on white paper and can only be used as guidelines in screen process
printing. Color matches will be as close as possible but may not be exact.
PMS ink color matches are an additional $40 charge per color.
• Metallic ink choices should be limited to gold and silver and cannot
bleed into the heat sealed areas.
Whenever a color match is critical, we will provide a sample on your color
of material for your approval. Please allow additional time for this
service. Because colors other than white may affect the imprint color we
recommend the use of white vinyl if a color match is critical for your
project.
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