FAQ
A very slick, glossy coating applied to the printed paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet light.
The slick surface of UV-coating makes it near waterproof, eye catching and very popular.
As the name suggests, a Spot-UV-coating or "varnish" is applied to chosen spots (areas), of a printed piece. This has the
effect of highlighting and drawing attention to that part of the design, but it also provides the additional visual stimulus of
having varied textures on a single printed surface. This adds a lot of interest, and can identify the printing as a premium piece
in the perception of the reader.
We apply a Spot-UV-gloss varnish on C2S (coated 2 side) card stock, or on the silk laminated products. Spot-UV cannot be applied on uncoated stocks
(linen, letterhead, envelopes, etc.) as the costing will absorb into the paper.
A dull Aqueous-coating is applied after the printing process is completed. The “Matte” or "Dull" finish provides a very
unique finish for your printed material. Matte stock is very smooth and has a slight "eggshell" sheen.
Your image can still be printed at less than 300dpi, however the print quality will be sacrificed significantly.
We print all jobs using 500 Line Screen, which means you can utilize up to 400dpi for any print job. We recommend at least 300dpi to obtain
the best print quality.
We accept jpg, jpeg, psd, tif, tiff, eps, ai, and png files.
Printers cannot print right to the edge of a paper sheet. To create that effect, the printer must use a sheet which
is larger than the document size. The printer prints beyond the edge of the document size (by 1/8"), then cuts the paper down to the document size.
It is the designer's responsibility to set the bleed correctly. For example, when setting up a 5.5 x 4.25 (quarter page) job, you should START your
job at 5.625 x 4.375 (templates for many popular sizes are available in our templates section). By extending the image past the cut mark, the cutter
blade cuts through ink, rather than trying to cut exactly on a line, which is next to impossible. As a rule of thumb, try to keep important information at least 1/8" from the cut lines, as this ensures nothing important will be cut.
Jobs can be turned around as fast as 48 hours! Most standard items are printed and shipped in 4 - 6 business days.
Please contact us for rush jobs.
The color that you see on a computer monitor or television screen is called “additive color” and has a different set of properties from “subtractive color”, which is the kind of color that
applies to your Printelf.com-printed jobs.
Additive color emanates directly from a light source. Subtractive color comes from light that is reflected off of an object from a light source.
Because additive color comes to our eyes directly (unless it is filtered), it is purer color and is able to represent a broader range of the spectrum
than subtractive color. For this reason, even under the best conditions
it is very rare that your monitor, which is RGB (additive), and offset printing, which is CMYK (subtractive), will ever match.
So, the short answer is no. However, we assure you that our highly experienced team and state-of-the-art equipment will produce your job
in the best quality possible.
Due to the complexity of the various products available at it is necessary to upload your files AFTER you pay the
transaction. Simply add the items that you wish to order.
If we request that you upload revised files, please log in to your account (coming soon) and view your order in the order history. You will be given the
ability to upload revised files for your order.
If for some reason your file(s) did not upload properly, you may email your file(s) to service@printelf.com. Be
sure to include your order number and contact info in your email to ensure proper order processing on our part.
To maintain our fast turnaround, we process jobs as soon as we get them. If you need to cancel a job that has
already been submitted you must speak directly to a PrintElf-representative. You may not email or leave a voice mail to cancel an order.
If the job has not been plated and scheduled for production we will be happy to cancel your order. If plates have been made or your job is
"In Production" status you will be responsible for full payment.
We recommend that you take special care with checking your job to make sure it’s correct, before placing your order. Or, if you are
using our design services, we recommend requesting a proof.
Once a job has been delivered or shipped the sale is final. The lone exception to the rule is if there was a
manufacturing defect. A customer has 5 business days to let us know of any manufacturing defect, otherwise the sale is considered final.
Please send 5 to 10 samples of your print job so we can find out what went wrong with your job. If we deem the problem a manufacturing defect,
we will be more than happy to reprint your job. However PrintElf.com will not be responsible for design flaws on jobs not designed by
PrintElf.com-Design Team. Including but not limited to, typos, resolution issues or not enough bleed for cutting. PrintElf.com reserves
the right to decide what is and what is not a manufacturing defect.
Yes, we offer custom print quotes on any full-color printing project. Give us a call or email us at PrintElf.com.
Please allow at least 24 hours for a custom quote to be completed.
When using a blue in your design, always make sure to leave at least a 30% difference in your Cyan and Magenta values.
Blue is close to purple in the CMYK spectrum. Remember, use a low amount of magenta whenever using high amounts of cyan to avoid purple.
Example: C=100 M=70 Y=0 K=0
For the best possible results, we recommend a Rich Black value of C=60, M=40, Y=40, K=100 for UV Coated and Silk
Laminated products. For matte and uncoated products, we suggest a Rich Black value of C=40, M=40, Y=20, K=100
When using a blue in your design, always make sure to leave at least a 30% difference in your Cyan and Magenta values.
100% C 100% M 0% Y 0% K
On Screen
After Printing
