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FAQ
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What is CMYK?
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A print process that uses four colours - cyan (C), magenta (M),
yellow (Y) and black (K) to produce all other colour ranges. Used in most full-colour
commercial printing.
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What is RGB?
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An additive colour model in which three primary colours of light
(red, green and blue) are combined in varying intensities to produce all other colours.
Monitors, scanners and the human eye use RGB to produce or detect colour.
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What is Spot Colour?
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A colour that is reproduced using a single ink. Spot colour swatch
books and inks are provided by companies such as Pantone.
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What is DPI?
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Dots per inch. A measure of the resolution of a display or output
device.
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What is resolution?
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In bitmaps, a measure of the size of pixels or dots that compose
a bitmap.
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What is LPI?
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Lines Per Inch. A measure of the screen frequency of a halftone.
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What is PostScript?
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A programming language used to describe text, shapes and bitmaps
of each page of a publication. Postscript can be used to transfer a print job from
a desktop computer to a printing device such as an image setter.
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What is PPI?
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Pixels Per Inch. A measure of the scanning resolution and the resolution
of a bitmap.
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What is a Bitmap (BMP)?
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An image composed of a rectangular grid of squares called pixels
(picture elements). Each pixel contains information that describes whether it is
black, white or has a colour value. When working with bitmap images, you edit pixels
rather than objects or shapes. A bitmap image is resolution independent - that is,
it contains a fixed number of pixels to represent its image data. As a result, a
bitmap image can lose detail and appear jagged if viewed at a high magnification
on-screen or printed at too low a resolution. BMP is the standard Windows image
format.
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What are Vector Graphics?
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Drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Freehand and CorelDraw
create vector graphics. These are made of lines and curves defined by mathematical
objects called vectors. Vectors describe graphics according to their geometric characteristics.
A vector graphic is resolution-independent - that is, it can be scaled to any size
and printed on any output device at any resolution without losing its detail or
clarity.
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What is an EPS?
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Encapsulated Post Script. A file format that supports both PC and
MAC images. EPS files are platform independent. EPS format is used to transfer Postscript
language artwork between different programs.
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What is the difference between a GIF and a JPEG?
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A GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a bitmap file format commonly
used to display indexed-colour graphics and images in HTML documents over the Web
and other online services. GIF is a LZW (Lemple-Zif-Welch) - compressed formatted
designed to minimize file size and electronic transfer time.
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A JPEG (joint Photographic Experts Group) is commonly used to display
photographs and scanned images via email JPEG retains all colour information in
a bitmap image but compresses files size by selectively discarding data. The JPEG
format supports CMYK, RGB, and greyscale colour modes. A higher level of compression
results in lower image quality and a lower level of compression results in better
image quality. Both formats are excellent for electronic use only, but not suitable
for printing.
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What is a TIFF image?
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A bitmap file format that was specifically developed for page layout
applications and is supported by all image editing applications. The TIFF format
supports RGB, CMYK, greyscale and bitmap (black and white) files.
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Why do I have to supply PMS colours with my artwork?
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A bitmap file format that was specifically developed for page layout
applications and is supported by all image editing applications. The TIFF format
supports RGB, CMYK, greyscale and bitmap (black and white) files.
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Is process separation the same as colour separation?
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Yes. This is a process of separating a colour image into primary
colour components for printing - generally CMYK. Also used to refer to the four
pieces of film that result from the process of separating a colour image. Why can't
I use your JPEG/GIF product images to print my catalogue?
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The JPEG/GIF images available on our image CD are set at a resolution
of 72dpi, ideal to view electronically (i.e., websites). Hard-copy printing such
as catalogues require a minimum resolution of 300dpi to ensure quality is maintained
through the print process.
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What is a PDF document?
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A PDF (Portable Document Format) is used by Adobe Acrobat. Adobe's
electronic publishing software for Windows, Mac OS, UNIX and DOS. You can view and
print PDF files using the Acrobat Reader software. PDF files can represent both
vector and bitmap graphics.
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What if I don't have an electronic copy of my artwork?
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The best way to get hard copy artwork into electronic format is
to use a scanner - a device used to create a bitmapped image of art. Scanners are
also good for art that cannot be created on the computer, such as photographic prints,
transparencies or slides.
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Can't your embroiderer change my artwork?
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Our embroiderers can only digitize your artwork. They cannot delete,
change or add anything to your art. If these alterations are required, an art fee
from our Art Department may be incurred.
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Can I supply artwork in a Word document?
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No - Word documents are not compatible with our art department's
operating system. Therefore, they are unable to manipulate these types of files.
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