We’d like to provide you with a few guidelines to ensure that you understand our process, and what you should expect from sublimation printing.

COLOR

A reasonable tolerance with sublimation printing is plus or minus 5 percent from the original art or the original transparency. We do our best to match your work as closely as possible, and we do a great job! We have compiled a few tips as to what you can expect with sublimation:

1. Neutral colors are more difficult to hold: you may see the most variation with them.
2. Yellows and blues tend to reproduce slightly stronger than in original art.
3. For the truest, clearest white, use the "canvas." If you do paint white, try to use a pure white.
4. Please try to erase pencil marks, and do not allow them to "show through" your work.
5. Artists may want to send along an additional copy of their signature, particularly if art is being used for more than one product.
6. As with any four-color process printing, there is some give and take. If there is a key color(s) in your art that is critical, please indicate that it is especially important and we will try to make it a priority. For color reference, you may indicate screens from the Holt Gamut Chart, or use the Pantone Matching System.

PLEASE DO NOT EVER FOLD ARTWORK. Please roll and ship carefully in a tube, or carefully package flat.

If you prefer not to send your original artwork, crisp, clear original transparencies of the art reproduce the best. Please do not send a duplicate made from the original shot. If you choose to provide us with a transparency (rather than the original art) which you feel is color-accurate, we will match to the transparency. Please remember that the transparency will vary slightly in color from the original art, and if we are matching to it rather than the original art, there will be a difference in the color.  Also, if you prefer we will gladly shoot a transparency for you.

Slides are acceptable if clear, but larger transparencies reproduce better.

COMPUTER GENERATED ART

Because color adjustments for our unique process are so difficult, they are best left to us. There are several things you can do to make your work reproduce more faithfully.

1. Jobs work best for us when assembled in Quark. They are much easier for us to process, and you will get a truer reproduction.
2. We are both Mac and PC compatible and can accept the following formats: Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop, and Quark Xpress. We can read 3.5, zip, jaz, optical, as well as CD.
3. If you begin working in RGB, please remain there. If you are more comfortable in CMYK, that’s fine too, but do not switch between the two. Switching can actually cause adverse color shifts.
4. When working with pixel based images, please work at least 200 PPI at full size, or 200 DPI. (100 meg plus files are not uncommon.) While this sounds large, and most people would prefer to work in lower resolution and size files; it is virtually impossible for us to correct the loss of detail that results from a low-resolution file. Our full sheet image areas are 26 7/8" x 39"; and 42" x 59".
5. Graphics files with any linked objects (for example, Tif files) should also be included.
6. If type is part of your design, then all text should be converted to paths or complete font suitcases provided.
7. We must have a hard copy proof of the image for color approval.

If you have any additional questions about the technical aspect of our process, contact Billy Whitehurst at bwhitehurst@holtsublimation.com.

A reasonable tolerance with sublimation printing is plus or minus 5 percent from art or PMS colors. We do our best to match your work as closely as possible, and we do a great job!

1. If white is desired in a design, a white substrate must be used. Sublimation dyes are transparent, and the white substrate will provide the white color in the design.
2. We must have either PMS colors or fabric swatches to match.
3. A color print of the design is necessary, and should indicate the repeat.
4. Since color may vary depending on the substrate on which we are printing, it is imperative that we have an ample supply of your production fabric in house prior to the mixing of spot colors, and especially prior to going to press.

There are several things you can do to make your work reproduce more faithfully.

1. Extremely small, detailed elements may lose some of their definition, so bear this in mind when designing for our process.
2. Dark colors tend to bleed excessively compared to lighter colors; and small objects tend to "fill in." This is another design consideration.
3. Critical design elements must fall 1/8" to the inside of both edges of the substrate as fabric shifts slightly during applications. This is referred to as tolerance.
4. It may be necessary for us to make slight adjustments to spacing in order to accommodate our printing cylinders. In most cases this isn't noticeable. If precise spacing is necessary, please specify this when you send your art.
5. Digital files are acceptable and preferred when they exist. We are both Mac and PC compatible and can accept the following formats: Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop, and Quark Xpress. We can read 3.5, zip, jaz, optical, as well as CD.

If you have any additional questions about the technical aspect of our process, contact Billy Whitehurst at bwhitehurst@holtsublimation.com.

Burlington, NC 27216
Tel: 336.222.3600      Fax 336.229.7580