UV printing

We’re really excited to now be offering a UV print service, allowing you to print in full colour onto pretty much any flat surface!

Below you’ll find a full guide to setting up your artwork for printing and cutting in Adobe Illustrator and some tips for if you’re using other graphics programmes, but don’t worry if you’re unsure - we can set up artwork for you for an additional charge. Just ensure that the image is at least as large as your requested print size.

basic info

  • Our maximum print size is 508x330mm, and we can print onto objects with a maximum thickness of 100mm.

  • All images/artwork to be printed should be in CMYK format - the printer uses cyan, magenta, yellow, black and white inks, so this ensures that the colours in your artwork look exactly the same when printed as they do on screen!

  • The image to be printed can be in vector format OR image format (JPG/PNG etc).

  • Printing can be either single or double sided.

  • All our printing has a matt finish.

file set up for adobe illustrator

To make things as easy as possible, you can download our Illustrator template here, which has all the layers mentioned below already set up.

Here’s a guide to the layers - we’ve added our own artwork to the downloadable file so you can better visualise each step:


Colour

This is where you’ll place your image(s) to be printed. As previously mentioned, this needs to be in CMYK format in order for your prints to look as they do on screen.

White Base

All designs need a base layer of white ink to ensure that the colours are bright and crisp, as the coloured inks themselves are translucent. As you’ll see on the downloadable template, this layer appears as a shade of grey rather than white - this is a specific colour that tells the printer to print pure white so it is essential that your white layer is this exact colour (we promise it will print white, not grey!).
If your artwork is in vector format, you can paste it onto this layer and then use the Unite function to create a silhouette. If your artwork is an image (JPG, PNG etc), you’ll need to use the Image Trace function to do this. Ensure that the silhouette is lined up accurately with your artwork layer, and filled in the correct colour with no outline.
If you’re printing onto clear or white acrylic, you can experiment with removing all or parts of this white layer - on clear acrylic you’ll get a translucent effect, and on white acrylic any white areas of the design itself won’t be printed, leaving areas of bare gloss acrylic.

Cut Lines

This is where you’ll add your cut lines, in the same way as you’d set up files to be laser cut. You can check the set up instructions here, but if you’re only using basic cut lines with no engraving etc, you can just ensure that the lines are RGB red (R:255, G:0, B:0).
If you’d just like to cut an outline of your artwork, you can use the same silhouette technique as above. You can then go to Object -> Path -> Offset Path to add an outer border. This is also the layer on which you’ll need to add cut lines for any holes etc.

If you’d like to print right up to the edge of your cut shape, please ensure that you either add at least an additional 2mm of bleed (i.e. extend the printed design on your Colour layer by 2mm all around the cut edge) or reduce the size of your outer cut shape slightly. If you fail to do this, there’s a chance you’ll see a sliver of blank material where the print hasn’t quite reached the edge of the piece.

All layers

Colour layer

White Base layer

Cut Lines layer

saving your file

  • Ensure that you place the number of pieces required on the sheet - if you need 5 circles cut, place 5 circles on the sheet.

  • Tile your pieces to get the most out of your material - sometimes this works best if you rotate shapes by 180 degrees to enable them to tessellate.

  • Make sure you leave at least 1mm between each item to be cut.

  • Ungroup all items on the sheet.

  • Remove any clipping masks

  • Please save your finished file in .ai format.

file set up for other graphics software

Don’t use Adobe Illustrator? No problem! We can still work with you to get your designs printed and cut.

If you’re using other software like Photoshop, Inkscape or Affinity Designer, please use these guidelines:

if you’re not printing up to the edge of your cut pieces

  • Send your design as either a SVG or PDF vector file (PREFERRED) or an image file (.jpg or .png).

  • Let us know what size each cut piece needs to be.

  • Indicate your cutting lines with red lines - we can then trace these from your file.

  • If you’re sending an image file and need holes etc cut and these do not overlap with any printed areas, please include them on your file. If they do overlap, please send a separate image or diagram to show where they need to be placed and what size they need to be - this will ensure they aren’t just printed over your design!

if you are printing up to the edge of your cut pieces

  • Send your design as either a SVG or PDF vector file (PREFERRED) or an image file (.jpg or .png).

  • Let us know what size each cut piece needs to be.

  • We can then use your image to generate the outer cut line.

  • If you’re sending an image file and need holes etc cut, please send a separate image or diagram to show where they need to be placed and what size they need to be - this will ensure they aren’t just printed over your design!