FAQ

Free Metro Detroit Delivery

We deliver our jobs to our customers. Anywhere south of M-59 and east of I-275. Orders placed outside this area must choose a FedEx service. We do not offer pick-up.

What kinds of coatings do you use?

Depending on what product you are ordering, we offer aqueous coating, UV or Spot UV coating.

Can I write or print on UV coating?

No. The surface is high gloss and most pens or markers will not mark on the surface or it will smudge off.

Can you score?

Yes. In most cases we can score your order. That would be a custom quote order.

When preparing press-ready digital files, what size should I build my file to?

All file should be designed to size with an 1/8" (.125") of bleed.

What is the required bleed?

Our bleed is .125" or 1/8". All products available are listed at their trim size. You should build your document to allow 1/8" beyond the trim on each edge. Example: A job with a trim size of 4"x6" with bleeds would need a document size of 4.25"x6.25".

What if my cards don't bleed?

We require ALL files to be built to the full bleed dimension specified for each trim size. We automatically trim .125" off of each edge, which will result in the desired trim size.

Can I put a border on my card?

Returns / Refunds

Since each order is unique to customer and has no re-sale value, All Sales Are Final. If we verify that we made an error, we will re-print the order. No Refunds or Credit.

Customer must notify Discount Printing Detroit within 3 business days of order acceptance to notify any defects discovered in the ordered product or the claim will be denied. In order to receive replacement Customer must return 100% of the received product within 10 days (at their own expense) from the time when the ordered product delivery was taken.?All charges related to expedited printing (Rush Printing or Shipping) are NOT REFUNDABLE, including for those orders that are returned for any reason.

Pre-Flight / Design Information

Acceptable file formats To enable jobs to fit into our automatic workflow, Discount Printing Detroit currently accepts files in three format: PDF.  There are specific guidelines.

PDF - Many software programs will export files as PDF. We do NOT recommend this option unless you are confident that your conversion settings are correct. Otherwise we suggest you export or save your file as an EPS, then distill that EPS through Acrobat Distiller. This will ensure that your fonts are all embedded, and any graphic files are resampled correctly. Be sure your source file is created properly, with the document size being the finished trim size PLUS 1/4” all around (1/8” on each side) for bleeds. Any graphics used in your file must follow the guidelines above for either EPS or TIFF.

Fonts
We do not accept files which require fonts to be available on our servers. All fonts used must either be turned to outlines, flattened or embedded following the guidelines above.

Image Resolution
The optimum resolution for all files is 300 dpi. Even if your job contains black and white images, they should be saved as greyscale at 300 dpi. All images should be included at 100% scale (of the print size) and must be submitted in uncompressed TIFF format without layers (flattened). They must all be converted to CMYK colors. Remember, a higher quality image resolution does not always result in better print quality. Excessive image resolutions (beyond 300 dpi) will only dramatically increase your file size and in most cases will not improve the print quality. Furthermore, it may require extra time to upload larger files.

Internet Images
Images found on the Internet are typically at a resolution of 72 DPI in addition to being RGB. This resolution is much too low for quality printing and will produce very poor results. You are also taking a risk by using images without permission that may be copyrighted.

CMYK vs. RGB
Color space is one of the most often misunderstood terms. Simply put, the offset printing process prints color in the CMYK range. Computer monitors display their colors in the RGB range. When RGB is converted to CMYK, which is the standard by which all offset process color printing is currently done, some RGB colors will be out of gamut: lost in the conversion process. Discount Printing Detroit’s digital workflow will automatically convert any RGB images to CMYK, but the results may not be what is expected. We recommend you convert all images to CMYK (at the standard SWOP setting) prior to sending. This also includes any placed bitmap images. That way you will have a better idea of how they will actually print.

We do not offer pantone color printing. We print using a 4-color process, meaning that all of our products are printed with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks. We do not use special spot or Pantone colors.

Rich Black
In 4 color process printing large areas of black can appear thin or washed out due to only one layer of ink being put down. To compensate for this ‘rich black’ should be used for large black solids. Discount Printing Detroit specifies a formula of 40% cyan, 30% magenta, 20% yellow and 100% black to produce a neutral rich black..

Black Text: Type is another matter. To assure clean appearing black text, type less than 36 points high should be sent as black only (100% k) with no other color mixed in. Even for typefaces over 36 points rich black should only be used where the face is bold or blocky. Type to print in colors other than black does not have any special requirements.