We at Display Dynamics pride ourselves on consistently producing high quality large-format graphics that exceed our customer’s expectations. In an effort to minimize project delays and avoid extra costs, Display Dynamics has created these artwork requirements to assist you or your designer in providing us with digital files that meet necessary specifications. Following these guidelines will ensure that your projects are completed accurately as well as on time. Should you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to email our design department at for further assistance.
Avoid most font problems by converting your text to outlines/curves
In some cases, we require that your text remain editable in order to perform text changes or corrections. In such instances where this is necessary, be sure to submit all PostScript, TrueType and/or OpenType fonts used in your layout.
Always save raster images and/or artwork layouts in CMYK colour mode
When designing in Illustrator®, choose swatches from the Pantone® Coated colour library. Artwork elements using these swatches will be colour matched to a Pantone® Solid Coated Formula Guide.
If specifying Pantone® Coated colour swatches in Photoshop®, be sure to indicate the Pantone® swatch numbers/names on a hardcopy proof of your artwork.
A good way to ensure desired colour output is to provide colour-correct hard copy materials that can be used as references for matching specific colours. This is particularly useful when you would like to ensure that your final display colours match other marketing materials such as business cards, brochures, etc.
Adobe Illustrator®
Adobe Illustrator® is our most preferred file format for supplying layouts and vector artwork with maximum compatibility and flexibility. Template files are available for most display systems should you use this format.
If possible, specify Pantone® Coated colour swatches. (Important: avoid renaming the Pantone® swatches or converting them to CMYK and/or RGB).
Design your artwork at 10% of final output size ensuring that your linked raster images are at the proper resolution.
Link all raster images in your Illustrator® layout by checking the ‘Link’ box when placing an image. Ensure that all linked images are included with your artwork submission. (Note: submitting your Illustrator® layout with embedded raster images limits our ability to perform colour corrections on these particular images within your file).
Gradients or blends over distances greater than 12 inches are susceptible to banding or ‘stepping’ in large-format printing. For desirable output results, gradients should always be rasterized meaning that these types of effects should be created in Adobe Photoshop®
Adobe Photoshop®
Adobe Photoshop® is the preferred application for supplying high resolution raster images as well as layouts containing large gradient or blend effects . Please refer to our PDF product templates in order to determine your canvas size, bleed areas, etc.
Files must be prepared at a resolution of 110dpi (110ppi) at 100% final output size. If you are working with a template scaled down to 10% final size, the resulting document resolution would be 1100dpi (1100ppi).
Submit your completed Photoshop® layout as a flattened TIFF file in CMYK colour mode.
We generally run test prints to ensure that the colours in your layout print as close as possible to the colours you expect to see. For greater control over the final colour output, it is highly recommended that you supply the layered PSD version of your layout in addition to the flattened TIFF file.
To avoid the potential of pixilated text, add text elements in a vector-based layout program such as Adobe Illustrator®. If text must be placed in Photoshop®, ensure that all text has been rasterized if you are submitting a layered PSD file. (Note: it is recommended that text-heavy layouts be created in Illustrator®).
Adobe InDesign®, QuarkXPress® and CorelDraw®
Although we accept files created in these programs, we strongly suggest that you create your artwork in Adobe Illustrator® or Adobe Photoshop® to ensure the best results and quickest turnaround. Should you choose to design your artwork using Adobe InDesign® or CorelDraw®, it is preferred that you convert all fonts to outlines/curves and export your final layout as an EPS file. Should you require further direction on submitting these file formats, please contact our design department for assistance.
