Help & FAQs
We are here to help you. Find an answer to all your printing questions below. If not, get in touch with us.
General
All the payments are quick, secure and convenient to ensure the best possible service. You can choose between the following payment methods :
- Credit cards – Use your Visa or MasterCard to pay safely online. After placing your order you will be automatically redirected to our partner’s website where you will be able to enter your credit card details. The card will be charged in the moment of payment.
- PayPal using your MasterCard, Maestro, Visa, Visa Electron or Direct Debit.
Orders
If you can’t find the product you would like to order, fill in our contact form with the details of your project or call us and talk to one of our professional print staff. We will get back to you with a quote for your custom order within 72 hours. We offer custom folding, die cut’s, PMS colors and much more.
The invoice will be send to you via email once your order has been submitted. If you’d like to look up your old orders and invoices log into your account on our website.
Yes. In order to track your order log into your account and look up the shipping details.
It is very important for us to make sure that each of our clients is satisfied with our work. We print the best quality products at low prices and with short turnarounds, however if our product doesn’t satisfy you please contact us directly or by filling in the contact form.
Please note that obvious defects must be reported within a period of two weeks from receipt of goods..
Printing
We offer both coated and uncoated paper print. The uncoated stock is best for stationary, postcards or any other surface that will be written on. Coated paper is available in two finish options – glossy or UV (which is shine and smooth) and matte (flat).
Yes, at Business Card Expert we offer orders in HKS or Pantone spot colors for most of our print products. Please send us an enquiry through the contact form with the name of the color channel of the spot color and with the correct number in your artwork.
The sides of the brochure depend on the chosen format. If you decide to print in a portrait format, we will bind your brochure on the long side. In you choose the landscape format the binding will be made on the short side.
File Preparation
You can upload your files in the following formats:
JPG, PDF,EPS, TIFF, PS (PostScript)
Make sure that your PDF file is saved directly from a graphic program in the PDF/X-standard (PDF/X3 or PDF/X1a) format. In order to avoid issues with layers and transparencies in the printing process, it is advised to use the “compatibility 1.3” setting while saving your artwork.
If you are submitting your files in TIFF format, please make sure you reduce the layers to only one layer.
In order to prevent problems with variations in color or print image, please don’t use the preseparated DCS EPS data.
Yes – all the accepted files must be print-ready. If you are looking of more information about how to prepare your files and for templates check out our templates page.
To make sure that there are no white areas on your printed product, all the submitted files must have a 2 mm bleed on each side. This means that your design (both images and graphics) should be always 2mm larger than the actual print format. Failing to do so may result in small deviations which lead to white margins. To make sure that the fonts and crucial design elements are visible, please place them at least 3mm from the final format (not including the bleed) and don’t use frames as boundaries in the layout.
Additionally:
– If you are submitting your print data in an open format the bleed should be 4mm on each side (eg. A4 size including a bleed should be 301×214 mm)
– If you are submitting files for presentation folders, banners, monthly calendars, packaging or any other advertising technology products please prepare the file with a 3mm bleed on each side
– Envelopes must be submitted with a 1 mm bleed.
– Textile stretcher frames require 15 mm bleed.
If you require more information, please refer to our artwork instructions.
All the artworks are checked by our team before printing. If we encounter any problems with the files we will contact you and advice changes in the format. Please note that the conversions of both color mode and size will be made automatically without previous information.
During the artwork analysis, we check:
- whether the files are submitted in one of the accepted formats (PDF, JPG, TIFF, EPS or PS)
- if the number of pages is correct
- if the provided file is in greyscale (only if you ordered a one coloured print)
- if the file is the correct size (if not, we will scale your artwork to the desired size, however this might result in the decrease of resolution. Also no additional bleeding will be added in the process)
- if perforations lines have been indicated
- if the appropriate fonts are embedded within the file
It’s best to prepare your files in the CMYK color mode, otherwise we automatically convert it from the RGB mode which may result in color shift. To ensure you are fully satisfied with the print it’s recommended to send in the CMYK color mode files.
To ensure high quality of the print we accept 300 dpi files and higher.
Please do not send any extra files such as proofs or samples unless you are requested by one We only need the final printing files.
No. Please make sure that you send front and back artwork in separate files. Each side is printed separately in our process so not separating files can cause delays.
In order to create a Spot UV job you must attach a Spot UV template file as well as the regular full color file. The Spot UV template should show all the places where the UV will be placed with 100% K. White areas indicate parts of the design without the UV.