Artwork specifications

Send us files built to these specs and your job goes straight to proof. Send us something else and we will call you, which costs both of us a day. Setup is free either way — we would just rather spend the day making binders.

Upload artwork with your order, or email it with your purchase order number in the subject line.

1. File requirements

Preferred format: press-ready PDF. Export to PDF/X-4. One file, pages in sequence, no printer spreads.

Screen printing and foil stamping require vector art. One-color screen print and foil stamp are line-art processes: the image is either there or it is not. Send native Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or .eps with all art as vector paths in a single solid color. No gradients, no screens or halftone tints, no transparency, no drop shadows, no soft edges. If your logo only exists as a JPEG, tell us — we will redraw it, and send you the redraw for approval before we cut a screen or a die.

Four-color process work. Raster images must be 300 dpi at final placed size, CMYK. RGB will be converted; if color accuracy matters, supply CMYK. Name any PMS colors that must match and we will call them out on the proof.

Fonts. Convert all live text to outlines before you export. We do not install customer fonts.

Bleed. 1/8” (0.125”) on every edge of any printed or wrapped product — covers, wraps, liners, folders, and the tab edge of index tabs. Keep live copy at least 1/8” inside the trim, and further inside near folds, hinges, and drilled holes.

Layers and marks. Put die lines, fold lines, and templates on a separate non-printing layer. Do not embed crop marks inside the art. Do not flatten the die line into the artwork.

2. Binder cover templates

Letter-size binders (11” × 8-1/2” sheet capacity), round ring, heat-sealed vinyl. The flat sheet is the full unfolded cover: back panel, hinge, spine, hinge, front panel. Spine art must stay inside the spine panel — art that crosses a hinge will distort where the vinyl folds.

Provisional — final dimensions are confirmed on your proof. These figures reflect standard trade binder geometry and are published so you can start laying out. Board sizes vary by ring style. Build to the template we send with your proof, not to this table.

Downloadable true-scale template PDFs (die, bleed, folds, and panels marked): 1/2”–3/4” · 1” · 1-1/2” · 2” · 2-1/2” · 3”

Turned-edge (casemade) binders use different geometry. The printed sheet wraps the board and turns over all four edges, so the flat sheet is larger than the board in both directions. For a 1” round ring the board flat is 22-5/16” × 11-5/8” with a 1-11/16” spine, and the printed wrap sheet is 23-13/16” × 13-1/8” — roughly 3/4” of turn-over on every side, plus 1/8” bleed beyond that. Request the turned-edge template for your ring size before you build the file; 2” and 3” turned-edge geometry is confirmed on proof.

D-ring and angle-D binders. Ring hardware mounts to the back cover rather than the spine, which changes both the spine allowance and rivet positions. Confirm on proof — do not assume the round-ring numbers transfer.

Rivets. On round-ring binders the rivets may be exposed on the spine. Where they are, spine art must fit between them. We mark rivet position on your proof.

3. Index tabs

Templates. Use our layout templates as underlays. Each shows all 25 tab positions for 1/2”-tall tabs, with tab numbering, die outlines, and sheet dimensions. The inset value controls how far the first tab position sits from the sheet edge — pick the one matching your die specification, or ask us which one your job runs on.

• 1/2” tab, 1/16” inset — minimal inset, maximum usable width
• 1/2” tab, 1/8” inset — standard for most commercial work
• 1/2” tab, 3/16” inset — moderate inset, wider shoulders
• 1/2” tab, 1/4” inset — increased edge clearance
• 1/2” tab, 5/16” inset — wide inset for thicker stocks
• 1/2” tab, 3/8” inset — maximum inset, narrowest positions

Tab extension. Standard is 1/2” beyond the body of the sheet. The tab is part of the finished trim size — build your file at final size including the extension, and extend bleed into the tab.

Banks. A bank is one full cycle of tab positions before the pattern repeats. Build the file as a single PDF with pages in sequence: page 1 is tab position 1, page 2 is position 2, and so on through the bank. Every page in a bank uses a different die placement. Duplicating a page without shifting the artwork is the single most common tab file error we see.

Drilling. Three-hole, 5/16” holes on 4-1/4” centers. Keep body copy clear of the binding edge so nothing is drilled through or weakened — allow room for spine reinforcing and the hole pattern.

Mylar. Clear mylar over the tab is standard on our paper tab sets, with mylar-reinforced holes on the binding edge. Colored mylar is available. Heavy ink coverage on the tab area can interfere with mylar adhesion — avoid flooding the tab, and confirm coated stocks with us before you approve layout.

Do not send collated art. Tab cutting happens per position, before collating. Files should reflect uncollated, correctly sequenced tab positions.

4. Imprint areas

Maximum screen-print and foil-stamp image areas depend on the panel, the ring size, and the press — we mark the actual imprint area for your job on the proof, before anything is cut or burned. If you are designing tight to the edge, call first and we will give you the limits for your exact configuration.

5. What happens after you upload

1. We check the file. Format, resolution, color space, fonts, bleed, and die fit. If something is wrong, we call you the same day.
2. We build the proof. Free, normally within one business day of complete artwork and a purchase order — your art on the actual template with fold lines, die lines, ring and rivet position, and imprint area marked.
3. You approve in writing. Check spelling, color breaks, tab sequence, and panel orientation. The approved proof is the document we manufacture from.
4. The clock starts. Ten business days of production from proof approval. We manufacture to ±10% of ordered quantity and invoice what ships.
5. We keep the file. Reorders skip setup. Reference the job number and we run it again.