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At BAG MAKERS, we take pride in our imprinting quality and ability to vividly produce your design on any of our products. To accomplish this we pay particular attention to the quality of artwork we receive. The following specifications detail our requirements in providing you exceptional imprinting of your logo. Artwork not meeting these standards may incur additional costs and time.
Questions About Your Artwork?
Prior to placing your order, we invite you to send a copy of your art and any questions regarding its printability on any Bag Makers product to artinquiry@bagmakersinc.com. We will review your artwork, generally within 24 hours, and make recommendations for achieving the best imprint possible, generally within 24 hours.
Electronic Platform
We are Macintosh OS X based. PC files must have fonts converted to curves, paths, or outlines, and saved
or exported to a Mac compatible format.
Artwork Submission
For best results, we prefer VECTOR ART created in Adobe Illustrator. Vector images are created in a drawing program and consist of shapes based on mathematics. These graphics contain clear, smooth lines that retain their sharpness and proportions when edited. When submitting your vector art, we accept the following:
— Media: Macintosh compatible CD or DVD labeled with your PO, company name and contact information.
Please include a hard copy of your art for proofing purposes along with your disk.
On orders with multiple spot colors, please indicate color breaks on your hard copy.
— E mail: Please forward your art files to art@bagmakersinc.com.70 MB limit.
Please insert PO# and company name in the subject field. Also include a hard copy (PDF) of your design so we can check the integrity of your
electronic submission. We suggest that you compress (zip or stuff) your file or folder for transmission efficiency and
protection from corruption.
Vector Art
Vector Art is our preference for Flexographic Ink, Screen Print, & Foil Hot Stamp artwork.
Vector and raster image formats are acceptable for ColorVista artwork.
Important Note
A scanned image (e.g. .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .tiff, .psd, .pdf) or art created in a photo/paint program is not vector art. In addition, placing, linking, embedding, or copying these images into a drawing program does not convert them into vector art and will not meet our art requirements.
Mechanical Art
Mechanical art is camera-ready and is the size to be printed; is crisp black and white; requires no touch-up.
Stock Designs
Stock designs and clip art are available. Call to request a faxed sample sheet or click here to view our basic stock design library.
Programs and Formats
*Convert all fonts to outlines/paths/curves.
— Adobe Illustrator*(Preferred) CS5 and lower - save as native Illustrator .ai , or editable, layered PDF file.
—Freehand* 9, 10, MX - save as a native Freehand file or Illustrator 7.x .ai file.
—Freehand* 7, 8 - save as an Editable EPS file or Illustrator 7.x .ai file.
— Corel Draw - export as an Illustrator .ai file choosing the highest Illustrator version available from your menu, or save as Corel 10 .cdr
If a placed/imported Photoshop type image (TIF, JPG, or PSD) is necessary, the original file should be
included and pre-appoved by Bag Makers. These file types should be high quality, at least 300 ppi or higher
resolution, and at the size to be printed. Any other file formats are not acceptable and may delay production.
Placing or embedding a raster image in a vector program does not convert the art to vectors and may not
result in a quality print.
UNACCEPTABLE FORMATS: All Microsoft Office programs, any other vendor's "Office" programs, faxes,
copies of faxes, photocopies, film negatives or positives, slides, low resolution (less than 600 dpi) laser
printed artwork, letterhead, business cards, napkins, actual imprinted or embroidered products.
Art Placement & Sizing
Unless otherwise specified on your purchase order, all artwork will be sized to the maximum imprint
dimensions and centered in the product's standard imprint area.
Two Color Imprints-Flexographic Ink, Screen Print, & Foil Hot Stamp Artwork
For best results, artwork must be pre-approved by BAG MAKERS for printability.
Art Charges
To assist you with achieving the best possible imprint, we are pleased to offer one free hour of creative artwork services plus one free art revision. Free Art service does not apply to Virtual Proofs or Design Centre Orders. If necessary, additional art services are billed at $56.00(G) per hour with a minimum charge of $28.00(G).
Pre-Production Proofs
For Flexo Ink, Screen Print, Foil Hot Stamp the charge is $70.00 (G), plus applicable plate & art charges. Pre-production proofs for ColorVista are $155.00 (G). Virtual samples are available for $28.00 (G), per bag style, per imprint. Orders accompanied by a hard copy will not be proofed unless requested.
QR Codes
QR (Quick Response) Codes represent a popular and powerful new marketing tool for the organizations that use our bags. They provide a scanable, bar-code type graphic that lets marketers offer quick access to the internet -- including targeted pages, images, or videos -- through a mobile device.
However, there are a number of very important characteristics that impact how well we can print them on our products so that they remain scanable:
- There is no exact proper size of a QR code because its readability depends on a number of other variables.
- For example, longer web addresses create more intricate versions of QR codes and therefore are more difficult to imprint (and scan). Customers can use a URL shortener available on the internet to make their code more user-friendly.
- The distance between the code and the scanning device impacts its readability. For our products, this distance “ratio” is favorable because scanning will most often occur from several inches to only a few feet away.
- The quality of both the scanner app and the camera used on any mobile device impacts the readability of the code.
Because of these characteristics, imprinting QR codes on our products requires some basic guidelines in order to be scanable and functional. Some testing has taken place and so here are the some guidelines for each of our imprinting processes.
| Can We Print Them? | Minimum Size | Additional Guidelines |
| ColorVista | Yes | 1.5" | - A white background & border space must surround the code in order to create a clean, unobstructed scanable code.
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| Hot Stamping | Yes | 1.5" |
- For best results, the bag color should be white or frosted only.
- Only gloss black foil is available.
- Due to the bag texture, Matte Shoppers are not available for QR Codes.
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| Flexo Imprinting | Yes | 1.5" |
- For best results, the bag color should be limited to white only.
- Not available on hi-density bags.
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| Screen Printing | No | N/A |
- Imprinting QR codes with screen printing is not possible due to the process’ inability to provide crisp edges that can be scanned well by mobile devices.
- The texture of the polypropylene also affects they ability to scan.
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Regardless of the final imprint process chosen, it’s imperative that we test the QR code itself once it has been printed on a bag.
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