FAQ - Frequently asked questions about Printing

The average lead time for graphics is 48 to 72 hours from the moment your print file is approved. When your print file is submitted and meets our standards,  it goes to the next step in our production process and it will immediately be scheduled for printing. You will receive an email confirmation. If the print file does not meet the standards, such as having a low DPI or an incorrect colour scheme, you can either approve it (at your own risk) or upload a new file. Based on your decision, we will then proceed with the printing process.

That’s actually easier than you think! Let us help you to get started in 7 simple steps. 

1. Login to your acount
2. Look up the product you want to order
3. Choose if you only want the graphic, or combined with the product
4. Choose your preferred print material
5. Upload your print file
6. Place the order
7. Check your email for feedback on the print file: ready to print, approve print or upload a new file
   

You can also find more information on how to order your graphic on our 'Print Services' webpage. 

Yes, for some products, like Roll-Banners, Windtalkers and Brightboxes, you can easily preview your design on our Online Reseller Platform after loggin in. You click on the yellow button 'preview your design,  upload your print file and it directly previews your design on the product picture. You can save the picture with design to show a quick preview to your customer. Please note that this feature is not yet accurate for all the products, this is in progress.

Next to this, we also offer a 'Graphic Visualisation Service'. You can send us your artwork and we will make a visualisation of your graphic on the product. With this service, you will get a clear idea on how the final product with the graphic will look like. Learn more  about the 'Graphic Visualisation Service' here. 

Yes, for sure! We offer a neutral drop shipment directly to your customers. You can choose this option in the checkout process. You can upload your own delivery note or there will be no delivery note attached to it.  There is no sub charge for this service, you just pay the shipping costs. 

We offer an extensive range of high quality printing materials to bring your print to life. On our 'Print Services' webpage you can see an overview of all the print materials we use. Next to that, we’ve created a convenient ‘Printing overview sheet’ to help you easily navigate through the variety of printing materials and their corresponding products. You can view the ‘Printing overview sheet’ here. 

Of course! Seeing is believing, that’s why we have a ‘print sample box’, showcasing the variety and quality of our printing materials. All the print materials are in compact A6 format, with details about the weight and the name of the print material. The sample box features the Showdown logo, while the prints inside remain neutral. Are you interested in receiving a print sample box? You can request a Print Sample Box here. 

We have several printing machines in our production centre in Přestanov, Czech Republic, that make the printing magic happen. Each printer is suitable for a different type of material. We work with different printing techniques: Dye sublimation print, UV flatbed print and latex print. You can view all our printing machines and cutters here. 

Standard check: Your artwork will always be checked by our automatic print software. If it meets all the minimum standards for an optimal print result, we will start printing right away. The minimal standards are: correct measurements fitting to template, minimum of 150 DPI, CMYK colours.

Manual check by print specialist: If you choose for the manual check by a print specialist, your artwork will still be checked by our software before our print specialist will do the check. Our print specialist will also review your print file for elements that our software does not see, such as ensuring the text is within the safe area and checking for the presence of a bleed. Our print specialist can make small adjustments, such as moving the text a couple of milimeters to make sure the text is within the safe area or extending the print to make sure the bleed area is covered. Template lines will be removed as well, but ideally, the template should be delivered without any lines. If we make any adjustments, we will always send the updated file to you for approval. During the manual check we guide you to make sure everything goes well. This service is especially useful if you're unsure about your print file or when you have a large, important order with prints. "

Before the printing run begins, your print file will be checked by our automated software, to make sure the graphic will be printed correctly. You will receive an email with a link to download the print proof. If you submit the print file perfectly, we will start printing immediately, you don't have to confirm anything.

If your print file does not meets all standards, such as low DPI, incorrect dimensions, or not using CMYK colours, you can either upload a new print or confirm the current one (at your own risk, as no claims can be made later). If there are issues like incorrect size or missing bleed, you will need to adjust the file and send us a revised version. You can view the print proof in your account under "Orders" and either confirm it or upload a new one.

After you place your order with us, our automated print software verifies the print details. Based on the outcome, a print proof is generated.  You will receive an email notification regarding your print order. If the print file is perfect, you don’t need to confirm anything, and we will proceed directly with printing.

If the print file does not meet our standards, you will receive an email asking you to take action. You can either click on the button in the email or open the order in your account. There you can download the print proof and see what you need to improve. The yellow symbols indicate you can either approve the print like it is or upload a new one. If your print proof contains a red symbol, we are unable to proceed with printing and we ask you to upload a new version. 

If adjustments are needed for your print file, you can easily upload a new version. Printing will begin only after you approve the print file or submit a revised one which meet our standards. We'll notify you of any issues in your file and provide suggestions for improvement, along with explanatory print symbols. You can find detailed explanations of these symbols on our webpage.

With all of the options, we understand it is sometimes hard to make a decision. So we try to help and guide you through the decision process.

Frame only
You order only the hardware without the print.

Frame + Graphic
You order the hardware including the print. If you order the 'frame + graphic', your order will be processed as 'KIT'. This means that your print will be placed together with the hardware. If you will order the hardware and graphic seperately, they will not be connected. For the graphic you upload the desired graphic.

Graphic only
Do you already have the hardware for the desired product? Than you can just order the print without the hardware at ‘graphic only’.

Some products can have a print on both sides. Those will have the option Frame + 2 Graphics. In this case you can upload even 2 different print files, to display a different message on each side.

We are here to guide you on preparing your print file. You can download the right template on the product page after login. The dimensions for the specific product will be shown on the template. The print data should be prepared as a PDF file and the data should ideally be created as a vector file (alternatively a raster file matching the exact print size). All texts in the print data have to be converted to outlines. For a good printing result the image should be 300 DPI. Also the template lines have to be removed. For optimal printing results, images should have a minimum resolution of 150 DPI for formats larger than A1. For formats smaller than A1, it is preferable to upload images with a resolution around 300 DPI. You can find detailed instructions on our webpage of 'Print File Guide'.

We do not offer a design service for the preparing the print file. We do check your file and send you a preview of the print. We wait for your approval before we start printing.

If you choose the Standard Print Check and your print is approved by the software, it cannot be modified and will immediately be scheduled for printing. If your print file is not approved, you will need to take action, either manually approve it or upload a new version. With the Manual Print Check, our print center can assist you with any small necessary adjustments. It depends on the type of complication if we can resolve it or not.  If major adjustments are needed, our Customer Care team will get in touch with you. 

For a smooth printing journey, we kindly request that you deliver your artwork to us in PDF format. Our in-house printing centre is all set up to work with PDF files. Preferably a PDF export of PDF/X-4:2008 or PDF/x-1a:2001. PDF files can have a maximum size of 1GB per file. If your print is double-sided, kindly ensure it is uploaded in one PDF file.

Simply said, DPI stands for ‘Dots Per Inch’. It indicates how many dots are present in a printed image. When an image has a higher DPI, it means that there are more dots per inch, resulting in finer detail and smoother curves. Images with higher DPI values are generally sharper and more detailed when printed, especially when viewed up close. The minimum resolution should be 150 DPI. For small prints with lots of details, we suggest using 300 DPI, especially for formats smaller than A1.

To ensure your prints looks stunning, please deliver it to us in 300 DPI. For larger formats above size A1, 150 DPI would be good enough as well. Our automatic software checks every print file for a minimum resolution of 150 DPI. If the resolution is below 150 DPI, we cannot guarantee the best print quality.  

Simply said, bleed is the extra space you add around the design. It’s an important concept in the print design, to ensure when the print will be cut to its final size, there are no white edges or gapes due to slight variations in the cutting process. 

The term ‘print size’ refers to the area within the template where the actual printed content should be placed. This area is marked with a pink line, also called ‘cutting line’, that indicates where the final trim will occur. It represents the usable space on the template where your design elements should be positioned. We kindly ask you to not keep any cutting lines on your artwork when you deliver your final design. 

The ‘safe area’ on a print template refers to the designated space within the template where you should place all the important elements, such as logos, text and images. It’s a space that is kept free from the edges of the file, ensuring that vital information remains well within the visible and readable portion of the final printed piece. Our automated software doesn't verify whether your text or image is within the safe area. This determination still requires a visual check by a human eye. This service is provided with our Manual Print Check. 

‘Finished’ size on a print template refers to the exact dimensions that the printed product will have after it has been cut according to the template’s guidelines. In the context of your flag or banner, it means that the banner will be cropped to match the specified ‘finished size’ indicated on the template. 

Simply said, converting text fonts to outlines means that you turn text into an object. It can happen that the used fonts in the print file are not available in our system. By using outlines you ensure that your text remains consistent and retains the appearance of the choosen font. The process of converting text characters into vector shapes can be done in popular design softwares, such as Adobe illustrator, CorelDRAW or InDesign. 

Once the final print file is fully prepared, all the template lines should be taken out. In this way, the print centre receives a clean and ready-to-print file and we can ensure there won't be any unwanted lines on the final print. All for a smooth and accurate printing process. Our print software does not remove template lines, you have to remove them before uploading the print. 

It might of course happen that the print file does not meet the required specifications and some adjustments are needed. Our automated print software will show what is not correct on the print proof file. You can still approve the file if you want. We prefer to receive a new print file from you, which our software will check again. If you choose the manual print check, our Customer Care team will reach out to you and assist you through this process.

CMYK and RGB are both colour models. Simply said, RGB is the primary colour model for digital designs, like on the web, television or phone. CMYK colour mode is used for printing and is an industry standard because it will produce the most consistent-looking prints.

Our printers use CMYK colours. It appears that your uploaded artwork is in RGB colours (or another colour scheme). Our system has automatically converted your RGB colours to CMYK. This may result in slight variations in colours when printed. If you are comfortable with this possibility, please click 'Approve Print'. If you wish to ensure we print in the right colours, please adjust your artwork to CMYK colours and upload the new print file. 

When your print file is in RGB (Red, Green, Blue), it means that the colours in your design are defined using the RGB colour model. This is commonly used for digital screens, such as computer monitors and cameras. Our printers are printing in CMYK colours and the program will automatically convert the colours to CMYK. Colour change may happen when converting it. So we advise to design your print template in CMYK mode, in order to have a better control over colour accuracy.