Please read carefully: Virtually all delays in production are caused by incorrectly supplied artwork. Our printers will only accept press ready PDF's created from their Quark Xpress templates.

Please do not assume any artwork you have had printed elsewhere will be acceptable. All artwork must be supplied to our printers specifications.

Artwork not to the specification supplied will incur extra artwork charges and will result in a delay in production.

Any 3rd party artwork carried out by us will be scheduled according to our workload.

Any additional work carried out by Plastic Head will be charged at our hourly rate (currently £45 per hour).

If you are unsure about any of the artwork requirements – please contact us BEFORE submitting any artwork.

Quark Xpress:

Our printers provide templates in Quark Xpress format exclusively. Templates are not available in Indesign format.
To correctly output press ready PDF’s you should use Quark Xpress / Distiller.
All artwork must be supplied as high resolution press-ready PDFs. (PDF/x-1a:2001)
Please use the printer’s templates, provided here in Quark Xpress format.

PDFs not supplied to these templates are unacceptable. For additional templates (digipaks, roll-fold booklets, etc.) please contact us directly.

If you are unsure about creating PDFs, we can accept native Quark files (up to 6.5 Mac / PC) with all supporting files and fonts.

If you are unable to provide artwork to these specification we can convert artwork to the correct format. For conversion, we can accept files in Indesign / Illustrator / Photoshop CS4.
Please be aware there will be charges for any additional work carried out on behalf of 3rd party labels.

Guidelines for supplying print-ready artwork

• Adobe PDF Settings: Use PDF/x-1a:2001
•Your PDF document must match the Quark Xpress document dimensions precisely. PDF's incorrectly sized will be rejected.
•All fonts must be included. Please embed all fonts in your PDF settings.
•All artwork must include a minimum bleed of 3mm all the way round. Look at the template key for bleed/trim guides.
•Stitched booklets must be supplied as PRINTER’S SPREADS. For an 8pg booklet this means Page 8 & Page 1 / Page 2 & Page 7 / etc. Layouts supplied as reader’s spreads or single pages are not acceptable.
•All images must be minimum 300dpi resolution.
•Colour images must be saved as CMYK.
•All colours must be set up correctly in Quark: any new colours must be pantone or CMYK set to process separation.
•Use the Device N setting in Quark to correctly output spot colours.
•Barcode images must be 100% black on a white background to scan correctly. Ensure these are not output as CMYK
or we cannot guarantee your barcode will scan correctly.
•Black areas must NOT be set to 100% across all plates. Dense black areas MUST be set to CMYK.

All distributed titles must carry a PHD logo (available on request) and the following text on the backcard:
Distributed by Plastic Head Music Distribution Ltd.
Avtech House, Hithercroft Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 9DA
Email: info@plastichead.com | www.plastichead.com

CD On-body Artwork

Please use the Quark template Sound_Performance_Template.qxt
Our pressing plant requires CD on-body artwork as high resolution press ready PDFs.
Ensure the centre hole is visible.
Any pantones must be noted on the PDF.
Please specify whether you require a white or silver base.

Vinyl Templates

Please contact us directly for vinyl templates.

Uploading Artwork Files

Please contact us for our FTP login details

Graphic Design

Adrian Wear
a.wear@plastichead.com
Tel: +44 (0)1491 825029

Andy Philips
a.phillips@plastichead.com
Tel: +44 (0)1491 825029


Downloads:

• CD Templates