Special Finishes design requirements

How to Prepare Your Design

You will need to create and upload two files - one for the Printed Design (**Artwork File**) and one for your Special Finish Design (**Element File**).
Artwork File		Element File		The Final Design Artwork + Element
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The Artwork File will house the main design image. CMYK color file in PDF, PNG, JPG, or GIF format. The Element File will define where the element is applied on top of your design. The black parts of your Element File will denote which parts of your design we apply the Spot Gloss or Foil to. Anything white won’t be printed with any Foil or Spot Gloss.

We recommend the following settings to yield the best possible output:

Design file - vector-based PDF, saved in CMYK - this will be printed the same way as all standard MOO products.
Element/Mask File - CMYK (black and white: 0/0/0/100), vector-based PDF only - the black parts of the design will be printed with Foil or Spot Gloss.

Setting up your Special Finish PDF

Alignment Accuracy Be sure to check your desired alignment and be aware whilst printing is accurate, it may shift ever-so-slightly in the printing process.	Black & White Only use black (100% K) and white. The black parts will denote which parts of your design we apply the special finish to.	Font size 10pt or higher Otherwise, the small gaps in typography will cause pooling.

Lines Sharp lines need to be at 1pt or thicker.	Imagery Make artwork a vector PDF, photographs at 300dpi or higher and file size a maximum of 25Mb.	Cropmarks No need! We automatically add them in exactly the right place.

How we print your Foil Element

Treat the foil as its own color that will print on top of the rest of your design, obscuring what’s underneath. The foil should not replicate any elements of your Design file to prevent a messy halo effect.
Your Foil Element file		After uploading		Printed result
The black areas are where Gold Foil will be printed.	❯	After the file is uploaded, the black area will be displayed in bright pink on our website.	❯	Gold Foil Silver Foil How your printed card will look.

How we print your Spot Gloss Element

Think of Gloss as an enhancement to your existing design. Any design element it is printed over will appear shiny and slightly raised.
Your Spot Gloss Element file		After uploading		Printed result
The black areas are where Raised Spot Gloss will be printed.	❯	After the file is uploaded, the black area will be displayed in bright pink on our website.	❯	Spot Gloss Raised Spot Gloss How your printed card will look.

You can use our Design Templates to create the perfect fit using Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, or Photoshop.

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