File Format & Submission Guidelines

We want to print your banner perfectly the first time around! It is important that the files that you submit to us reflect exactly what you want us to print. Although we sometimes can catch errors such as misspellings or typos, it is important that you proofread your file(s) carefully before submitting them to us, as you are solely responsible for reprinting due to corrections or customer changes.

File Formats

Our preferred file format for submission is as follows:

• JPG, 8-bit, highest quality (minimum compression)
• Adobe RGB 1998 or sRGB Color Space (Adobe RGB 1998 has a wider range of colors, although if you create the file in sRGB, there will be no benifit to converting it to Adobe RGB 1998). We have no reference to your CMYK settings, so to eliminate confusion and color management issues, please send us RGB files as described above.
• 240dpi or 300dpi (can be 180dpi or even 150dpi if the banner is larger than 15 feet long or for low-detail banners and still print very well) at full size (including all printable area only, no cropping) Many graphics programs (Including Photoshop and Illustrator) cannot export images large enough to use full 300dpi or 240 dpi (Photoshop has a 30,000 pixel per side limit to export jpg), so the lower dpi is the best that you can do.
• TIFF files are acceptable, but files will be much larger and no effective quality improvement over jpg
• If you are using a vector file program such as Adobe Illustrator, please Export the file to a jpg file (see file requirements at top of this page) before sending. Our RIP program that we print from does not accept Ai, PDF or EPS files, so you may be charged a conversion fee and delay the printing of your banner if you do not send a jpg file. There is NO quality advantage printing from a vector file over a proper size jpg.
• Please note that we virtually never have a problem with a jpg file, and we OFTEN have trouble with submitted PDF and other vector files being too small to print well (yes, they do scale but within limits), and font issues. Contact us if you have questions regarding this issue.  

File Naming

PLEASE include your company name or personal name in the file, such as acme_myfilename.jpg. This will help is in our file management and prevent duplicate files of the same name. If you resubmit a file, you can either add "_rev2" as an example, to the new file. If you are using our FTP, you can also remove the old file from our site.

Suggestions:

• It is better to NOT edit images in JPG format. Since the JPG format by definition resamples each time it saves, it will degrade image quality. Please edit images in a non-resampling, non-degrading format such as TIFF, AI, etc. and then save as a JPG after all changes have been made.
• If you want "borders" on your banners, make sure you include them as part of the printable image area WITHOUT crop marks or margins. 
• You are responsible for your input. We are NOT responsible for typos (although we have found them before printing). You will be charged for reprinting.

File Submission

We prefer to receive files via the web. Most files will be too large to send via email (upload@greenbanners.com can receive up to 5MB files) so we suggest that you either:

1) Use YouSendIt.com for free file transfers up to 1GB (this is a great, free service and often the easiest way for you to send us files) or,

2) Use our FTP site to upload to the GreenBanners.com website directly. After you complete the Information Form START HERE, you will be given a username and password to use the FTP service. 

Either way, PLEASE remember to include your company name or personal name in the file, such as acmecompany_myfilename.jpg. Also, please email us at upload@greenbanners.com to let us know that you have sent us your file(s).

Please let us know if you have questions or any difficulty in sending us files and we will be happy to assist you.

Color Management

Our systems are completely color-managed, from calibrated monitors to fully profiled printer / ink/ media combinations. We highly encourage you to use a color-calibrated system to insure that your files are color accurate so you your banner and signage will be exactly what you were wanting.