Blog

Garden Centre Revamp

After producing a few signs and a banner or two in previous seasons, we were approached by Kemps Garden Centre, to help update some of the signage around the shop and grounds.

A big update was in progress, with changes being made to the entrance and exits, as well as the general flow around the site. This was a huge undertaking by the centre team and Green Genie Landscapes, who have been busy building structures, arbors, seating areas and new landscaping.

After a quick conversation, it made sense to visit the centre and have a walk around with the owner and staff, to make sure that all of the areas were updated in the same styles and materials, keeping a uniform look to the entire store rather than different materials and displays.

Using a variety of materials and substrates a wide range of signage has been designed, produced and fitted, ready for the new season.

  • Entrance – large ACM composite panels depicting sunflowers and the logos of companies on site.
  • Car Park – general signage for car parks, assembly points and deliveries amde using a mix of ACM and Correx.
  • Entrance – Wrapped ACM logo panel with routed ACM lettering, fixed with 20mm standoffs above the main entrance. Self-adhesive vinyl on shutters directing towards the new entrance. Wrapped ACM logo panels with arrows and entrance directions.
  • Plant Area – High tack self adhesive vinyl applied to plant benches to divide the areas and give an easy guide to the plants and their positioning. Large ACM panel highlighting the specimen plant area at the back of the centre, which was often missed before.
  • Main Shop – Correx signage and hanging sigs showing directions to the Cafe, Toilets and Tills. Frosted vinyl on the full height glass doors for safety and to reduce glare.
  • Forget Me Not Cafe – Frosted vinyl on the doors again, as well as double sided logos on the windows.
  • Outside Seating / Cafe Overflow – Large scenes printed onto banner material and framed by a ‘living wall’ really brighten up the area and can be changed seasonally with ease.


Chess Boards (2.5D)

When approached with a request to produce bespoke chess boards, each with different themes, bases and surrounding images, the ability to print in multiple layers to create a 2.5D effect with our large format flatbed just had to be put to use.

The original specification, to produce one off chess boards using a variety of themes that could then be customised with images and text specific to each order, did get simplified, but the end result of the boards produced were absolutely stunning.

Produced using multiple layers made up of white ink, colour, and clear coating in various positions and layers, the boards had an amazing, tactile finish once completed. An additional option with the multiple layers of clear coat is that different areas of a print can have matte or gloss finishes.

The photos really don’t do them justice, and of course do now show just how tactile the results were, completely surpassed both our own and our client’s expectations.


Tips on Preparing Artwork for Print

Tips on preparing artwork for print, helping us to save delays in production and reduce expensive setup costs and / or reprints.

Files & Formats

CMYK or RGB?

Use CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) for print, as RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is used for screens. (CMYK or RGB)

Resolution?

Ensure your images are a high-resolution 300 DPI (dots per inch) for good print quality; as anything below 200 DPI may not be acceptable.

As a guide, most images meant for screens are 72dpi. Although they look crisp and clear on screen, that does not necessarily mean they will reproduce well in print. (Resolution / DPI)

File Format?

We can accept and work with the majority of modern design file types. Though it is best to save your finished artwork as a high-resolution PDF. (PDF)

If this cannot be provided, please package all relevant artwork and elements and send it to us as a zip file instead. (ZIP)

Fonts and Images?

Embed all fonts in your PDF or outline all of the type. Images should also be embedded or the individual files should be supplied.

Bleed and Trim

Use 3mm bleed on all artwork edges to ensure edge to edge print after trimming. This helps prevent white lines or images being cut short.

Keep essential information at least 3mm from the trim edge to prevent it from being cut off. (Bleed, Trim & Safe Area)

We hope that these tips on preparing artwork for print were useful, if there is anything that we may have missed or could make clearer, please do let us know.