What are the album specifications and how do I use them?
Short
Album opens with double page spread
Bleed is 3mm / .118inches
Safe zone of 13mm (including 3mm bleed) all the way around the spread
Files needs to be JPEGs at 300dpi
Can use any software to design your layout
Design cannot be done in our ROES ordering software
Long
Regardless of which program you use, it is important to keep in mind our specifications.
Each spread needs to be the size of your album, where the width is double the size of the height (for example 10 x 10” albums would have a 20” wide x 10” high spread).
The safe zone should be no smaller than 13mm, which means each image should either touch the edge of the spread or be 13mm away from it. If ordering a parent album, your safe zone should be 19mm to account for scaling down your master spreads.
Export your spreads as JPEG files at 300dpi resolution.
Make sure all the spreads are numbered with double digits at the end of the filenames in the order they are to be in the album.
More you need to know….
Double digits in spread filenames
They help us ensure your spreads are in order when printed. We need the numbers in the filenames to be consistent with how they are uploaded into Roes. When you use “1” instead of “01” it will be interpreted as “10” in software on our end. We are normally able to pick that up, but it will save us time in fixing that manually or contacting you for clarification.
What else?
Try not to use any additional sharpening in your images or spreads. In SmartAlbums specifically, the sharpening is set to medium in default. Set it to “none” in your preferences before exporting.
Use as high-resolution images as possible.
If unsure of the colour outcome, we offer printing test spreads to ensure there aren’t any significant deviations in colour between your screen and our print. Best done before commencing any design for your clients.
