Recommendations

The most common order options are 9" x 12" on 24 Pt Gloss Board or 1/8" Sintra. Counter Cards are printed in full color on one side with no printing on the back (4/0).

Marketing Tips

Counter Cards are most often used to provide information within business or trade show environments. Retail locations may use Counter Cards near the register or at a display to call attention to specific products or special promotions. They may also be used for many other applications, including display graphics in seminars and presentations, courtroom exhibits, and anyplace else where freestanding rigid graphics are desired.

3/16" Gator Board White

A white polystyrene foam center bonded between two semi-gloss white vinyl sheets, Gator Board is lightweight and rigid. Gator Board has a higher load capacity than Foam-Core, so it tends to last longer. It is easy to cut for custom fitting into existing displays and can be printed on both sides.

3/16" Gator Board Black

A black polystyrene foam center is bonded between two semi-gloss vinyl sheets. The back is black for situations when you don't want to call attention to the back of your display, and the front is white for best color reproduction. Gator Board has a higher load capacity than Foam-Core, so it tends to last longer. It is easy to cut for custom fitting into existing displays. Almost always, printing is only on the front.

24 Pt. C2S Gloss Board

Roughly the same thickness as 6 sheets of copy paper stacked together, 24 Pt. Gloss Board has a shiny finish. It is easy to cut for custom fitting into existing frames and can be printed on both sides.

1/8" Sintra White

A stiff, lightweight, plastic that is resistant to the elements, Sintra is an ideal solution for signage. Its textured surface provides a matte appearance, so it produces low glare and shows the graphics clearly. It's also easy to cut to fit any display and can be printed on both sides.

4/0

Full color (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black as above) on the front and no printing on the back. A typical example of this is a poster.

No Lamination

Rush Turnaround

To accommodate tight deadlines, this product is available with Rush Turnaround for an extra charge. Our standard turnaround times are also available at no extra charge. To order Rush Turnaround, simply select it from the Turnaround dropdown menu in the pricing calculator.

Note: Rush orders do not automatically include rush shipping. Please select the best shipping option to meet your needs.

3-4 Day Turnaround

If you order a proof (Online PDF or Hard Copy Proof), your turnaround time begins as soon as you approve your proof in our system. If you order "No Proof, Run As Is" (only recommended if you are certain you want us to print what you sent as is), your turnaround time begins as soon as your order begins the imposition process. Once your order is in imposition, you should receive an email with your estimated order completion date (does not include shipping or mailing).

Guidelines

Files must be uploaded before the cut off time, which is 10:00 a.m. Pacific for orders produced in our West facility and 10:00 a.m. Eastern for orders produced in our East facility. If you request a proof, you must approve your proof by 4:00 p.m. in the time zone your order is produced for turnaround time to begin.

A. 3-4 Day Shipped Orders
Orders will ship between 3 business days after 4:00 p.m. and 4 business days if you follow the guidelines.

B. 3-4 Day Will Call Orders
Orders will be ready in 3 business days for pick up after 4:00 p.m. or in 4 business days at Will Call if you follow the guidelines. Log into our site and click "My Account" in the upper-righthand corner to check your client dashboard before coming to pick up your order.

C. 3-4 Day Free Delivery Orders
Orders will be delivered in 4-5 business days between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. if you follow the guidelines.

Note: Free delivery is currently only offered to customers near our California production facility. To see if your zip code qualifies, visit "Free Delivery" under the "Services" section.

Files uploaded after the cut off time will be processed the following business day.

Fully Finished

This product comes fully finished.

Create Your Own Templates

Video tutorials coming soon!

File Preparation

In order to ensure your files are print-ready, we recommend that you upload them in PDF format. When you generate a print-ready PDF, your computer will use the settings in Adobe Acrobat Distiller or any other PDF generating programs you may use. Please make sure that these are set properly before generating your PDF file.

If you are uploading PDF files created in Photoshop, please be sure all layers are flattened.

We also accept .JPG (JPEG), .EPS and .TIF (TIFF) file types, however PDF is the preferred format.

Check your file to make sure it meets our file creation guidelines. This will help speed up the production of your project and give your printed piece the best results.

1. Use the CMYK colorspace (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK). These are industry standard printing colors. CMYK colors are different than RGB (Red, Green, Blue), which are used to display colors on your screen.


2. Use a minimum resolution of 150 dpi at 100% size for image files.


3. Specify trim area with crop marks. (Don't place crop marks inside the work area.)


4. Artwork should have 1/8" (0.125") bleed extending past the trim line. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge.


5. Safe Area is the 1/4" (0.25") area inside the trim line. Do not put critical information or images within the Safe Area. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge.


6. If you want printed borders, they must be placed a minimum of 1/8" (0.125") inside the trim line and include bleed. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge.

File Orientation

Please click the link below for an explanation of file orientation.

Note:If a job is placed as 4/4 and only one file is uploaded, prepress will automatically use the file for both sides of Large Format rigid products unless the artwork depicts an arrow. If only one file is uploaded for a 4/4 order and the artwork depicts an arrow, prepress will reject the job and request new files. This is to ensure your print does not have arrows facing opposite directions on either side of the final printed piece.

View File Orientation

Bleed and Safe Area

We require that you extend any images that run up to the trim line a minimum of 1/8" (0.125") past the trim line to create "bleed". Depending on what program you use to create your file, this may or may not change the total image area of your file. Programs like Photoshop that do not allow the creation of "bleed" or the addition of crop marks will require an image area that is 1/4" (0.25") larger than your desired final overall image area in both dimensions.

Safe Area is the 1/8" (0.125") area inside the trim line. Do not put critical information or images within the Safe Area. This is to prevent minor cutting variations from leaving unintended results at the trim edge. If you choose to make less than this minimum clearance, we will NOT be responsible for items that are cut off in this area.

Proofs and File Check

Signage offers two proof options:

1. Online PDF Proof: You will be sent a link to view your proof via email. Please keep in mind that this is only a proof for content and positioning; the color on your screen may vary from the color of your final product, depending on your monitor and viewing conditions.


2. No Proof, Run As-Is: This option is for the industry professional who is certain their project is ready to hit the press and does not require the additional security of a proof.

File Check:

If our prepress department sees anything questionable with your file, we will contact you via email with our concerns. Should prepress email you, please note that your job is not considered fully submitted until you respond to this email. This should be factored into your turnaround time.File check does not apply to No Proof, Run As-Is. No Proof, Run As-Is jobs print from the exact file(s) you upload unless it is not possible to print because your supplied file does not match the specifications ordered.

How to check your Online PDF:
The black crop marks indicate the final trim size. The Red line ( Dashed ) indicates the (Score) The Green line ( Dashed ) indicates the (Perf). The Red Line (Solid) indicates the ( Cut or Trim ) line. The verbiage on the file, this will indicate the page position after folding.

Please Note: The charge for our technical team to review your file when first submitted is included in the price of your order. If they note technical concerns with your file, they may email you with their concerns so you can upload a corrected file. If subsequent uploads still contain errors, you may be charged an additional prepress fee to review your file again.