Metal Die Design Specifications

Metal die designs for metallic foil imprints must be received in a specific format.  These magnesium dies are manufactured by a third party that we work with.  The cost of the die does not cover the complete cost for tooling of the metal stamp – Graduation Ink subsidizes a portion of this cost.

What types of artwork can be used?

• First and foremost, the artwork must be black and white – it cannot have shades of gray.  Because the imprint will be silver or gold, we can not have multiple colors on the artwork.
• The black portion of the artwork will be the stamped portion on the final product.

What size is recommended?

• We recommend at least 300 dpi (dot per inch) artwork, which is print quality.  Anything lower will produce a grainy appearance if we have to resize the image.
• The largest area that can be stamped on diploma covers is 4″ high x 4 1/2″ wide.

Final details

• The best quality images are vector artwork – which is scalable and does not have pixels in it like a typical photograph would.  Save this as a .pdf file.
• We can use .ai.eps.jpg, tif or .psd files also.
• The artwork must be sent as an email attachment or as an upload to our website.  Embedded images in Word documents or within the body of the email will strip out the high quality.

If your image does not fall within the specifications above, we may be able to have our graphic arts team work with you to get a design that will work.  There may be extra charges for this service.

Feel free to chat or contact us here with questions.