Instant Quote: Navigate to the product of your choice on the left side of the screen. Then start filling out the various options. At the end, the calculator on each product page breaks down your estimate with a base price for printing. It includes paper, colors, Lamination, quantity and rush charges if you selected those options.
Follow the steps identified on each product page to obtain an estimate and place an order.
Generally, each order requires the following steps:
Step 1: Click on Products & Services or Instant Pricing. If you are a new user, create your own free account and user profile in order to benefit from our Instant Pricing and Online Printing services. If you are already a member, sign in and proceed to the Instant Pricing section.
Step 2: Choose between offset and digital printing, select your product and the specs, specify the production turnaround time and get an instant pricing for most of the products such as Tags, Door Hanger, Flyers, Posters, Leaflets, Newsletters, Brochure, CD/DVD Folders or Sleeves, Standard Folders, Postcards, Greeting Cards, and Stickers & Labels (CDs & DVDs).
Step 3: Email or Upload the files to the site. For best results use 300 dpi or better image converted to CMYK. If your file bleeds, please extend the images 5 mm beyond crop marks.
Step 4: Confirm your order and proceed to payment or add it to your shopping cart.
Step 5: Check out by providing payment and delivery information.
We will review your order and send you a proof by email or by courier. After you approve the proof we will process your order.
Send your - less than 10 MB - files to U@UPrint.net. For files over 10 MB please upload while ordering online by following the below steps:
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Zip (compress) your files.
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Upload the files.
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Give the file a name we can identify with you.
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When naming the file, only use letters, numbers or an underscore.
If you have any questions, please call: +971 4 4358090 or email us: U@UPrint.net
Custom Quote: Navigate to the tab on the left side of the screen. Follow the instructions to obtain a custom quote. We also handle a wide range of products and services not shown on the website. Please use the "Custom Quote" tab on the left side to request items you don't see in the instant pricing section.
Once we have received your order (through instant or custom quote methods (after you approve the cost and pay) or by choosing a product or service from our promotions), we will proceed as follows:
- We will preflight files and prepare a proof. If there are problems with the file, we will contact you immediately.
- We will send you a proof for review and approval. You can either OK the proof as is or indicate that changes are needed (Charges may apply). See the proofs section for more detailed information.
- After we have received the final proof with your signature, we will print and deliver your job. For information about cancellations, click here.
- Problems that may lead to poor printing are detected at the initial stage and rectified. "We carefully check each customer's files. Our job is to make sure.
Tech Process: (you may check the Tech Tips & Key Terms page/FAQ page by clicking on it on the left of your screen to choose frequently asked questions and find out its answers)
Here are some guidelines for preparing your files for printing.
File Types (Software): The easiest and most efficient way is to send us a high resolution PDF File however open files with software for us to work with is Quark Express, InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Files prepared with these software types will never cost you anything additional if you have prepared your files correctly.
Other software we receive and use for jobs regularly are Publisher, Corel, Word and many others. These programs can have additional charges to make them "print ready". We won't know until we get your files and pre-flight them.
Files which require our time to make them "print ready" are charged at Dhs 150 per hour. We would not proceed with changes to your files without your knowledge and approval.
Final File Preparation Tip: Regardless of the method used for sending us your files, be sure to include documentation that includes:
- Your name, company, address and phone number,
- The job name,
- Thr job number (if any),
- Individual file names,
- The application name and version used to create the files,
- The final page count,
- The number and names for any Pantones or spot colors, and
- The finished page size.
Software Tips: We have put together a list of support sites for the most frequently used software products as well as other reference sources to help you understand the printing process and how to prepare your files.
Software Support: Each of these sites offers tips, tutorials or other information to help you use their software effectively.
Adobe Products
Microsoft Products:
Other Design/Publishing Software:
File Compression Software:
For PCs
For Macintosh
PDFs
Online Reference Information: To help you with other aspects of design and printing, we have assembled a list of sites that offer helpful information explaining important design and printing terms and processes.
- About.com offers a comprehensive section covering a wide range of topics associated with desktop publishing, printing, prepress and file preparation, some software packages and more.
Topics include:
- Prepress
- Preflight checks
- Proofs
- PDFs
- Papers
- Color
- Folding
- About.com also offers tutorials for the following software:
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe PageMaker
- CorelDraw
- Microsoft Publisher
- Microsoft Word
- QuarkXPress
For articles about a variety of commercial printing subjects, such as paper, prepress, proofing and file preparation,
click here.
File Compression Tips: If you are uploading or e-mailing files larger than 10 MB, you should compress your files prior to transfer. Take all the files for your job and place them in one folder. Then compress the folder as a .zip file using Winzip or PK Zip if it is a Windows platform file. Use Stuffit for the Macintosh platform and BinHex encode the file so that your folder will retain its resource fork and arrive with its icons intact. If your files are extremely large, you may want to compress them into several archives. This will make it easier to upload the files.
- Save JPEGs at the highest quality compression level.
- When saving TIFFs, do not turn on LZW compression if it is available.
- When saving files as EPS, make sure that preview is set to Macintosh or TIFF, 8-bits/pixel and Encoding is set to Binary.
Image Resolution: Here are some guidelines for preparing your files for printing.
- Images should be 300 dpi (dots per inch) at the final size in the layout.
- Text should be 400 dpi at the final size in the layout.
- Use TIFF or EPS file formats to achieve the best color quality and sharpness of image. Other file formats tend to remove some of the original images. Images originally taken from a digital camera usually appear in JPEG format and need to be converted to a TIFF or EPS format. If your image is a photograph, we recommend an EPS file format.
- Try to avoid using images from the Internet or websites. These usually appear in GIF, JPEG or PNG file formats at a low dpi. Color and resolution are removed from these images to allow for rapid transfer. These images would appear fuzzy and dull if used for print.
- Make sure all photos are set in the proper mode (CMYK).
- Make sure your files are linked, not embedded, and that you send all your layout, image and font files (both screen and printer fonts) to us.
Ink -- Four Color Process: Four-color process is a system where a color image is divided into four color values that are transferred to printing plates and printed sequentially on a printing press. The four colors are cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (K). Using these four colors at different values the press recreates the original image with inks.
CMYK vs. RGB
No, we're not speaking in acronyms! Most computers give you the option of creating files in one of two color spaces: CMYK or RGB. CMYK stands for the four colors used for four-color process printing (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). RGB is the color space typically used on computer monitors and stands for red (R), green (G) and blue (B). RGB are the primary colors of light. Because CMYK is expressly designed for the four-color printing process, we recommend you create your documents in this color space rather than RGB.
If you send us an RGB file, we can convert it to CMYK. However, this standard value conversion may not yield the result you are looking for. RGB looks good on a computer monitor but tends not to produce the same results when printing. CMYK is a better approximation of how colors will look in print.
Please note that while we print every project in keeping with "pleasing color" standards, we make no guarantee that the color you see on your computer monitor or your color printer will approximate your finished piece printed via the CMYK process. Wide variation in color spaces, technologies and calibrations of different monitors and printers may preclude an exact match. If color accuracy is important to your project, we recommend reviewing a high quality color proof.
Converting RGB Files to CMYK:There are colors you may see in RGB that cannot be made with CMYK. They are considered by the translator as "out of the CMYK color gamut" and the translator comes as close as possible to matching the original. While this may be less noticeable in an image, it is more noticeable for colors used in type or solid color areas. Therefore, we recommend you select colors for fonts or other design elements in the layout using CMYK definitions. This will give you a better idea of how your printed pieces will look.
Following is a list of several common design and publishing programs with instructions on how to make sure you are working in the CMYK color space. If you need additional help with CMYK, please feel free to call us at +971 4 43458090
How to send your files to UPrint.net:
If your files are 10 MB or less you may email them to
U@UPrint.net For files over 10 MB, upload to our site using the upload method when you place your order.
-Please zip or stuff your files
-If you choose the rush option please email or call to notify us you have uploaded the files.
-It would be helpful to give the file a name we can identify with you.
-When naming the file, only use letters, numbers or an underscore.
If you have any questions, Call +971 4 4358090
or mail us at U@UPrint.net
Paper Options: The paper you use is a critical factor in the appearance of your printed projects. For most of our products, UPrint.net has limited paper options to those most popular for the usage. However, for most products, we still offer a choice between a numbers of paper options. The information below is included to help you understand your alternatives.
About Papers: There are three factors that affect key differences between papers: finish, weight and opacity.
Finishing: Finishing refers to the texture, feel and appearance of a paper. Paper finishes are delineated as follows:
- Coated. A paper with a waxy finish (shiny or matte) on both sides.
- Uncoated. A paper with an untreated surface that is dull and unreflective.
- Coated One Side. A cover stock that is shiny on one side and dull on the reverse side.
- Wove. A smooth uncoated surface.
- Laid. A paper that is manufactured with textured lines on its surface. This finish is used mostly for business stationery elements, like letterhead, envelopes and business cards.
- Linen. Similar to a laid finish, this paper has textured lines on the surface of the sheet, but they are finer and more regular than those that appear on a laid finish stock. This paper is also used frequently for business stationery.
Weight: The weight of a paper refers to its thickness and is measured in grams. The higher the number, the thicker the paper is.
Lightweight papers are often used for publication interiors, sell sheets and letterheads. Below is a brief description of some of the most common text weights, from lightest to heaviest:
- 80 gsm, 90 gsm, 100 gsm, 115 gsm, 135 gsm, 150 gsm, 170 gsm, and 200 gsm, 250 gsm, 300 gsm, 350 gsm.
Bond or Writing: Bond or writing papers are used for letterhead and must be able to run through office copy machines and laser printers. The most commonly recognized bond or writing stocks are:
- 70 gsm or 80 gsm - A standard weight paper.
- 100 gsm - The preferred weight for most business papers like letterheads.
- 120 gsm - Heavier paper less frequently used because its thickness can pose problems feeding through laser printers. However, the durability of this stock makes its ideal for outer envelopes.
Cover: Cover stocks are heavy in weight, rigid and not easily folded. These papers are generally used for publication covers, business cards and postcards. They can have coated or uncoated finishes. Common weights for cover stocks include:
- 170 gsm - A lightweight, uncoated cover stock. Not suitable for Lamination.
- 200 gsm - The next weight heavier than 170 gsm.
- 250 gsm - Mid-weight cover paper. Heavier than 200 gsm, but still considered a Mid-weight cover paper.
- 300 gsm - Sturdy cover paper considered a heavyweight.
- 350 gsm - Sturdy cover paper considered a heavyweight especially for folders.
- 400 gsm - A heavyweight coated cover alternative. (Not always available in stock)
Generally, glossy papers are used for brochures, product sheets, catalogs, posters, postcards and four-color booklets and magazines. Uncoated stock is best for letterhead, envelopes, business cards, newsletters and any document that needs to be fed through a laser printer.
Paper Descriptions: Following are the papers specifically offered for the standard printing products available from UPrint.net. A standard commercial grade paper stock often used for envelopes.
- 100 gsm and 115 gsm art gloss coated paper
Standard glossy paper stock with a shiny finish that provides an excellent opaque base for rich process color printing. The most popular stocks for brochures, product sheets, flyers, posters, etc.
- 100 gsm and 115 gsm art matte coated paper
Finely coated, non-gloss finished paper with excellent opaque base for easy to read, crisp typography. This paper is often used for brochures, newsletters, book pages, flyers, etc.
- 300 gsm and 350 gsm art gloss coated paper
Eye-catching, heavier paper stock used for Greeting cards, Folders, and business card and covers. A basic white, coated cover stock sturdy enough to stand up to the wear and tear of postcards & Greeting cards and covers.
- 100 & 120, 160 and 300 gsm uncoated wove
Wove is UAE’s most frequently specified 25% cotton business paper. Professionals choose cotton paper for is distinct feel and strength. Use 100, 120 & 160 gsm for letterhead and envelopes. 100 & 120 gsm are used for most letterhead, 120 gsm are used for envelopes, but 160 gsm is used for larger envelopes and greater durability. 300gsm is used for Greeting cards, Folders, and business card and covers.
- 100 & 120, 160 and 300 gsm uncoated laid
Another alternative for stationery elements, match your letterhead and envelopes with the cover stock for business cards.
- 100 & 120, 160 and 300 gsm uncoated Linen
Linen paper finish has a long-standing reputation for high quality reproduction and excellent printability. Its superior opacity and extremely bright white color makes inks appear to jump off the page.
Note: If you require a paper option not included on this list for your project, we can probably meet your needs. Please send us a Custom quote for the job by
clicking here.
Printing Tips:
- Creating a page that has a full bleed (ink all the way up to the edge of the sheet) requires that the page be printed on a larger size of paper. To set up your file to accommodate a bleed, be sure to extend the bleed area 5 mm beyond all four edges of the page. This will allow plenty of room for trimming and eliminate any of the paper showing at the edge. Please refer to each product estimate page to determine if bleeds are allowed on the type of project you are printing.
- On products where bleeds are not allowed, make sure to leave an area around all four sides where there is no copy within a 12 mm of the edges.
- If your document requires perforations or folds, please indicate them in the bleed area of your artwork with a small tick mark.
- Be sure to include both screen and printer fonts among the files you send us, including any fonts used in linked graphics.
- Be careful when using colored text. Minute misalignment on the press can cause CMYK inks to not align perfectly in small text (10 point or smaller) or in white text on a colored or black background (drop-out copy). This misalignment can make small text look blurry. If you need to use small colored text, it is best to keep it one of the true CMYK colors; black is the preferred choice. Text larger than 10 points will print clear and sharp with any color you choose.
- If your design calls for screened text, especially for small text, avoid using light screens. Instead try to make screened values at least 60% and try to make at least one of the inks (preferably cyan or magenta) 100%.
- When using large areas of black coverage, please set up your files with these values: 60% cyan, 40% magenta, 40% yellow and 100% black. Small text and rules should be left at 100% black.
Printing Tips - Coating Options
Coating is often applied to glossy papers to protect the ink from fingerprints, smudging or scratches in areas with heavy ink coverage. Sometimes coatings are also used for aesthetic purposes when you want a super shiny surface to your inks.
UPrint.net offers two types of optional coatings on certain jobs when you use a glossy paper stock: aqueous coating and varnish.
Aqueous Coating: Like its name suggests, aqueous coating is water-based. Aqueous coating is more environmentally friendly than other coatings and is used for an overall coating.
Varnish: Varnish is essentially ink without pigment. It is applied as an ink color on the press.
UPrint.net chooses which coating to use on your project depending on the design, area of coverage, usage and press. All you need to do is indicate that you want to have coating added on your project by clicking on the Yes button in the Coating Options section of the product estimate page.
Coating Tips:
- Dried inks show fingerprints and scuffing, especially in dark solid areas.
- Use coatings to avoid fingerprinting, scuffing, smudging or cracking on glossy paper stock.
- Some coatings deepen the ink color they cover, yellow with age and/or may discolor white paper.
- You cannot glue or foil stamp over some coatings.
Folding Options: Folding your print materials at the printer can save you time and effort in the long run. UPrint.net offers a variety of folding options for brochures and newsletters. If you choose to have a job folded, the fees are built into the printing price.
Proofing Options: While we do our best to ensure that every project is done right, only you know your project well enough to make sure all the elements are in place. Different types of proofs are available and discussed below so you can choose the proof that fits your needs best. We urge you to take the proofing phase seriously and check every document carefully. Once you have signed off on a final proof, you are giving us authorization to proceed with printing. After you have given us the approval to proceed, we will not re-print your job for any error you did not notice.
Included in the price of all items is an electronic proof (unless otherwise noted). Electronic proofs are not intended to be accurate for color. In fact, we can safely say that the color won't match the printed piece you receive. If accurate colors are important to you, please read about the various hard copy proofs available. If you need further explanation, please contact our customer service department.
UPrint.net offers two electronic proofing options and three hard copy proof options to meet the needs of a wide range of projects. Each of these options is explained below.
Electronic Proofs: Electronic proofs are digital facsimiles of your project sent to you online. We offer two electronic proof options:
PDF: PDFs (Portable Document Format) are files created in Adobe Acrobat Distiller and readable with Adobe Acrobat Reader. PDFs are rapidly becoming the industry standard for file transfer and are our preferred format. Color fidelity of PDF files is affected by monitor calibration, lighting and use of Pantone® colors (Pantone® colors do not always appear as true on your screen). Therefore the color you see on screen may not appear as they do in print. However, PDFs provide a reasonable means for checking the accuracy of your files for print. If color accuracy is imperative for you project, you will want to select a hard copy proof. However, please be aware that there is an extra charge for a hard copy proof. Adobe Acrobat runs on both IBM and Macintosh platforms and can be downloaded for free from
JPEG: This digital format can be opened by any Internet browser. We'll send you the address where your JPEG proof resides on our website. Again, monitor calibration, lighting and use of Pantone® colors may affect color fidelity. If color accuracy is imperative for your project, you will want to select a hard copy proof. However, please be aware that there is an extra charge for a hard copy proof.
Hard Copy Proofs: There are a variety of technologies used for producing hard copy proofs at various levels of color accuracy. We have divided the technologies we use into three basic categories: low, medium and high.
Low: Generally, we use a low quality hard copy proof, it is useful when you need to make sure that pages or components of your design align properly. It is not usable for proofing colors. UPrint.net automatically includes a low quality hard copy proof for magazines, books and catalogs because it is presented in book format and shows you the page sequence and page layout for the project.
Medium: Generally, we use Epson proofs or an equivalent for this level of proofing. Epson proofs are more accurate for color than PDF or JPEG proofs, which are viewed on your monitor. These proofs are especially useful for CMYK images, such as photographs, but are less accurate for illustrations, solids and specific Pantone® colors. UPrint.net does not guarantee that Epson proofs will match press sheet color. We only recommend them as an approximation for how your final job will print. Epson proofs are an additional cost.
High: We use a number of different technologies for the high quality proofs, such as GMG (High Resolution), and Machine Proof. Machine proofs are created with the same film used to burn printing plates or by the CTP (Computer to Plate) system. As a result, they are a highly accurate method for proofing color. GMG (High Resolution) proofs MGM proofs are similar in quality to, except that they are not made from plates. All of these proofing techniques provide you with a high resolution product that can be used for determining color accuracy and are ideal for high-end four color projects. All proofs in this category are not included in our pricing, but are itemized separately in the Calculator if you choose this option.
Delivery of Proofs:
Electronic proofs (PDF or JPEG) are accessible to you online. They are viewed from a designated site on our server (we'll send you the URL when the proof is ready for review). Hard copy proofs will be sent to you via overnight delivery service. Mail us back your approved proofs as soon as possible so that we can begin printing. If you have corrections, you have two options: 1) you may make the corrections yourself and send us new files. We will charge you Dhs 100 to process the files. 2) We can make the changes for you. We charge Dhs 150/hour for all corrections with a Dhs 100 minimum. If you want to see another proof, we can prepare one for you. Production for your job will not begin until we receive written sign off on the proof.
Tips for Selecting Your Proofing Option:
- PDF and JPEG proofs accurately render document layout, but are not necessarily dependable for judging color accuracy. Monitor calibration, lighting and the use of Pantone® colors can affect the color fidelity of PDFs and JPEGs.
- Epson proofs offer a level of color fidelity consistent with "pleasing color" and are suitable for most color projects. Epson color accuracy and resolution are better than PDF and JPEG, but not as good as high quality proofs.
- GMG (High Resolution), Waterproofs and MGM proofs are the most accurate method for proofing color. You will only need one of these if color matching is critical to the success of your job.
- Proofs will not match a specialty Pantone® color when that Pantone® color falls outside of the CMYK gamut. This means that certain Pantone® colors will never be completely accurate when converted to CMYK. If you need to have your PMS colors matched accurately, the job will need to be printed with Pantone® spot colors, not CMYK. This is usually more expensive and requires a Custom quote.
What To Look For On A Proof:
Attention to detail is the key to successful proofing. This checklist will help you make sure your checking your proofs thoroughly.
- Is any type dirty or broken?
- Are photos positioned, cropped and scaled correctly?
- Are bleeds, perforations and folds indicated properly?
- Are text and graphics in the right places?
- Is the trim size correct?
- Are borders correct?
- Are elements appropriately aligned, especially at the tops and bottoms of sections or pages?
- Are there any typos? (Are phone numbers, spelling, names and addresses in detail are correct.)
- Is the pagination correct?
- Are colors correct?
- Are screen values correct?