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A Printing Digital company.

Help & FAQ

We are here to help You. If you can't find the answer you are looking for, contact one of our expert team today. Call or chat live.

General

What is a tag?

A tag is a line of type which we discreetly add to your final artwork on the edge of the printed piece. It reads, in 5 point type, “Printing Mesa“. Tagging your orders is the only reason we have been able to maintain such incredibly low prices in today’s environment. Actual dimensions are .625 inches x .0625 inches.

Can I place an order over the phone?

We only accept online orders. If you are having trouble placing an order feel free to give us a call and one of our representatives will walk you through the process.

What are your hours?

Our operating hours are Monday through Friday from 10am til 6pm. If you need to get in touch with someone after business hours please fill out our contact form and we will be sure to get back to you the next business day.

Where are your locations?

We offer two convenient locations, both easily accessible by subway or car. Our Manhattan location is located in the SOHO neighborhood of Manhattan. Our Brooklyn location is located in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. We plan to expand our locations so always keep an eye out for a location coming nearest to you.

Brooklyn
862 McDonald Avenue,
Brooklyn, NY 11218, USA
P: 718-552-2112

Manhattan
154 Grand Street,
Mesa, AZ 10013, USA
P: 212-945-8711

Do you guarantee color?

At Printing Mesa our goal is to give our customers exceptional printing at wholesale pricing. Gang printing is a way to print multiple jobs on a sheet so that we can split the costs between jobs. The one drawback to gang printing is that color is controlled over the entire sheet and not via individual jobs. Often what you see on screen will vary from your printed piece. We go by industry standards for color and allow for accuracy in color from 95%-100%. When placing an order with us you agree to this limitation.

We accept no responsibility for changes in color from your submitted files to your printed piece. We will not reprint orders due to color shifts.

What options are availalable for product design?

There are three options for designing and customizing a product. Click a product on the left-hand panel and choose one of the options.

1. Custom Design: lets you customize the products. Click it to open the design studio and use multiple tools to create your own design.

2. Upload Design: using this option, you can upload your own JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, EPS, AI, PDF and PSD images.

3. Browse Design: use this to select hundreds of pre-loaded templates. Work on them or customize them through our design studio.

What is paper stock and card stock?

The type of paper used for difference purposes is expressed in weight. In the countries following the European system, it is grams per square meter (gsm or g/m2 or simply g) and in the US system it is Pound (lb).

The paper used for writing/printing (letterheads and such stationery) is generally between 60 to 120 gsm (20 to 70 lb) and is called the paper or text stock. Anything heavier than this is considered the card stock, i.e. the paper used for business cards, postcards, greeting cards, etc.

Ordering

I dont see the product I'm looking for on your site.

Generally the products on our site are our most popular products. We do however print custom orders. From special folding, to die-cuts, 5th & 6th colors, PMS colors and more, we’ve got a strategy for you. Simply fill out our custom quote form and someone from our team will get back to you shortly. Please allow up to 72hrs for custom quotes.

Can I cancel my order?

We strive to process all orders as soon as we receive them to guarantee that your prints are expedited quickly. Once orders have been placed and files have been uploaded, your order has already gone in to preflight and quickly on to plating. Once its reached this point orders cannot be changed or cancelled. All sales are final. We can only cancel orders if files have not been uploaded. Be sure to speak with a Printing Mesa representative when cancelling or changing orders. We do not accept emails for changing or cancelling orders.

When will I receive an invoice?

Once your order has been submitted you will receive an invoice via email. You can also log onto your account and look up old orders/invoices.

Can I split an order for 2 designs?

If you have 2 postcards and want 500 of each you will need to place two separate orders. You cannot combine them to make up an order of 1000. Each job takes up a separate part of our printing plates so you cannot substitute part of your order.

What is the lowest quantity you print?

Because we offer both digital and offset printing we can print as little as 25 pieces for some products.

What color formats are supported by your site?

Our system supports RGB (red, green, blue) for producing digital prints. We have accurately mapped color pallet to match RGB to CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, key) to ensure proper 4-color printing.

What is the resolution of the output file?

300 dpi (dots per inch) is the resolution of the output PDF file.

What printing method do you use?

We use offset printing, which provides the highest quality of print material for both text and images. We also have incorporated digital printing into our workflow which allows for fast same-day and next day turnarounds for your print orders.

Pricing

I dont see the size I'm looking for on your site.

Generally the sizes on our site are our most popular sizing. We do however print custom sizes. Simply fill out our custom quote form and someone from our team will get back to you shortly. Please allow up to 72hrs for custom quotes.

Are the prices listed on the site final? How do I know the total cost?

No, the price list indicates basic prices of products against the speculative quantities. The prices are calculated with regard to the most basic paper/card types, sizes and single side printing. As you know, the final printing cost depends on many parameters: paper/card weights or thickness (GSM/Pt), glossy or matte finish, 2 or 4 colors, square or rounded corners, single or double side printing, quantity, destination shipping charges and the mode of transport. Please use the indicative prices for calculating the basic cost. Once you place the order using the above parameters, you will see the total amount reflected in the My Cart section of our site.

File Preparation

How do I prepare my spot UV files?

Spot UV is a great way to make certain areas of you design really pop. You will need to create your spot UV file(s). For each side that has spot UV you will create another layer in your artwork and whichever areas you want to be glossy you will make those areas solid black (c 0, m 0, y 0, k 100). You can then export that layer by itself and save as a pdf.

What is bleed?

About 1/8” on all sides will be trimmed off. Everything that extends past the original canvas size is considered a bleed. Make sure you do not have any important content in this area. Adjust your canvas size to compensate for this; allow another 1/8”. (See Size)

Although our cutting staff is extremely precise, we can not guarantee any print job cuts with out the added bleed. There are no exceptions. Also, please keep your text at least 1/4″ away from the edge of the piece unless it is an eighth page or smaller. This way your text is in a “safe” area. If you have any questions regarding this policy you may call us, or use our design templates located on our website.

What resolution should my files be?

Offset & Digital: 300dpi
We only print high resolution files so we require all submitted files to be 300dpi (Dots Per Inch). If you design a job at 72dpi or lower we cannot use the file. Our prepress will resize it to 300dpi therefore “stretching” the image out and appears blurry.

Wide Format: 150dpi
For wide format prints we require a resolution of 150dpi at 100%. That means if you are printing a banner that is 2’x6′, your file should be 24″x72″ at 150dpi.

What is CMYK?

CMYK stands for: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black. They are the four process colors that represent the standard color mode for offset printing. Be sure when creating your print files to check that your color mode is set to CMYK. RGB is usually a default in raster based programs like photoshop. When working in RGB your colors will appear more vibrant. When converting a document from RGB to CMYK you may notice some shifting in color. Color shifts are usually not visible in color photographs; however, rich and solid colors (like a background) can be affected by a color conversion. Most of the time, color shifts are minor and may not be noticeable.

Title

fix my file?”]

At Printing Mesa we strive to give our customers the lowest pricing possible. After you place an order someone from our quality control department will contact you if your files are not sized properly for the product you have chosen. One of our designers can fix some file issues for a charge of $75 per file. You can also download one of our templates to resize your file at no cost.

What file formats can I submit?

TIF, JPG, PDF, EPS
We’ve learned that by streamlining the prepress process we are able to pass significant savings onto our customers. Our prepress guidelines also let us bypass common pitfalls associated with preparing digital artwork for print such as embedding fonts, and unlinked images. With quality in mind, we request that all files sent for print be in industry standard formats. We request formats that aren’t dependent on the application, fonts or other separate design elements used to create the piece. We accept the following file formats:

We can accept Quark, Pagemaker, Corel Draw, or any similar files by converted them to industry standard graphic formats such as TIF, JPG, or PDF.

What is trim & safety?

Trim
When we print your files we print at a slightly larger size so that when we cut the prints off of a sheet there will not be any white borders. By doing so your background/images will bleed out to the edge.

Safety
When your prints are trimmed down there is a margin of error we call the safety. By keeping all important information from getting cut off we require a 1/4″ of safety. That’s 1/8″ on the top, bottom, left & right. If you have any questions on measurements, be sure to download the template for the specific product you are designing to ensure that you have the proper trim & safety.

Printing

What is Gang Printing?

At Printing Mesa our goal is to give our customers exceptional printing at wholesale pricing. Gang printing is a way to print multiple jobs on a larger sheet so that we can split the costs between jobs. The one drawback to gang printing is that color is controlled over the entire sheet and not via individual jobs. Often what you see on screen will vary from your printed piece. We go by industry standards for color and allow for accuracy in color from 95%-100%. When placing an order with us you agree to this limitation.

We accept no responsibility for changes in color from your submitted files to your printed pice. We will not reprint orders due to color shifts.

What is coated vs uncoated paper?

Coated papers are available in two finishes – glossy or UV (shiny and smooth) and matte (flat and lusterless). Coated glossy papers reflect the light evenly so they are suitable for almost all types of printing jobs. Glossy papers have a good ink holdout, which is important for creating sharp, bright images. Uncoated stock is fibrous and dull. Uncoated stock is perfect for stationary or postcards. The finish allows for easy ink transfer when writing with a pen or pencil.

Shipping

Can I change my shipping after my order is placed?

When placing an order be sure to plan out your time schedule for production and delivery. After your order is placed our shipping department has begun planning out your order with our shipping partner. Shipping changes take time and are costly. If you need to change any part of your shipping order (turnaround, destination address, etc.) after your order has already been placed, there will be a $50 charge. Please note that we CANNOT ship to a PO Box.

Who do you ship with?

We use UPS and Fedex for shipping out your orders. Please note that both carriers will not ship to a P.O. box. If you have any questions regarding shipping please feel free to contact us.

Can I split up my order?

Example: If you have an order of 5000 postcards that needs to be split up to 2500 for two different locations there will be a fee of $30. Orders of 1,000 or less cannot be broken up. If you have any questions regarding shipping please feel free to contact us.

How do I track my order?

Once your order has shipped we will send you a confirmation email and you can also login to the My Account page and find your tracking info there as well.