School Mate ®

Custom Cover Guidelines

No Bleed

Bleed

For a press-ready cover, all text and artwork must fit our margins.
See our Custom Cover Guidelines (PDF).

Planner Cover Design

• For a press-ready custom front or back cover, please follow specifications in our Custom Cover Guidelines (PDF) and follow our Artwork Guidelines. A press-ready digital cover should be submitted online.
• For a non-press-ready custom cover, submit artwork proportionate to
  7 ⅛" x 9 ⅞" for Kindergarten, Primary, Elementary, Middle School, Navigator, and Classic Student Planners; 4 ⅜" x 7 ⅝" for High School and Scholar Student Planners; and 5 ¾" x 8" for Custom Dated Agendas. We will reduce or enlarge artwork as needed. See Artwork Guidelines.
• Indicate color(s) for the artwork, photos, and wording. Full-color or black-and-white photos will be printed in the chosen ink color(s) unless a full-color design is ordered.
• If type needs to be set, indicate wording and its placement.
• Design fees may apply for complex material that needs to be re-created.
• Do NOT fax artwork or press-ready material.

Handbook Pages

Submit Your Handbook Pages Press-Ready:

Pages must be typed the way you want them to print. We will NOT proofread, edit, or make alterations. Pages must be ready to print. Contact us if you need help. Corrections or replacements will cause delays. All pages are printed in black ink.

Do NOT Submit:

• Pages with colored type or paper, printed on a dot matrix or color printer, or printed on both sides of a sheet of paper.
• Pages in the wrong size (e.g., High School or Scholar pages on the larger template). If we reduce the pages to fit, we will not be responsible for hard-to-read type or undesirable results.
• Pages with incorrect dates or corrections.
• Artwork or text with staples, tape, glue, rips, or smudges on it.
• Artwork and photos from the "NOT Acceptable" list.

Artwork Guidelines - Cover & Handbook Pages

Acceptable:

• Artwork (mascots, maps, charts, calendars, etc.) MUST be line drawings in black ink on white paper. Substitute gray screens or color in artwork with outlines or solids. Scan at 600 ppi and save as a TIFF file.
• Clear, sharp artwork and original photos. Printing of photos on handbook pages will be good, but not high quality (similar to newspaper printing).
• Digital photos scanned or saved at 150 – 300 ppi minimum (cannot resave 72 ppi photos to 300 ppi) and saved as a TIFF, EPS, or JPG file. See Digital Image Specifications (PDF).
• Artwork sent flat and protected by heavy cardboard.
• Artwork as close to desired size as possible.
• For press-ready pages, mascots, photos, and artwork should be included on the pages.
• If uploading a digital file: Upload Material.
• If mailing a hard copy: Furnish content printed in black ink on white paper, printed only on one side. Do NOT fax pages.

Note: design fees may apply to complex material (maps, calendars, charts) that must be recreated.