GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING FILES FOR
PRINTING
At MB print we make every effort to provide you with a high quality product. As a company
specializing in low-volume printing, a significant part of the work on orders, for
technological reasons, is done manually. The way you prepare your files has therefore a
significant impact on what the game we make will look like. Below we present a few
guidelines on how to professionally prepare a file for printing.
1. CARDS
Cards for board games are made on chalk paper, matte paper with a weight of 350 g./m2.
We have been using this tested paper for years and in our opinion it is the best
compromise between keeping an affordable price and good quality low-volume printouts.
This paper ensures exemplary color saturation, expected gloss level and color
repeatability.
We print cards on both sides and round corners in the price of the print. Of course, you
can resign from the option of rounding the corners.
An additional option may be to finish the cards by foiling them, which consists in pressing a
thin layer of matt foil into the cards. Thanks to this, the cards gain greater rigidity,
resistance to moisture, abrasion and are thicker. Foiling of cards is not recommended for
very dark cards at edges.
You will receive cards in a random order. Only if you order multiples of the deck of cards,
the decks will be separated from each other, but in the deck itself the order of cards will be
random.
Preparing a file for card printing:
First, divide the cards by size - each card format should be prepared in a separate file.
The deck of cards should be prepared in one pdf file.
Prepare the cards as consecutive pages in the file alternately: card no 1 obverse, card no
1 reverse, card no 2 obverse, card no 2 reverse, card no 3 obverse, etc. For example, a
file of a deck consisting of 30 cards should have 60 pages.
If you intend to use cards horizontally and want both sides of the card to be oriented in the
same direction on the printout, you have to prepare the avers turned 180 degrees in
relation to the reverse side.
A sample pdf file for a deck of cards - here.
The size of the page in the pdf file should be 6 mm (printing bleed - 3 mm on each side of
the card). For example, a 63 mm x 88 mm card should have a page size of 69 mm x 94
mm in a pdf file (more about the printing bleed).
The template of the card deck for the most popular formats can be found below:
63 x 88 - a pdf file, xcf (Gimp)
If you want to print cards in several dimensions, prepare separate files for each card
dimension and place separate orders for each card dimension.
If there are several copies of the same card in the deck, place several copies of the card in
the file.
Place the "target" card dimension in the file name (e.g. Smith_cards_63x88.pdf) - this will
minimize the likelihood of possible mistakes.
Do not place a cutting line on the card - cards will be cut out centrally to the format
specified in the order. It is only allowed to place cutting marks.
We do not recommend using thin frames around the card due to possible shifting of the
obverse-reverses in the printing machine.
2. SMALL BOARDS
At MB print we make every effort to provide you with a high quality product. As a company
specializing in low-volume printing, a significant part of the work on orders, for
technological reasons, is done manually. The way you prepare your files has therefore a
significant impact on what the game we make will look like. Below we present a few
guidelines on how to professionally prepare a file for printing.
Small game boards are made using 1.5 mm thick cardboard covered with printed paper on
both sides. Additionally, the boards are foiled - a thin layer of matt foil is pressed into them.
Thanks to this, the sheets are more resistant to moisture, abrasion, stiffness and they are
thicker.
In most cases, we cut out the boards with a laser. Thanks to that we obtain perfect
repeatability of shape and perfectly rounded corners.
We print graphics on the boards on both sides of the board and round the corners in the
price of the print. Of course, you can resign from the option of rounding the corners.
Preparing a file for the printing of the boards:
First of all, divide the boards by size - each board format should be prepared in a separate
file.
Prepare the boards in a pdf file. If you want to print the boards in several dimensions,
prepare separate files for each dimension.
Place the boards as consecutive pages in the file alternately: obverse of board No. 1,
reverse of board No. 1, obverse of board No. 2, reverse of board No. 2, etc.
The size of a page in a pdf file should have the size of a board extended by 3 mm on each
side (printing bleed). For example, a 200 mm x 150 mm board should have pages in a pdf
file of 206 mm x 156 mm. (More about the printing bleed)
If you are ordering several copies of the same board, place several copies of the board in
a file.
In the name of the file, place the "target" size of the board (e.g. smith_board_200x150.pdf)
- this will minimize the likelihood of a possible mistake.
Do not place any cutting lines in the file - the boards will be cut out centrally to the format
specified in the order.
3. TOKENS
At MB print we make every effort to provide you with a high quality product. As a company
specializing in low-volume printing, a significant part of the work on orders, for
technological reasons, is done manually. The way you prepare your files has therefore a
significant impact on what the game we make will look like. Below we present a few
guidelines on how to professionally prepare a file for printing.
Tokens and other small cardboard elements are made using 1.5 mm thick cardboard
covered with printed paper sheets on both sides. Additionally, these elements are foiled,
i.e. covered with a thin layer of matt foil. Thanks to this, these elements gain greater
resistance to moisture, abrasion, stiffness and are thicker. In addition, graphics on
cardboard elements are not rubbed off even during long and intensive use.
Cardboard elements are cut out with a laser, thanks to which there are no limitations on
the shape of the tokens.
Prepare cutting lines in vector form, so use programs such as: Corel Draw ( commercial,
demo 14 days available), Adobe Illustrator (commercial), Inkspace (free).
To prepare sheets with chips use the templates below
You can send us a working file from Corel Draw. If only minor corrections are needed, we
can make them ourselves. In this case remember to save the file in version 19 (2017) or
older. If you are using another program, send us 2 files, which are described below.
How to prepare a large sheet:
1. Apply a cutting line.
Design the layout of the tokens on the sample sheet.
An example of what this looks like for a large sheet:
Szablon duży A3, plik Corel - LINK
Szablon mały A4, plik Corel - LINK
Place the token shapes on the chosen template. Place the cut lines in the " Cutting LINE"
layer. Do not remove any marks on the sample sheet in the white field.
Remember to keep a minimum distance of 4 mm between each element.
After you have placed all the tokens, "group" them into one object and center them on the
sheet ("P key" shortcut). Now copy the whole group of tokens to the other side (to the
Cutting Layer) and then mirror it horizontally.
Export the first page to a file with the .dxf extension.
2. Front side of the sheet with the token graphics.
On the sheet you have created, as in point 1, place your images and graphics. Use a
separate layer of "Graphics" for this.
Remember that each element to be cut out must have a 2 mm printing bleed and a safe
area inside the cut out element.
For example:
The black line is our cutting line. It is the intended edge of the token. It shows what shape
and size the token will have. The graphic area outside this line is the printing bleed area.
Remember not to add a white frame as a "bleed" of the design. The bleed must be part of
the design. If the entire bleed area is white, an unsightly white strip at the edges may
appear on the printout. The white bleed is only correct if the token background is
completely white. Furthermore, you should not place important items close to the cutting
line as everything near the cutting line can be cut off during production. Extend the
edge/background color to the outer edge of the slope. You can read more about the
printing bleed HERE.
After placing all graphics "HIDE" and "OFF PRINTING AND EXPORTING" graphics of the
"CUTTING LINE" layer. For our example, it looks like this:
3. The reverse side of the sheet with the token graphics
After going to the other side, insert graphics of the reverse of your tokens. Remember that
the graphics of the first side lying on the left corresponds to the graphics of the second
side lying on the right.
If you need one-sided elements - leave the "reverse" side clean or fill it with the chosen
color. We will apply this color to the reverse of the tokens.
After placing all the "HIDE" and "OFF PRINTING AND EXPORTING" graphics of the
"CUTTING LAYER" layer and export the file with the token graphics to a pdf file.
For our example, it looks like this:
How to prepare a small sheet:
The small sheet differs from the big one in that the front and back sides are side by side,
on one screen.
The other rules for preparing the sheet with the tokens remain the same as for the big
sheet.
Below are sample screens from the program.
To easily get a mirror image in the right place, follow these steps:
1. Arrange the cut lines for page 1;
2. Mark all elements of the cut line AND the vertical line on a grey background
between the pages;
3. copy the selected elements (Ctrl + C);
4. paste the copied elements (CTRL + V);
5. Mirror vertical of the selected elements.
For better understanding, the files used as an example above are listed in the table:
FINALLY, REMEMBER THAT:
These elements are cut out by laser, and such cutting technology is associated with
several things. First, the edges may have a small amount of soot. One of the sides may
have dirt from the soot. To get rid of it, wipe the surface and the edges with a slightly damp
cloth. The tokens are covered with a layer of lamination foil, which protects against water.
After wiping the edges, leave them to dry. Secondly, after opening the package you can
smell the smoke. This is natural, because the elements are laser fired. This smell
disappears by itself after about a week from opening. Wiping the edges also helps, as
mentioned above.
4. BOXES
1. cardboard boxes
Small and standard boxes (up to the dimensions
of 30 x 30 x 7 cm) - please prepare the design
following the publicly available templates (e.g.:
http://legacy.pandagm.com/template-generator/).
Please send us three files:
● file grid used to design graphics
● graphic file with a grid of the punching die
● graphic file without a grid.
The entire area inside the blue area (Bleed) should be filled with graphics.
Large boxes, with dimensions above the standard board game box (30 x 30 x 7 cm) -
please send pdf files of each side of the box separately. In the name of the file, please put
the markings of which side the file refers to (bottom, top, bottom-right, bottom-left,
bottom-up, bottom-down, top-right, top-left, top-up, top-down). All files with graphics on
each side should be prepared with a minimum printing bleed of 18 mm on each side of the
graphics (More about printing bleed).
2. Paper box "for cards"
For small card games, paper boxes (cardboard boxes),
such as those on the right, are most often used.
These boxes are made of paperboard additionally
covered with glossy or matt foil.
Example of a large sheet - LINK
Example of a small sheet - LINK
Due to the necessity of making a dedicated die-cut for each box, we produce such boxes
from a run of 100 copies.
If you are interested in this type of box, please contact us by e-mail. We will send you a
grid of die-cut that matches the dimensions of the card deck. On this grid you can design
graphics for the box that we can make.
5. FOLDING BOARDS
Board game boards are made on 1.5 mm thick cardboard. The surface of the board
veneer is printed and additionally laminated with a layer of matt foil. This procedure is
performed to strengthen the board and improve the visual effect. The back side of the
board is covered with a bookbinding veneer typical for boards in board games.
The boards are made in 3 versions:
● 2-part folding board (1 fold) - maximum size 31 x 67 cm;
● board folded into 4 parts (2 folds) - maximum size 62 x 67 cm;
● board folded into 6 parts (3 folds) - maximum size 62 x 93 cm.
Prepare the file with the ordered board as a graphic file of the whole board, without
dividing it into individual parts. Recommended resolution 300 DPI.
Keep 1.5 cm of printing bleed around the board and about 0.5 cm of safe area inside the
cutting lines.
Before sending the pdf files to us, they should be flattened and the fonts should be
converted into curves.
Remember to make sure that the board will fit into the box. The size of the folded board
should be at least 1.5 cm smaller than the size of the box.
It is also possible to order the board on a latex board mat instead of cardboard - there is
no limit to the size of the board. Such a board is rolled up, not folded. Its main advantage
is its strength and much lower price than in case of cardboard boards.
6. INSTRUCTIONS
Instructions are made on 130g chalk paper, matt. On such paper most of the instructions
in board games are printed.
The instructions are printed in color, on a professional printing machine, then each sheet is
creased.
All sheets of instructions are stitched in the middle, where the paper is folded. Then the
entire instruction is cut to the format resulting from the size of the instruction in a pdf file.
The total number of pages in the instruction file creates the instruction after printing. The
front cover is the first page of the file. If the ordered instruction has 4 pages or less, the
instruction will be printed on a large sheet and will be folded in half without stapling. If the
ordered instruction does not have a number of pages corresponding to a multiplication of
4, the last page or pages will be unprinted (white sheets).
The maximum size of the instruction we can print is 220 x 310 mm when folding the
instruction along the long side. This makes it necessary to scale some larger instructions.
Frequently used square instructions of 280 x 280 mm are scaled to 220 x 220 mm.
Similarly, A4 instructions folded along the short side are also scaled to 220 x 310 mm.
The size of the instructions is determined from the uploaded pdf file. If you want the
instruction size to be different from the default one in the file, you must write to us about it.
We can scale it with appropriate proportions.
The instruction file must be a pdf file, each page in the file is another page of the
instruction. We do not print instructions from files that have two pages of instructions side
by side.
If you prepare the instruction from the beginning, remember to leave the printing bleeds.
Instruction files provided by publishers usually do not have printing bleeds, which makes it
necessary to enlarge them minimally. Therefore, it may happen that elements located near
the edges of the manual are cut.
