How to Prepare Artwork for a Custom UV-Printed Mini Billboard

Preparing artwork for the CHROMATICA Custom UV Printed Mini Billboard is less about complicated prepress work and more about delivering one clean, finished file. The printable area is up to 19 × 10 cm, the required format is a transparent PNG, and the minimum resolution is 150 dpi—approximately 1122 × 591 pixels.

The key decision is how your artwork should interact with the billboard itself. Any visible pixels in the PNG form the printed design. Transparent areas remain unprinted, allowing the selected Grey, Copper, White or Black base color to remain visible. That makes transparency part of the composition rather than simply a file-export setting.

This guide explains how to build the canvas, check image quality, preserve intentional transparency and submit a print-ready file without delaying production.

What You Need Before Preparing the Artwork

Start with the finished artwork you want reproduced. This could be a graffiti piece, illustration, crew design, lettering composition, logo you are authorized to use or another completed urban artwork. It should already be designed and approved before submission.

You will need:

• A finished source artwork at sufficient resolution
• An image editor that can create and export transparent PNG files
• A landscape canvas with a 19:10 aspect ratio
• A clear idea of which billboard base color you want
• The rights and permissions required to reproduce the artwork
• Your order number when the final file is ready to send

The Custom Mini Billboard is a print product, not an artwork-development service. CHROMATICA does not create graffiti names, lettering or logos for an order, and submitted files are not cropped, retouched, vectorized, redesigned or given background-removal treatment. Prepare the file as you want it printed.

If your source is a photograph of physical artwork, a screenshot, a small social-media image or a rough sketch, do not assume that exporting it as a PNG will make it print-ready. File format and image quality are separate issues. A PNG can still contain blurred, compressed or low-resolution artwork.

It is also worth checking current ordering and shipping information before investing time in a final file. At present, orders with a delivery address in the United States cannot be accepted.

Set Up a 19 × 10 cm Canvas

Create a new landscape document measuring 19 cm wide by 10 cm high. This is the print format for the artwork area; it is not a statement of the billboard’s overall or assembled dimensions.

If your software works in pixels rather than centimetres, use a canvas with the same 19:10 proportion. The verified minimum is approximately 1122 × 591 pixels. A larger file is useful when your original artwork genuinely contains more detail, but enlarging a small image after the fact does not restore detail that was never present.

When adapting existing artwork, avoid stretching it to force it into the canvas. Stretching changes the proportions of letters, characters and linework. Instead, choose one of these approaches:

• Recompose the artwork: move separate elements within the 19:10 canvas while preserving their proportions.
• Scale proportionally: reduce or enlarge the complete design without changing its width-to-height relationship.
• Use transparency: leave intentional open space around a narrower or more compact composition.
• Return to the source: extend or rebuild the design if the original crop does not suit the billboard shape.

A portrait-format design will usually require more adaptation than a wide piece. Simply enlarging a portrait image until it fills the width can remove the top and bottom; shrinking it until everything fits can leave substantial open space on both sides. Neither is automatically wrong, but the result should be a deliberate layout rather than an accidental crop.

Keep the document orientation clear

Work with the file at its intended orientation from the beginning. The final artwork should read as a horizontal 19 × 10 cm composition when opened normally. Do not rely on rotation instructions in the filename or email.

If your editor uses layers, keep a working file with editable layers and save it separately. Export a flattened visual result as the required transparent PNG, while retaining the layered original in case you need to correct something later.

Use the Minimum Resolution and Pixel Dimensions

The artwork must be supplied at a minimum of 150 dpi. At 19 × 10 cm, that corresponds to approximately 1122 × 591 pixels.

Pixel dimensions matter more than changing the resolution number in a settings panel. For example, changing a small image from 72 dpi to 150 dpi without adding genuine source detail does not make the artwork sharper. If the software resamples the image, it may create more pixels by interpolation, but it cannot reconstruct clean edges or texture that the original file did not capture.

Higher resolution is recommended where available. If you prepare a larger file, keep the same 19:10 ratio and inspect the source at its real pixel size. A high-resolution canvas filled with a low-resolution logo is still limited by that logo.

Check every placed element

Compositions assembled from several sources often contain mixed image quality. The background texture may be sharp while one tag, character or imported logo is visibly soft. Check each placed element individually, especially anything enlarged during layout.

Vector artwork can usually be scaled cleanly inside the design application, but the submitted file must still be exported as a transparent PNG at an appropriate pixel size. Keep the vector master separately; submit the required PNG rather than assuming a different format will be converted during production.

Export the Finished Design as a Transparent PNG

The final submission format is PNG with a transparent background. Transparency allows areas without artwork to remain unprinted so the selected billboard color stays visible.

There is an important difference between an actually transparent background and a background that merely looks transparent:

• A true transparent area contains no opaque background pixels.
• A white background is still a printed background, even if it looks blank on a white screen.
• A grey-and-white checkerboard copied into the artwork is an image, not transparency.
• A screenshot of artwork over a transparent-grid preview usually contains the grid as visible pixels.

In most editors, transparent areas are represented by a checkerboard inside the application. That checkerboard should not appear when you place the exported PNG over different test colors.

A reliable transparency test

1. Export the final design as a PNG with transparency enabled.
2. Create a temporary document in your editor.
3. Place the exported PNG over a solid black background.
4. Repeat the check over white, grey and a warm color.
5. Confirm that only the intended artwork remains visible.

This test can reveal pale halos, forgotten background pixels, rough cut-out edges and isolated marks outside the main design. Delete the temporary test backgrounds before final export; they are for inspection only.

Pay particular attention to artwork originally removed from a white or dark background. Soft selections can leave a fringe around the edges. That fringe may be difficult to notice against the original editing background but obvious against the chosen billboard base color.

Plan Transparent Areas Around the Billboard Base Color

The Custom Mini Billboard is available in Grey, Copper, White or Black. Wherever your PNG is transparent, the selected base color remains visible. Treat that color as part of the final composition.

For example, a lettering piece with transparent counters and gaps will reveal the billboard color through those spaces. A loose character illustration may leave the entire surrounding field unprinted. A full rectangular composition with no transparent areas will cover the visible artwork field with image content rather than using the base color as open space.

Neither approach is inherently better. The important point is to know which one you are submitting.

Transparency can be structural

Open areas can help a complex piece breathe, but they can also change readability. If letters rely on empty internal spaces, preview those spaces over a color close to your chosen base. A black base may make dark outlines at the edge of a transparent opening feel less distinct, while a white base can make pale edge details harder to judge in a screen preview.

Partially transparent pixels deserve attention too. Soft shadows, airbrush fades, glows and feathered selections may include varying levels of transparency. Do not assume they will behave like fully opaque color or fully open background. Review these transitions carefully and use them only when they are intentional.

A monitor preview is a planning tool, not a guarantee of exact physical color matching. Screen brightness, display settings and the appearance of the physical base can affect how you perceive the result.

Keep Important Artwork Inside the Print Area

Build the complete design inside the 19 × 10 cm canvas. Do not place essential letters, signatures, character features or fine outlines beyond the document boundary. Anything outside the exported canvas is not part of the submitted image.

No separate bleed or measured safe-zone specification is provided for this product, so do not invent one. Instead, use practical visual judgement: if an element must remain clearly visible, avoid positioning it so tightly against the edge that the composition depends on an exact edge relationship.

This is especially important for:

• Small signatures and dates
• Letter tips, arrows and extensions
• Character hands, shoes or accessories
• Thin frames or borders
• Text that follows the outer edge
• Fine highlights that are important to readability

A border is particularly unforgiving because even a small visual imbalance is easy to notice. If the frame is not essential, consider removing it. If it is part of the artwork, inspect its alignment carefully within the canvas.

Do not assume the file will be cropped or repositioned for you. The artwork should already have the intended composition when opened.

Check Detail, Contrast and Image Quality Before Export

A miniature display format rewards strong hierarchy. Details that look clear while zoomed far into a desktop canvas may feel much smaller when the full composition is viewed at its intended 19 × 10 cm size.

Use two types of inspection:

1. Inspect at 100% zoom to find pixelation, compression blocks, rough cut-outs and soft imported elements.
2. Inspect the full composition to judge hierarchy, spacing and whether the main piece remains readable at a small physical format.

Watch for these common problems:

• Very thin lines: delicate marks can become visually weak when the design is reduced.
• Tiny text: small captions may be technically present but difficult to read at display size.
• Low contrast: neighboring colors with similar brightness can merge visually.
• Heavy texture: dense noise can compete with the main lettering or character.
• Compression damage: JPEG blocks and ringing around edges remain visible after conversion to PNG.
• Unintended blur: enlarging small source artwork can soften outlines.
• Hidden marks: stray pixels may sit far outside the main artwork and expand the apparent composition.

If the design is intricate, simplify only where doing so improves the finished composition. The goal is not to remove the character of the artwork, but to make sure its main structure survives the change from a bright, zoomable screen to a physical 19 × 10 cm print area.

Do not rely on exact screen color

Check that the relationships between colors are clear, but do not use the monitor as a promise of exact printed color. Displays emit light, vary in calibration and can make dark or saturated colors appear differently. Avoid making critical distinctions depend on two colors that are almost identical on screen.

Also check that the intended background is genuinely transparent rather than represented by a color chosen to resemble the billboard base. Printing a simulated base color and leaving the actual base visible are different design decisions.

Run a Final Print-Ready File Checklist

Before sending the artwork, close the working file and inspect the exported PNG itself. This catches export mistakes that may not be visible in the layered document.

• The final file is a PNG.
• The canvas is set up for a 19 × 10 cm landscape format.
• The file is at least approximately 1122 × 591 pixels.
• The resolution is at least 150 dpi.
• Higher-resolution source detail has been retained where available.
• The background is genuinely transparent.
• Transparent areas reveal the intended billboard base color in your preview.
• No white, black or checkerboard background was accidentally exported.
• The artwork has not been stretched out of proportion.
• No essential content falls outside the canvas.
• Small details remain meaningful at the intended physical size.
• There are no stray pixels, unwanted halos or rough background remnants.
• The exported PNG opens correctly after saving.
• The file represents the final approved design, not a draft or mock-up.
• You hold the necessary rights and permissions to reproduce the artwork.

Use a clear filename that helps identify the file, such as an order number followed by the artwork name. Avoid labels such as final-final-new2, which become confusing if another version must be sent. If you do send more than one file, state clearly which one is the intended print file.

Submit the File with the Correct Order Information

Place the order before submitting the artwork. Then email the print-ready PNG to:

hello [at] chromatica [dot] ink

Include your order number in the subject line. For example:

Order #1234 – Custom Billboard Artwork

Attach the final PNG and make sure the attachment has completed uploading before sending the message. The order number connects the artwork with the correct made-to-order item and selected billboard color.

There is no need to repeat visual instructions that should already be resolved in the file. If the email has to explain that the design needs cropping, background removal, repositioning or redesign, the artwork is probably not yet print-ready.

What Happens If the Artwork Cannot Be Printed

Submitted artwork is checked before production. If the file does not meet the requirements, production is paused until a suitable replacement is received.

Typical reasons a replacement may be needed include:

• The file is not a PNG.
• The pixel dimensions are below the required minimum.
• The background is opaque when transparency is required.
• The artwork is visibly incomplete or appears to be a draft.
• The file cannot be opened correctly.
• The submitted image requires cropping, retouching or other editing before it can be used.

CHROMATICA does not repair or redesign an unsuitable submission as part of the product. That includes creating artwork, removing backgrounds, retouching, vectorizing, cropping or rebuilding lettering and logos. Correct the source file in your own editing software and send a replacement PNG.

Production normally takes 1–2 business days after a valid print-ready file has been received and checked. This period does not begin while the order is waiting for suitable artwork, so a complete first submission is the best way to avoid an unnecessary pause.

Artwork Rights and Permission Checks

Submit only artwork that you created yourself or that you have the necessary rights and permissions to reproduce. Ownership of a physical object, a downloaded image or a photograph does not automatically grant reproduction rights to the artwork shown in it.

Do not submit protected trademarks, logos, copyrighted characters or third-party artwork unless you are authorized to reproduce them. This also applies to collaborative pieces: make sure the relevant contributors have agreed to the reproduction where permission is required.

By submitting the artwork, you confirm that you have the necessary rights to use and reproduce the supplied design. A file being technically print-ready does not establish that it is legally cleared.

What Arrives and What Requires Assembly

The completed kit includes:

• 1 × 3D printed billboard
• 2 × feet
• 3 × lamp arms
• 3 × lamps

Assembly is required. Craft glue or super glue is recommended for attaching the lamp arms and lamps.

The artwork in product photographs is for demonstration. The made-to-order billboard is printed using the finished file supplied with your order. Because the submitted design directly determines the printed composition, the most reliable workflow is simple: prepare the 19 × 10 cm canvas, retain sufficient resolution, make every transparent area intentional, inspect the exported PNG and send it with the correct order number.