# SurveyStream — print specifications

## 1. The one thing to read first

**SVG and CSS have no CMYK.** Every file in this folder is RGB. They are *layout and position
masters* — exact to the millimetre — not colour-managed press files. Sending an SVG straight to a
printer hands your brand colour to an uncontrolled RGB→CMYK conversion at their end.

The correct workflow:

1. Use these files as the geometry and typography master. Place them in InDesign or open in
   Illustrator.
2. Re-apply colour from the swatch table in §4 as **CMYK or spot swatches**.
3. Outline all live text, or supply the fonts (all three are OFL and embeddable).
4. Export PDF/X-4 (or X-1a if the printer asks) with the bleed box included.

## 2. Geometry

| Piece | Trim | Bleed doc | Bleed | Safe / margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business card | 85 × 55 mm | 91 × 61 mm | 3 mm all round | 4 mm inside trim |
| Letterhead A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 216 × 303 mm | 3 mm | 20 mm |
| Letterhead US Letter | 215.9 × 279.4 mm | 221.9 × 285.4 mm | 3 mm | 20 mm |
| Invoice A4 | 210 × 297 mm | 216 × 303 mm | 3 mm | 20 mm |

All SVG user units are **millimetres** — `width="91mm" viewBox="0 0 91 61"` — so the files open at
true size in Illustrator, InDesign and Chrome with no scaling step.

The card is 85 × 55 mm (EU standard). The brief also mentions the 3.5 × 2 in US card: that is
88.9 × 50.8 mm, a **different aspect ratio** (1.75 vs 1.545). It is not a scale of the same
artwork — the safe area gets 4.2 mm shorter and the contact block has to be re-set. Ask which
market ships first rather than assuming one converts.

### Bleed is only needed where ink crosses the trim

- **Card front** — full-bleed dark field. Bleed required.
- **Card back** — the accent strip runs off the bottom edge. Bleed required.
- **Letterhead / invoice** — the sheet is otherwise unprinted paper. Only the accent rule crosses
  the right trim edge, and it ends at a real 24 % tint rather than fading to nothing, precisely so
  that the bleed is doing something. If you drop the rule's bleed, drop the 3 mm with it.

## 3. Guides

Every `*-guides.svg` carries a `<g id="guides" data-print="false">` layer:
magenta dashed = bleed, solid grey = trim, cyan dashed = safe, plus corner crop marks offset 1 mm
into the bleed with a 4 mm arm.

**Delete that group before generating the press PDF.** The `-guides` files are for review; the
plain files are the artwork.

## 4. Colour

Naive conversions below are what a mathematical RGB→CMYK gives. They are a starting point and,
for the darks, actively wrong — read the notes column.

| Colour | Hex | CMYK (naive) | TAC | Nearest PMS | ΔE2000 | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Slate (brief spec) | `#0F172A` | C64 M45 Y0 K84 | 193 % | 289 C | **5.8** | **No usable spot match.** See §5. |
| Deepwater (brand) | `#08222E` | C83 M26 Y0 K82 | 191 % | **5395 C** | **1.7** | Excellent match. Use as Spot 1. |
| Ink | `#04171F` | C87 M26 Y0 K88 | 201 % | 5395 C | 2.4 | Text on light stock: use flat K100. |
| Stream | `#10BBD1` | C92 M11 Y0 K18 | 121 % | **3125 C** | **2.1** | Use as Spot 2. |
| Current | `#0A6E86` | C93 M18 Y0 K47 | 158 % | 3145 C | 3.8 | Or a 70 % tint of Spot 2. |
| Signal | `#5FE3EC` | C60 M4 Y0 K7 | 71 % | 318 C | **7.3** | **Screen only.** No spot, out of CMYK gamut. |
| Pulse | `#2FE3A2` | C79 M0 Y29 K11 | 119 % | 3385 C | **5.0** | **Screen only.** Same reason. |
| Payout | `#F2A23C` | C0 M33 Y75 K5 | 113 % | 1375 C | 3.4 | Fine in process or spot. |
| Mist | `#F4F8F9` | C2 M0 Y0 K2 | 4 % | 7541 C | 5.4 | Below minimum tint — see §6. |
| Fog | `#D3E0E2` | C7 M1 Y0 K11 | 19 % | 7541 C | 2.0 | Hairlines and rules. |

### Rich black for the card front

Do **not** print the dark field as the naive build. Use a controlled rich black:

```
C70  M50  Y40  K100     total area coverage 260 %
```

Inside GRACoL's 320 % limit, dense enough to look black next to the reversed mark, and it holds
detail in reversed type. A flat K100 alone looks washed grey across an area this large.

## 5. The colour decision you need to make

The brief specifies `#0F172A` for the card front. Measured against the Pantone solid coated set,
its nearest match is **289 C at ΔE 5.8** — no usable spot equivalent, so on a two-ink job it would
have to run four-colour, and a large flat dark field in process is exactly where registration shift
and banding show.

Brand **Deepwater `#08222E`** matches **PMS 5395 C at ΔE 1.7**.

Both are supplied: `business-card-front.svg` uses the specified slate,
`business-card-front-deepwater.svg` uses Deepwater. **Recommendation: print Deepwater** and keep
the slate as the screen value, or accept four-colour on the front.

### The two-ink stationery spec

- **Spot 1 — PMS 5395 C.** Card front field, wordmark, all body setting.
- **Spot 2 — PMS 3125 C.** The mark, the accent strip, the letterhead rule.

**Consequence for the gradients.** The card's accent strip and the letterhead rule are
Current→Stream→Pulse gradients. Pulse has no spot and is out of CMYK gamut, so on a two-ink job
those become a **tint ramp of Spot 2** — 100 % → 40 % — rather than a hue shift. That reads as
intended; it just is not the same gradient. Decide this before artwork goes out, not at proofing.

Likewise the front's glow: on a two-ink job it becomes a 20 % tint halo of Spot 2, not a blur.

## 6. Production minimums

| Constraint | Value | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hairline stroke | **0.15 mm** (0.43 pt) used throughout | Below ~0.09 mm (0.25 pt) a rule can drop out or vary with plate wear. |
| Minimum tint | **5 %** | Below that a screen tint can fail to hold on press. The letterhead watermark is set at 5 % for this reason; the card watermark pattern is a tint of Spot 2. |
| Maximum watermark | **~10 %** | Above that it competes with body text. |
| Reversed type | **≥ 7 pt** | Small reversed type fills in on uncoated stock. The card's URL line is 6.5 pt — acceptable on coated only; move to 7 pt for uncoated. |
| Reversed type inks | single ink | Reversed type across four plates shows registration shift at small sizes. On the card front the URL is Spot 2 on Spot 1 — two inks, so keep it ≥ 7 pt and trap correctly. |
| Total area coverage | **≤ 300 %** coated, ≤ 260 % uncoated | The rich black build above is 260 %. |
| QR code | **16.5 mm**, quiet zone 4 modules, pure K or Spot 1 | Below ~15 mm scanning gets unreliable at card distance. Never screen a QR or set it in two inks. |

## 7. Typography

| Role | Face | Size | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Card name | Inter | 9.5 pt / 700 | |
| Card role | Inter | 7 pt | |
| Card contact | JetBrains Mono | 7 pt | Tabular by construction — the phone and email align. |
| Card URL (front) | JetBrains Mono | 6.5 pt, +0.18 em | Reversed. Raise to 7 pt for uncoated. |
| Letterhead body | Inter | 10 pt / 15 pt lead | 125 mm measure ≈ 62 characters. |
| Letterhead legal | Inter | 6.4 pt | At the legibility floor; acceptable for legal only. |
| Registered details | JetBrains Mono | 7 pt | |
| Invoice total | Archivo | 13 pt / 700 | |

All three faces are SIL OFL 1.1 — embedding and outlining are both permitted. **The SVGs contain
live text**, which is deliberate so the contact details stay editable. Outline it or supply the
fonts before the press file goes out.

## 8. Stock and finishing

Not specified in the brief; these are the recommendations that suit the artwork:

- **Card:** 400–450 gsm, matt laminate both sides. The dark field shows every fingerprint on gloss.
  Soft-touch laminate suits the palette but will darken the field further — proof it.
- **Consider spot UV** on the mark only, on the front. The interlock accent is the natural place
  for it, and it is the one flourish the design supports.
- **Letterhead:** 100–120 gsm uncoated. Dark teals shift green on uncoated — proof Spot 1 on the
  actual stock before signing off.
- Edge painting in Spot 2 is possible at 450 gsm and would carry the accent-strip idea onto the
  card's edge. Expensive; mention it only if the budget is real.

## 9. Files

| File | Purpose |
| --- | --- |
| `business-card-front.svg` | Front, specified slate. Bleed doc. |
| `business-card-front-deepwater.svg` | Front, Deepwater — the recommended print colour. |
| `business-card-front-guides.svg` | Front with trim/bleed/safe guides. Review only. |
| `business-card-back.svg` | Back. Bleed doc. |
| `business-card-back-guides.svg` | Back with guides. |
| `letterhead-a4.svg` | A4 letterhead, bleed doc. |
| `letterhead-a4-guides.svg` | With guides. |
| `letterhead-a4-trim.svg` | Cropped to trim, for desktop proofing. |
| `letterhead-letter.svg` | US Letter, bleed doc. |
| `invoice-a4.svg` | A4 invoice, bleed doc. |
| `invoice-a4-guides.svg` | With guides. |
| `invoice-a4-trim.svg` | Cropped to trim. |
| `print.html` | Print-ready: card proof 2-up, letterhead, invoice. Print at 100 %. |
| `PRINT-SPECS.md` | This document. |