Sina Lite FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Setting up an account is quick and simple. To get started, click the Login/Sign Up button at the top of the page. Next you'll see our Registration form. Complete the set-up process by simply filling out the "Registration Details" form below and clicking the register button when you're done. You account will be reviewed within one business day and, if approved, you will receive an email confirming your account activation.

SinaLite is strictly a trade printer - This includes any company purchasing print for the purpose of resale to their clients. End users or companies purchasing for their own use are not able to use our services. All accounts are vetted and verified before acceptance.

We sell to trade printers, print brokers and copy shops.

Due to the new tax laws that took effect July 1 2010, all Ontario orders are now subject to the HST(13%)

We strongly recommend you prepare your file as a high-resolution PDF file with bleed. However, we also accept these other file formats: Adobe Illustrator AI and EPS files, Adobe Photoshop TIFF, JPG and flattened PSD files.

Your files should always be in CMYK, anything else may result in a colour shift when other colour modes are converted into CMYK.
For best results, the design file should start off as a CMYK colour mode.

Images and artwork should be 300DPI

1/8” bleed must be all around the file.
Bleed is critical in a file. Bleed is extended artwork on all sides of the artwork to allow for cutter variance. Items such as background and design elements should always extend out of the trim margin.
Failing to provide bleed information and crop marks can result in the printed product showing a thin area of white on the edge. If your file does not consist of bleed, it will be rejected by our prepress department and we will request for a new file with bleed. This will result in delaying the turnaround time.

Safe Margins are 1/16” away from the cut line. Safe margins are guideline borders which make sure everything within the safe margins will not be cut off when trimmed down to the final size.

The file you upload to SinaLite must have font/imaged embedded or outlined, or else, we will not be able to process your file.
Tutorial on how to embed images
Adobe InDesign: Window > Links
Choose the image you want to embed from the list and click on the arrow and select "Embed File".
Adobe Illustrator: Window > Links
Choose the image you want to embed from the list and click on the arrow and select "Embed Image".
Instruction on how to convert to outlines
Select your text box. Under “Type menu” select Create Outlines.

For products such as business cards, we would recommend customers to avoid borders. If the border is too close to the cutline, it may results in the final product to be off-center slightly.

In order to ensure files are submitted properly for proper orientation, we will require files to be submitted HEAD TO HEAD. SinaLite also requires to have files submitted as one file, for example, a one sided file should consist of 1 PDF, one page, and two sided file should consist of 1 PDF, 2 pages.
Below are examples on how to submit file:


We print using work and turn; therefore, files must be imposed properly to back up properly. Here is a following example of how files should be set:

Overprinting refers to the process of printing one colour on top of another. If you do not want this to happen make sure that the overprint options are turned off and switched to knockout in your document. Below, the file was not switched to overprint, even though the white text is showed on screen, when printed, the white text did not show up due to overprint issues.
Please note that our file preview does not display overprint issues, therefore, it is critical to check your file for overprint issues before uploading the file to us.

Transparency effects are generally not preferred in printing, and only on screen. It causes ripping issues and elements to disappear. To prevent this, do not use any shadow, glows and transparency on top of a spot colour – always convert your spot colour to CMYK before using any transparency effects.

We are limited maximum ink coverage of 300%, anything over may result in many print related problems such as cracking. To achieve a rich black, we will recommend the values 30C20M 20Y 100K

We will always require 100% K for black text (C0, M0, Y0, K100). Rich black should not be used for type or thin lines because it will result in fuzziness and misregistration issues.

Blues and Purples has always been a problem in the printing industry because the two colours are so close together in the CMYK spectrum. In order to ensure the two colours come up the correct tones, leave at least 15% differences in your Cyan and Magenta Values. (Example C100/M85/Y0/K0)
For print to look blue, Cyan>Magenta by 15%
For print to look purple, Cyan < Magenta by 15%

Red and Orange are also problematic on press because the two colours are close together in the CMYK spectrum. In order to ensure the two colours come up the correct tones, leave at least 15% differences in your Magenta and Yellow Values. (Example C0/M100/Y85/K0)
For print to look Red, Magenta > Yellow by 15%
For print to look Orange, Magenta < Yellow by 15%

Vector images use mathematical equations to define each component of an image. This allows vector images to retain their high-quality at any size. Programs like Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, or Adobe Freehand uses vector graphics. Vector images should be used for all text and logos if possible. They result in the clearest image and can be re-sized without losing resolution.
A raster image is composed of a collection of tiny dots called pixels. When these pixels are small, and placed close together, they fool the eye into forming a single image. Raster images work great when subtle gradations of color are necessary. Because they contain a fixed number of pixels, a major disadvantage of raster images is that their quality suffers when they are enlarged or otherwise transformed.
We would also recommend fonts and logos to be vector for print with maximum clarity.

Select the product you want to order, on the right hand side, you can automatically select the quantity and other option to get the total pricing.

The low-res preview is to ensure you have uploaded the correct job. This preview is not a proof, meaning, it has not been preflight, ripped and does not simulate any overprint issues.

FedEx is our shipping courier. Please provide an address for delivery and choose a shipping service. Available shipping services include FedEx Ground, FedEx Express and Local Pickup.

You can view all the billing information before placing the order. Verify all relevant information, check off that you accepted the terms and then click on “Place Your Order.” This brings you to where you can fill your credit card information to complete your order. Payment can be made using either Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

Click on “Manage Account” on the left hand bar – there, you can change all your personal contact information such as Address and Phone Number.

We ship with FedEx and offer two types of courier service – FedEx Ground & FedEx Express. You can also select Local Pickup or pickup at our Sina Printing Shipping Department - 39 Riviera Drive, Unit 8 Markham, ON, L3R 8N4. Please ensure you have your SinaLite reference number available when picking up your job.

Each job can be shipped to only one location.

Yes, we blind ship all our jobs. Please provide your customer’s shipping address when placing your order and include your email address. A FedEx tracking number will be sent to your email.

Not at this time, but we will implement this feature in the near future.

In order for individual jobs to be shipped together they must be ordered at the same time within the same order.

We can ship to any location within Canada.

Need to show your clients a print sample? Request a Sample Kit by emailing us at support@sinalite.com. Include your name, company name and mailing address in the body of your message and we'll mail out a sample kit as soon as possible via Canada Post.

If there is a problem with your printed job please contact us at support@sinalite.com or use our Live Chat. In your email please include the job number and a description of the problem. If needed, we may request a picture/scan of the product for visual quality control. After we have received your email, a representative will contact you.

You can download guides for our products by clicking the blue guide button located on each individual product page.

If there is a certain size that is not available on SinaLite, you can request a custom size by following the steps below.
1. Place the order as the next biggest size available on SinaLite.
2. Upload your file with the correct custom size dimensions with trim marks.
3. Email support@sinalite.com with the job number and the correct trim size, and we will manually adjust the size for you. If this custom size is not possible, a representative from SinaLite will contact you before we process the job.

Contact support@sinalite.com or our live chat with the job number for special instructions regarding jobs. If the special instructions are not possible, a representative from SinaLite will contact you before we process the job. However, we will recommend contacting customer support in regards to whether these special instructions can be accommodated before placing your order.

Email Sina Printing’s estimating department at estimating@sinaprinting.com. Sina Printing is a separate division from Sinalite that offers one-on-one interaction throughout the production of your custom projects. The estimating department will get back to you within 24hours with a quote.

SinaLite is highly automated, depending on situation, you may not changes to your order. Please CLICK HERE and fill out the change request form to report a problem. Problems can be reported up to three weeks from the delivery date

Please CLICK HERE and fill out the form to report a problem.
Problems can be reported up to three weeks from the delivery date

If a refund or a credit is required on a SinaLite job we will issue a credit note with our parent company, Sina Printing, for your next custom printing job. Any refunds that are required to be processed back to a credit card will incur a 5% service charge.

After submitting your job to SinaLite, the file will go directly to our prepress department for preflighting. If our prepress department has confirmed your file is not printable, they will reject your job and an automated email will be sent out to you requesting a new file. You must ensure you have entered in the correct email address in order for us to contact you. The email will provide a link allowing you to re-upload a new file under the same SinaLite job number. Please do not reorder your job as a new job.