Supported Graphic Files for Advertisements

While a wide variety of image formats exist across the digital landscape, our system requirements for advertising imagery dictate that we only accept a select group of standard file types to ensure smooth processing and accurate rendering across ARC.

File Formats for Advertisements

Pixel-Based Images

Best for photos and complex imagery, these resolution-dependent formats rely on fixed pixel grids, making them ideal for web display, digital media, and standard print production.

JPEG – Standard compressed photos for web and print
JFIF – Standard file layout for transmitting JPEG images over the web
PNG – Web and print-ready images with the ability to have background transparency
WEBP – Modern web format for fast-loading images.

Vector-Based Graphics

Built using mathematical formulas rather than pixels, these resolution-independent formats scale infinitely without losing quality, making them essential for logos, illustrations, and crisp print designs (note: they can also embed pixel-based elements).

AI - Adobe Illustrator source files for vector artwork
EPS - Scalable graphic elements that remain crisp at any resolution
SVG - Scalable graphics that remain crisp at any resolution

Container-Based Graphics

Flexible master files that hold both pixel and vector elements alongside layout data, making them ideal for complex layered editing, universal sharing, and final print production.

PDF – Universal format for print-ready ads and documents.
PSD – Layered Adobe Photoshop source files

Pixel-Based Image Resolution (DPI)

DPI (Dots Per Inch) measures print resolution by counting how many ink dots a printer places within a single inch of paper. Higher DPI values generally yield sharper, more detailed prints. To ensure your images look crisp and professional in our print magazines, all files uploaded to ARC must be set to 300 DPI at their final print size.

How to Verify Image Sizing at 300DPI

Check the size of your image. It is commonly listed in pixels. You can find this in image properties or photo-editing software. You'll see something like “3000px x 2400px.”
Divide the image size in pixels by 300 to get the size in inches at 300DPI.
- Example:
  1. 3000 pixels / 300 = 10 inches
  2. 2400 pixels / 300 = 8 inches
  3. Your image at 300 DPI is 10 inches x 8 inches.

Your image must be converted to 300 DPI for this calculation to work. ARC automatically formats all images uploaded to 300 DPI so you can also download the image after you’ve uploaded it to ARC to verify the size.

Image Color Formats

For more information about print color and quality, refer to: Understanding Print Color Quality.

To ensure your colors translate accurately from screen to press, we recommend setting your artwork to our recommended color profiles. We suggest using U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 for CMYK files, or sRGB IEC61966-2.1 for RGB files. Converting your images to these standard profiles before exporting helps eliminate unexpected color shifts.

Please note that images converted to CMYK provide the most accurate print output, but they may look altered on digital screens—often appearing over-saturated, shifted, or strangely "technicolor." Because CMYK files are designed for ink rather than digital displays, this will also affect how the image looks on our website, and these color distortions will be visible to anyone viewing the image online.

Color Formats to Avoid

Please avoid submitting images in extreme or ultra-wide color spaces, such as ProPhoto RGB. While these formats are designed to capture a massive spectrum of colors for specialized editing, they exist well outside standard digital RGB gamuts and far beyond the physical range of CMYK print inks. When a ProPhoto file is processed for web display or sent to commercial printing, the automated conversion forces those unreachable colors back into range. This severe gamut mapping often results in flat, muddy, or radically shifted colors in print and online—far different from how the image appeared in your editing software.