Advertising Specifications

City Lifestyle’s ad specifications ensure high-quality print results and a professional appearance in all publications. By following these specifications, advertisers can feel confident that their ads are ready for print production, integrating smoothly into the magazine layout while meeting the high standards for clarity and consistency. This readiness prevents delays, ensures visual impact, and helps maintain a seamless experience for advertisers and the production team. This information can be found at Business Help City Lifestyle - Advertising Specifications.

Ad Sizing

Full Page Ads

Total Ad Area: 8.5” x 11.125” (Bleeds included)
Safe Area: 7.75” x 10.375”
Trim: 8.375” x 10.875”
Bleed: .125” on all sides

2 Page Spread

Total Area: 17” x 11.125” (Bleeds included)
Safe Area: 7.625” x 10.375” (each page)
Trim: 16.875” x 10.875”
Bleed: .125” on all sides + 1” in center

* Important: Ensure all important information is within the safe area. Content outside of the safe area is at risk of being trimmed off in the cutting process.

Fractional Ads

2/3 Vertical: 4.667” x 9.875”
1/2 Vertical: 3.458” x 9.875”
1/2 Horizontal: 7.083” x 4.75”
1/3 Horizontal: 7.083” x 3.15”
1/4 Vertical: 3.458” x 4.75”

* Background: Background colors/images must bleed to the edge of the document (white page). For fractional ads, if background colors/images aren’t used, the ad must contain a 1 pt border.

Advertising Specifications

Advertisement Tag

Please note that if a provided ad or a creative request contains text that covers more than 50% of the ad space or is in a multi-column format, has a headline or a byline, or the request specifically asks for an advertorial layout, an advertisement tag will be placed at the top center of the ad. This includes all ad sizes above 1/4 page. Read more here: Advertisement Tag.

Color Mode

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 and images 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.

It is important to keep in mind that the colors you see in ad proofs on a computer screen might look a little different compared to the printed advertisement because a computer screen is backlit, which can make colors appear brighter than they do in a print magazine.

File Type

PDF

PDFs are ideal for printing because they keep everything exactly as you designed it, including fonts, colors, and layout. They allow high-quality content, support professional color settings, and are compatible with almost all printers. Plus, they allow for fonts and images to be embedded, making them reliable and consistent.

PDF Export Preset

We offer a PDF Export Preset to help you prepare high-quality PDFs with exact print specifications for City Lifestyle. Using the preset is optional but recommended for the best results. For more information or to download the PDF Export Preset, visit: City Lifestyle Advertising Specifications - PDF Presets.

Resolution

Resolution is the degree of detail in an image, measured in dots per inch (DPI). For City Lifestyle ads, images must be 300 DPI. Enlarging images lowers resolution, which can make them blurry. Images found online or used for the web (72-96 DPI) are typically too low-quality for print. Upsampling low-resolution images does not improve their quality. To avoid issues, ensure all images meet the 300 DPI standard before submission.

Crop Marks

Crop marks are unnecessary. DO NOT include crop marks in your final files. We cannot accept files that include crop marks or printer's marks. Our PDF Presets are built so that no crop marks or printer marks are included.

Ad Templates

InDesign

Illustrator

Photoshop

Canva

Exporting From Canva: Click Share > Choose Download > Change File Type to PDF Print > Adjust Color Profile to CMYK > Select Download