You have a great design for your business cards or poster, but the printer asks for “a high-resolution PDF with bleed.” Don’t panic: here’s what that means, and how to avoid surprises when your job comes off the press.
The right format: a print-ready PDF
In almost every case, the best file to send is a PDF. It keeps fonts, images and layout exactly as you intended, no matter which computer opens it. Professional software (InDesign, Illustrator, Affinity) has an export preset for print, often called PDF/X. Use it if you have it.
What about other formats?
- AI and EPS: these are vector working files. Perfect for a logo, but printers generally prefer a final PDF.
- PNG and JPG: these are images. They can work for a photo or a simple visual if the resolution is high enough, but text saved as an image prints less sharply.
- Word, PowerPoint or Canva: always export to PDF before sending, using the “PDF for print” option when there is one.
5 things to check before sending
1. Bleed
If your background colour or an image touches the edge of the page, it needs to extend about 3 mm (1/8 inch) past each edge. Cutting is never perfect to a tenth of a millimetre: without bleed, you may get a thin white line along the edge.
2. Safety margin
On the other hand, keep your text and logo at least 3 mm inside the trim line. Otherwise they may get cut off.
3. Image resolution
For print, an image should be about 300 dpi at its final size. An image copied from a website (often 72 dpi) will look blurry or pixelated once printed, even if it looks perfect on screen.
4. Colours: CMYK rather than RGB
Your screen displays colour in RGB (light), while the printer uses CMYK (ink). Some colours that look very bright on screen, such as an electric blue or a neon green, can’t be reproduced exactly with ink. Set up your file in CMYK to avoid shifts, and remember that no two screens show colours exactly the same way.
5. Fonts
Make sure fonts are embedded in the PDF (a good export preset does this automatically) or converted to outlines. Otherwise, the printer may see a substitute font.
The proof: your last chance to fix things
Before printing, always ask for a proof, and actually read it. That’s when you catch the typo in the phone number or the outdated logo. Once 500 cards are printed, it’s too late.
The easy way: let us prepare the file
If this all sounds technical, that’s normal. We handle the design, then prepare a file that meets the printer’s requirements: bleed, margins, colours and resolution. You approve the proof, then order your printing in a few clicks on Onewayprint, our online print shop, with shipping across Canada.
See our design pricing on the Graphic design page, or write to us to have your file checked before you send it.