How to Hand Over Print-Ready Files (Without a Single Revision Round)
Bleed, margins, resolution, outlined fonts — the five-minute file checklist that gets your job on press the same day you send it.
Half of all print delays happen before the press even warms up — in the file. Here’s exactly what “print-ready” means, in plain language.
1. Bleed: ink past the edge
If your design touches the edge of the page, it must extend 3mm beyond the final trim size. Paper shifts fractionally during cutting; bleed guarantees no white slivers on the edge.
A business card at 90×55mm should be supplied as a 96×61mm file with the artwork running to the outer edge.
2. Safe margin: keep the important stuff inside
The opposite rule: keep text, logos and anything critical at least 3–5mm inside the trim line. Same reason — the cut can wander a hair, and you don’t want your phone number kissing the edge.
3. Resolution: 300 DPI at final size
Screen images survive at 72 DPI; print needs 300 DPI at the actual printed dimensions. A photo that fills an A4 flyer needs to be roughly 2480×3508 pixels. Zoom to 100% — if it’s soft on your screen, it will be soft on paper.
Large format is the exception: a banner viewed from five meters away can run 100–150 DPI happily.
4. Fonts: outline them
If we don’t have your font installed, our system substitutes it — and your carefully-kerned headline reflows. Before exporting, convert text to outlines/curves (Illustrator: Type → Create Outlines). Or export a PDF with fonts embedded, which most design apps do by default.
5. Export: PDF/X, CMYK
The file we love to receive:
- Format: PDF (PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 preset)
- Color: CMYK, no RGB elements
- Bleed: 3mm, with crop marks
- Images: embedded, not linked
- Layers: flattened (keep a layered master for yourself)
Don’t have design software? Don’t worry.
Plenty of our clients send us a WhatsApp voice note and a photo of a sketch — that’s what our design studio is for. But if you do have finished artwork, this checklist is the difference between “on press today” and “we’ve emailed you some questions.”
Send your file to us on WhatsApp or through the quote form, and we’ll pre-flight it for free before quoting.