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LEARN

Use this resource page to learn more about how to prepare digital files for printing and other best practices.

Topics:

Bleed

For print jobs with ink reaching the edge of the paper, you need to use bleed, the outer part of the paper that is trimmed off after printing.

 

After the printing process, paper is cut as closely as possible to the trim line, but shifting does occur so the line is only an approximation. Any images and colored printed on the paper must extend past that line, so prepare your digital files accordingly. In general, we recommend that you extend the bleed 1/8 inch outward.

bleed-diagram.png

Safe Zone: Keep text and other necessary elements within the blue line.

Trim Zone: The print will be cut near this line.

Bleed Zone: Make sure any colors or images reach to the red line.

Bleed

Resolution

Web images typically have a resolution of 72 dpi (dots per inch), which will appear blurry when printed. We highly recommend files to have a dpi of at least 350 for the best print quality.

 

Specific File Guidelines:

PDF files: Remember to embed all fonts, unless you are prevented from doing so by the copyright restrictions on certain fonts.

Adobe Illustrator files: Make sure to embed all images and outline any text.

Photoshop files: Flatten all layers.

Color Mode: Use the CMYK color mode.

Black and White: Ensure that black and white images and designs are in the grayscale color mode to prevent an excess of black ink, which may cause smearing.

Make sure your file is in one of these formats:

AI BMP EPS GIF JPG PDF PNG PSD TIF TIFF

resolution-diagram.png

Make sure that your files are set to a dpi of 350 or more so they won't appear pixelated when printed.

cmyk.png

Use the CMYK color mode for printing, not RGB, which is the standard for web.

grayscale.png

Convert black and white images to grayscale to prevent smearing from excess black ink.

Resolution
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