Print File Setup Guide: Formats, Color, Resolution and Bleed

Most printing problems are not printing problems. They start in the file: a logo saved for a website and then blown up to banner size, a color that looked right on screen and came back duller on paper, a design that runs to the edge with nothing beyond it to trim into. This print file setup guide explains the four things that decide whether artwork reproduces the way you designed it, and why each one matters in practice. None of it is specific to us; it is how commercial printing works everywhere. Getting it right before you send the file is the cheapest quality control there is.

What we do with your file, and what we do not

We print from the artwork you supply. We do not offer in-house graphic design services, so we do not create designs and we do not redraw or rebuild a file that is not print-ready. What we do is review what you send for print suitability before it goes on press, and come back to you if something will not reproduce cleanly. That review catches problems; it does not fix them. If your file is low resolution or missing its fonts, you or your designer will need to supply a corrected version.

This guide exists so that conversation happens as rarely as possible.

Accepted file formats

We accept PDF, AI, EPS, PSD, JPEG and PNG. They are not equivalent, and the difference is worth understanding before you pick one.

• PDF is the safest general choice. A print-ready PDF can carry vector artwork, embedded fonts, CMYK color and trim marks all in one file, and it looks the same on our machine as it did on yours. If you only remember one thing from this page, send a PDF.
• AI and EPS are vector formats. Vector artwork is stored as shapes and curves rather than pixels, so it can be scaled from a business card to a banner without losing any sharpness. Logos, line art and type should live in vector wherever possible.
• PSD is a layered Photoshop file. It is pixel-based, so its quality is fixed at the size it was created. It is a reasonable format for photographic work, less so for logos and text.
• JPEG is compressed and lossy: every time it is saved, a little detail is discarded, which usually shows first as soft halos around text and edges. It also has no transparency. Fine for photographs saved once at high quality, poor for artwork that has been through several rounds of edits.
• PNG keeps its detail and supports transparency, but it is a screen format and does not carry CMYK color data at all. If exact color matters, do not finish the job in PNG.

The short version: vector for anything with a logo or type in it, PDF to hand it over, pixel formats only for photographs.

Use CMYK color mode

Screens make color with light and use RGB. Presses make color with ink and use CMYK: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. The two do not cover the same range, so an RGB file converted late in the process can come back flatter than the version approved on a monitor. Set your document to CMYK from the start, and convert placed images too, not just the document. This matters most on a solid brand color that appears on every item you order, where a shift between one order and the next is obvious side by side.

Which colors shift, why, and what to do about it is covered in our guide to CMYK vs RGB for printing.

Keep images at 300 DPI or higher

DPI is meaningful only at a stated size. An image is 300 DPI at the size it will be printed, so a file that is 300 DPI on a business card holds only a fraction of that detail once the same image is stretched to banner size. Check resolution at the final dimensions, not at whatever size the file happens to open.

Enlarging a small image in software does not add detail; it invents pixels from the ones already there, which reads on paper as softness and blur. There is no recovering detail that was never captured. Two habits prevent almost all of it: keep the original camera or supplier files rather than a copy pulled from a website or a messaging app, and get the logo from whoever designed it in vector form so resolution stops being a question at all.

Include bleed and trim marks

Sheets are printed larger than the finished item and then cut down, and cutting is mechanical, so it lands within a small tolerance rather than on an exact line. If your background stops precisely at the edge of the design, any cut that falls a fraction outside leaves a thin white sliver along that edge.

Bleed is the fix: extend any background color, photograph or pattern past the trim line so there is extra artwork for the blade to cut into. Trim marks tell us where the finished edge falls. The matching habit is a safety margin on the inside: keep text, logos and anything else that must not be clipped comfortably away from the trim line, since the same tolerance applies in the other direction. Designs that stop well short of the edge with a plain white border do not need bleed, but every design that runs to the edge does.

Embed or outline all fonts

A font is software, not part of the design. Open a file on a machine that does not have that font installed and the program substitutes another one, which quietly changes letter shapes, line breaks and spacing. It rarely announces itself, and it is often noticed only after printing.

There are two reliable ways to prevent it. Embedding packs the font data into the file, usually a PDF export option, and keeps the text as editable text. Outlining converts the letters into vector shapes, so there is no font left to substitute; the trade-off is that the text can no longer be edited or spell-checked, so outline last and keep an unoutlined master copy. Either is acceptable. Neither is optional.

Print file setup guide: the checklist before you send

• Artwork is PDF, AI, EPS, PSD, JPEG or PNG.
• Document and placed images are in CMYK color mode.
• Images are 300 DPI or higher at the final print size.
• Bleed and trim marks are included on any design that runs to the edge.
• Text and logos sit inside a safety margin, away from the trim line.
• All fonts are embedded or outlined.
• The file is at the correct finished size, and the quantity and product are stated with it.
• Spelling, phone numbers and web addresses have been checked by someone other than the person who typed them.

For the same requirements set out as a sequence of steps, including what changes from one product to another, see our walkthrough on how to prepare artwork for printing.

What happens after you send the file

We review the artwork for print suitability and raise anything that will not reproduce cleanly. Most orders are then ready for collection within 1-3 business days. Delivery time is added on top of production time: JOD 3 for standard delivery within 48 hours anywhere in Jordan, JOD 4 for same-day delivery in Amman, and JOD 6 for same-day delivery to other governorates, with fees that may vary for large-size items and bulk orders. Full detail is on our printing delivery across Jordan page. If you are asking about a size or quantity that is not listed, send us the details and we will answer within one business day.

Frequently asked questions

What file format should I send?

A print-ready PDF is the safest choice, because it carries vector artwork, embedded fonts, CMYK color and trim marks in a single file. We also accept AI, EPS, PSD, JPEG and PNG. Use a vector format such as AI or EPS for logos and type, and keep pixel formats for photographs.

Why does my design look different printed than it did on screen?

Screens build color from light in RGB and presses build it from ink in CMYK, and the two do not cover the same range of colors. Saturated blues, greens and oranges are the ones that shift most. Setting your document to CMYK before you design means you are working within what ink can reproduce, so the printed result stays close to what you approved. Our guide to CMYK vs RGB for printing covers which colors are most at risk.

My logo is a small PNG from our website. Can you use it?

It will print at whatever detail it already contains, which on anything larger than a small label usually looks soft. Enlarging it in software does not add detail back. Ask whoever designed the logo for a vector version in AI, EPS or PDF; that file scales to any size without losing sharpness and solves the problem permanently.

Can you design the artwork for me?

No. We do not currently offer in-house graphic design services. You supply the finished artwork and we review it for print suitability before printing. We do not create or redraw designs.

What if my file is not set up correctly?

We will tell you what the problem is when we review the file, before anything is printed. Because we do not offer design services, the corrected file needs to come from you or your designer. The checklist above covers the issues that come up most often.

Whether it is business cards, a roll up banner for an exhibition, or die-cut stickers for a product line, the file decides the result long before the press does. You can also browse the office materials and stickers and labels categories to see what each product needs. Work through this print file setup guide once, keep the corrected artwork, and every reorder after it is straightforward. Make it inkredible.