How to Prepare Artwork for Printing

To prepare artwork for printing, set the document up at the finished size in CMYK color mode before you start designing, keep every image at 300 DPI or higher at that final size, extend any background that runs to the edge past the trim line as bleed, keep text and logos inside a safety margin, embed or outline all fonts, and export a single PDF. This page covers how to prepare artwork for printing in the order the work actually happens, from picking the product through to the last check before you send the file.

The order matters. Almost every file problem is cheap to prevent at the first step and expensive to fix at the last one, once the design has already been approved.

What does print-ready mean?

A print-ready file is one that can go to press without anyone having to interpret, rebuild or guess at it. It is the correct finished size, it carries its own fonts, its images hold enough detail at that size, its colors are described in ink rather than in light, and it says where the paper is going to be cut. A file that opens and looks correct on your screen is not the same thing. We accept PDF, AI, EPS, PSD, JPEG and PNG, and we review what you send for print suitability before printing, but the file itself has to arrive finished. We do not offer in-house graphic design services, so we do not redraw or rebuild artwork.

The reasoning behind each requirement is set out on our artwork specifications page. What follows here is the sequence of steps.

Step 1: start from the product, not from the design

File setup is decided by the finished item. A business card, a roll up banner and a die-cut sticker need different document sizes, different resolutions and different cut information, and none of that can be settled after the design is finished. Reworking an approved layout to fit a different product costs more time than setting it up correctly once.

Start from the product page for the item you are ordering, such as business cards, the roll up banner or die-cut individual stickers, and confirm the finished size with us before you design if it is not shown there.

Step 2: build the document in CMYK, at final size, with bleed already in place

Create the document at the finished trim size, set the color mode to CMYK, and add the bleed area before you place anything in it. All three are much harder to retrofit. Adding bleed at the end usually means stretching a background or a photograph that was composed to sit exactly at the edge, which moves the composition. Converting a finished RGB document to CMYK at the end is the same problem in color: the shift lands on a design somebody has already signed off, and the saturated blues and greens are the ones that move most. Our guide to CMYK vs RGB for printing explains which colors shift and why.

Step 3: collect the artwork before you place it

Gather the pieces at the quality the final size needs, rather than using whatever is closest to hand. Ask whoever designed your logo for a vector version in AI, EPS or PDF; vector artwork scales from a business card to a banner without losing sharpness, which removes resolution from the conversation permanently. For photographs, use the original files. A copy pulled from a website or forwarded through a messaging app has usually been recompressed and resized at least once, and that detail cannot be recovered later.

Resolution is only meaningful at a stated size, so check each image at the dimensions it will actually print, not at the size the file happens to open.

Step 4: design inside the margins, and design for ink

Keep text, logos and anything else that must not be clipped comfortably inside the trim line. Cutting is mechanical and lands within a tolerance, so content sitting tight to the edge is at risk in both directions: it can be cut into, or it can end up looking off-center.

A few things also behave differently on paper than they do on a screen. Hairline rules, small text reversed out of a dark solid, and narrow white gaps between two printed areas all hold up less well in print than they appear to at 100% on a monitor. If a detail only reads when you zoom in, it will probably not read on the finished item.

Step 5: proofread before you export

This is the step that gets skipped, and content errors are the kind a printer cannot catch for you. Check the phone number, the web address, the email address, opening hours, prices printed in the design, and every name. Have someone read it who did not type it, because the person who wrote the text reads what they meant rather than what is on the page.

Text errors are expensive precisely because the file is technically perfect: the full quantity is produced faithfully, wrong details included. A run of 1,000 business cards with the wrong extension in the phone number is a reprint, not a correction.

Step 6: export one file, named so nobody has to guess

Export a single PDF with the fonts embedded or the text outlined, images at full resolution, bleed and trim marks included, and layers flattened. Send one file per design rather than several designs stacked as pages of one document, unless the product itself is genuinely multi-page. Name the file so the product, the finished size and the quantity are obvious from the file name alone, and state the same details in your message.

If you are not sure which export settings to use, send the file and we will tell you whether anything needs changing before it goes on press.

What changes depending on what you are printing

Small printed items

On business cards, thank you cards and label tags, type is small and the trim tolerance is a larger proportion of the finished piece, so both resolution and margins show up faster than they do on a large item. Review the layout at 100% on screen, keep body text away from the trim line, and be cautious with type set below the size you would normally consider comfortable to read. Browse the full range in office materials.

Large-format display

A roll up banner or an X-stand banner is read from meters away, not centimeters, so the design decisions are different from a printed card. Very large documents are usually built at a scale ratio, for example one tenth of the finished size, with the effective resolution scaled to match so the artwork still resolves at full size. Composition matters as much as file setup here: on a roll up, the lower portion of the banner sits below eye level and is frequently blocked by a table, a chair or the people standing in front of it, so keep the logo and the main message in the upper half. Roll up banners are produced using UV printing. The full display range is in banners and posters.

Die-cut stickers and roll labels

Anything cut to a custom shape depends on the outline being unambiguous. Where the shape is not simply the edge of the artwork, say so when you send the file and confirm with us how the cut outline should be supplied - an outline left to be interpreted is rarely the one you had in mind. This applies to die-cut individual stickers and to labels supplied on a roll, such as the round label roll. See the full range in stickers and labels.

Apparel and uniforms

Artwork for a polo shirt or any other item in the uniform range can be printed or embroidered, and the two are not interchangeable at the file level. Embroidery reproduces solid shapes in thread, so gradients, drop shadows, very fine lines and small lettering that print without difficulty do not translate. A logo intended for embroidery usually needs a simplified version with a reduced number of solid colors.

Common situations, and what to do about them

• The only logo you have is a small image from your website. It will print with the detail it already contains, which on anything larger than a small label reads as soft. Enlarging it does not add detail back. Ask the original designer for a vector file; it is a one-time request that solves the problem for every future order.
• The design was made in a presentation or word processing program. Those programs do not handle CMYK, bleed or trim marks, and they often substitute fonts silently. For a design with a plain white border and no edge-to-edge color, a careful PDF export can work. For anything that runs to the edge, or anything large format, it is faster to rebuild it in design software than to patch the export.
• The file is RGB and has already been approved. Convert it to CMYK and look again at the most saturated areas before you send it, not after it is printed. Reviewing the converted version is the only way to approve the colors you will actually receive.
• The designer is no longer available. Ask for the editable source files and the font names while you still can. We print from the file you supply and do not offer graphic design services, so a flattened image with no source file limits what can be changed later.
• The same artwork is going onto several different products. Work from one vector master and export a separate correctly sized file for each item. Reusing a business card file on a banner is a common cause of a low-resolution result.

How to prepare artwork for printing: the final check before sending

• The document is at the finished size of the product you are ordering.
• Color mode is CMYK, for the document and for every placed image.
• Images are 300 DPI or higher at the final print size.
• Bleed is included on anything that runs to the edge, with trim marks.
• Text and logos sit inside the safety margin.
• All fonts are embedded or outlined.
• A cut line is supplied for any die-cut shape or roll label.
• The text has been proofread by someone other than whoever typed it.
• One clearly named file per design, sent with the product, size and quantity stated.

What happens after you send your artwork

We review the file for print suitability and come back to you if anything will not reproduce cleanly. Because we do not offer in-house graphic design services, a corrected file needs to come from you or your designer. Once the artwork is approved, most orders are ready for collection within 1-3 business days.

Delivery time is added on top of production time. Standard delivery is JOD 3 within 48 hours anywhere in Jordan, same-day delivery is JOD 4 in Amman, and same-day delivery to other governorates is JOD 6. Delivery fees may vary for large-size items and bulk orders. Full detail is on the printing delivery across Jordan page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best file format to send for printing?

A print-ready PDF, because it carries vector artwork, embedded fonts, CMYK color and trim marks in one file that looks the same on our machine as it did on yours. AI, EPS, PSD, JPEG and PNG are also accepted. Use a vector format such as AI or EPS for logos and type, and keep pixel formats for photographs.

Do I need bleed if my design does not touch the edge?

No. Bleed only applies to elements that run off the edge of the finished item. A design that sits inside a plain border does not need it. The safety margin still applies either way, because the cut lands within a tolerance rather than on an exact line, so keep text and logos away from the trim line regardless.

How do I prepare artwork for a large banner without an unmanageable file?

Build the document at a fraction of the finished size, for example one tenth, and scale the effective resolution up by the same factor so the artwork still resolves at full size. Logos and type supplied as vector artwork stay sharp at any scale, which removes the resolution question entirely for the elements that matter most.

Can Printman 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 happens 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. The corrected file needs to come from you or your designer. Working through the checklist above before you send is what keeps that conversation from happening at all.

Knowing how to prepare artwork for printing is worth the hour it takes once, because a correctly built file is reusable: the same vector master feeds your next order of business cards, the next roll up banner for an exhibition and the next run of stickers and labels without starting over. When the file is ready, or if you want us to look at it before you commit to a quantity, request a printing quote and we will answer within one business day. Make it inkredible.