What file naming rules should I follow when submitting files? Simple, clean file names upload most reliably. Rename the file before submitting and remove anything beyond standard characters. Strip out s… Read answer How should I format my booklet file for printing-pages or spreads? For booklets, you can supply your file in single pages format. The production team handles the imposition, arranging the pages into the corr… Read answer What are the file requirements for a folded or scored card design? A folded or scored card needs to be built as one flat file that shows every panel side by side, exactly as it will print before the fold is … Read answer How should I provide design files or specifications for custom projects? For a custom project, the goal is to give the sales and production team enough detail to quote it accurately and confirm it can actually be … Read answer What should I do if my design has elements too close to the edges? Anything sitting right at the trim can get clipped during cutting, because commercial presses shift by a small tolerance from sheet to sheet… Read answer What do I do if my file has white space around the design? Extra white space around your artwork usually means the design does not fill the full trim area, which can throw off alignment and leave unw… Read answer What file formats and quality do I need for text-heavy designs? For text-heavy artwork, a print-quality PDF with vector (live or outlined) type is far better than a flattened JPEG. Vector text stays razor… Read answer What happens if my artwork file is very large in file size? Large file sizes are common with high-resolution images and multi-page layouts such as booklets, and an oversized file can be slow to upload… Read answer What should I do if I have dashed score lines in my design file that I don't want printed? Dashed score or fold lines can stay in your file as visual guides, as long as you tell the team they are guides only and should not print. W… Read answer Can I use my existing design file for a different product? You can often reuse a design across different products, but you will need to resize and adjust the file so it fits the new product's dimensi… Read answer What file formats are best for printing (rasterized vs. vector fonts)? For the sharpest printed text, use non-rasterized (vector) fonts rather than fonts flattened into an image. Vector type stays crisp at any s… Read answer Will my design wrap around the sides of my product? On products with a visible edge or thickness, artwork typically wraps around to the sides, so backgrounds and colors continue over the edge … Read answer How do I design clear plastic cards-which parts will be clear vs. printed? On clear plastic cards, the card itself is fully transparent plastic, and only the areas where you place ink are printed. Wherever you leave… Read answer What does the 4/0 and 4/1 designation mean for printing? These numbers describe how many ink colors print on each side of a piece. The first number is the front, the second is the back, and 4 stand… Read answer Do I need to send the InDesign file or is a PDF enough for printing? A properly exported PDF is all you normally need. It carries your fonts, images, and layout in one self-contained file, so the original InDe… Read answer Should I include the guides and layers when submitting my final design file? Your final print file should carry only the artwork and bleed, not the setup guides. Turn off or delete the guide layers before you export. … Read answer What happens if my image has low resolution? Low-resolution images print blurry, and no software trick fixes that. Forcing a small image to display at a higher DPI does not add real det… Read answer What is bleed and why does my design have a white border? Bleed is the extra bit of background that runs past the trim line so no white strip shows up after cutting. When there is not enough bleed, … Read answer What should I do if my design has trim lines or guidelines-will they print? Guide lines are only there to show you where things line up, and they are not meant to print. Draw them in an obvious color so they read as … Read answer Do I need to add bleed to my file? Bleed is optional, but if you use it your file dimensions have to grow to match. Otherwise you can leave a clean margin and skip it. No blee… Read answer What file formatting and bleed requirements do I need for my print project? Formatting files with the right bleed keeps color running all the way to the edge. Bleed is the extra space past the final trim size that pr… Read answer What bleed size should I use for my print files? Any artwork that runs to the edge needs bleed so nothing gets trimmed into a white line. Because requirements differ by product, always chec… Read answer How do I set up a bleed on my printed materials? Setting up a bleed means letting your design run past the cut line so no white edge is left behind. Your proof shows exactly where that cut … Read answer What bleed and resolution requirements do I need for my file? Two things keep a file production-ready: enough bleed for clean edges and enough resolution for sharp detail. Build your artwork as a high-r… Read answer
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