How to prepare print-ready files (and avoid reprints)

Most reprints come down to three simple checks. Get these right and your files will print first time, every time.

1. Bleed: give us 3mm all round

Any colour or image that touches the edge of the page must extend 3mm beyond the trim line. Without bleed, white slivers appear along the edges — the most common cause of rejected jobs.

2. Colour: work in CMYK

Screens show RGB; printers print CMYK. Convert your document before exporting, and expect a slight shift in very bright blues and oranges — we will send a proof so you can approve the real colour.

3. Resolution: 300 DPI at final size

Images should be 300 dots per inch at the size they will appear on paper. A 90mm-wide card needs at least 1063 pixels across.

Export as PDF/X-4 with fonts embedded, and you are done. Questions? Send your file with a quote request — we check every file by hand before printing.