How to Prepare Your PDF File for Printing
Why High-Quality Print Files Matter? The guarantee of premium quality prints is the correct preparation of artwork files according to the print shop’s technical specifications. A great graphic design always requires a flawless print-ready file. Below are key technical guidelines that MUST NOT be ignored when generating high-quality files for print.
Please Note: The following section contains technical PDF specifications dedicated to graphic designers and DTP specialists preparing files for our print shop.
Print-Ready File Specifications
Production PDF Format:
version 1.6 and higher.
No Embedded Color Profiles:
Lower versions do not guarantee correct transparency flattening.
CMYK Color Space:
All graphic design elements must be converted to the CMYK color space. If the RGB color space is used, there is a risk that it will be misinterpreted and either not printed at all or printed in colors far from what was expected. Color management in printing.
Raster Graphic Resolution:
300–350 DPI.
Image Quality: Using images with a resolution above 240 DPI guarantees high print quality. Including images that significantly exceed the required 300 DPI does not improve print quality; instead, it drastically increases the PDF file size, creating unnecessary difficulties for both the graphic designer and the CTP or digital press operator. The choice of printing paper may also play an important role.
Automatic 3–5 mm Bleeds:
Generated directly from the design software.
What are Bleeds?
Bleeds are an extra “safety margin” for all graphics reaching the edges of the project, intended to be trimmed off at the print shop. Preparing bleeds involves extending all edge-reaching elements beyond the final trim line (net format).
Safe Margin for Crucial Elements:
Keep important design elements at least 5 mm away from the page edge. This guarantees that after trimming, vital elements will not end up too close to the edge.
Using Printer Marks:
In digital printing, only trim marks (crop marks) are used. All other printer marks are unnecessary and can even cause issues during production.
Multi-Page Prints
All pages must be sent in a single PDF document as individual, separate pages. Generating PDF files with spreads (two-page layouts) is not acceptable, as it makes correct digital imposition impossible.
Embedded Fonts or Converted to Outlines (Curves):
This guarantees that all fonts and Polish diacritics (special characters) are correctly interpreted by the printing software.
5th Color – Print Finishing
(Spot UV / Foiling):
Elements intended for the 5th color must be placed on a separate channel as a spot color.
WARNING Regarding
Canva and CorelDRAW Files!
CorelDRAW: In files generated from CorelDRAW, it is absolutely mandatory to flatten all transparencies and convert all fonts to outlines (curves).
Canva: We accept no responsibility for the final print quality or errors arising from files exported directly from Canva (even when saved in PDF format).
For More Information on Technical Specifications and File Preparation, Contact: 
studio@graffidea.pl
Contact
05-500 Piaseczno / Warszawa
POLAND
We regret to inform you that we do not provide "on-the-spot" services such as photocopying, photo printing, or thesis printing.
