Make Your File Print-Ready — By App
Whatever you design in, four things decide whether your file sails through prepress. Get these right and your job moves straight to press:
- CMYK color. Screens mix light (RGB); presses mix ink (CMYK). We convert RGB automatically, but out-of-range colors — especially vivid blues, greens, and oranges — print duller than they look on screen. Exporting CMYK yourself means what you approve is what you get.
- 300dpi images, at print size. "High resolution" means about 300 pixels per printed inch. A photo that fills 6 inches needs ~1800 pixels across. Zoom your PDF to 300% — if it’s crisp there, it will print crisp.
- Fonts embedded (or converted to outlines). A missing font gets silently substituted and reflows your layout. Most PDF exporters embed automatically — but only if the export settings say so.
- 1/8" bleed, 1/8" safe margin. Backgrounds extend 0.125" past the trim; text stays at least 0.125" (ideally 0.25") inside it. No crop marks or registration marks, please.
Full specs live on File Setup Requirements. App-specific walkthroughs:
- Adobe InDesign: Bleed & layout · Document size & units · Exporting a print-ready PDF · Our PDF export profile
- Canva: Canva to print-ready PDF — includes the RGB-to-CMYK catch every Canva user should know.
Adobe Photoshop
- Design at final size + 0.25" (bleed), 300dpi. Image → Mode → CMYK Color (or Edit → Convert to Profile → U.S. Web Coated).
- Flatten, then Save a Copy → Photoshop PDF, High Quality Print preset, no printer’s marks.
Adobe Illustrator / Affinity Publisher & Designer
- Document bleed 0.125" on all sides; CMYK document color mode from the start.
- Export PDF/X-4: fonts embed automatically, bleed honored, marks off. (Or outline all text before export.)
Microsoft Word, Publisher & Google Docs
- Use Save As / Download → PDF at the highest-quality setting; in Word, check Options → PDF/A or "bitmap text when fonts may not be embedded" is OFF and font embedding is ON.
- Office apps can’t bleed — design with at least 0.5" white margins on all sides, or send us the file and we’ll advise before you order.
Not sure about your file? Call 855.629.5162 or email info@shortrunprinting.com before you order — file checks are free.