A file is ready for print when its page dimensions match the finished piece, images hold up at their placed size, and the exported PDF preserves the design as intended. A useful preflight catches problems that can hide in an editing application: artwork ending exactly at a cut edge, a small image stretched too far, or a PDF exported with unexpected page boundaries. Work through these four checks before sending the file.
Set the finished size before arranging the artwork
Start with the trim size: the width and height of the piece after it has been cut. A flyer intended to finish at 8.5 by 11 inches should be designed around that final page size, rather than around an arbitrary canvas that happens to look similar on screen. This dimension governs the placement of every element and gives the printer a clear target for production.
Bleed is artwork that extends beyond the trim edge. Cutting can shift slightly, so a background color or photograph that stops exactly at the final boundary may leave a thin unprinted sliver. Extending that artwork past the edge gives the cut some tolerance. The safe area works in the opposite direction: keep essential text, logos, and other information away from the trim so they are not clipped or left uncomfortably close to the edge.
These are separate measurements with different jobs: trim defines the finished piece, bleed extends expendable artwork outward, and the safe area protects content inward. If the print shop supplies a template or file specification, use its dimensions for bleed and margins instead of assuming a universal setting. For a multi-page document, also check that page size and orientation are consistent where intended.
Check image quality at the size it will print
A picture’s pixel count alone does not tell you how sharp it will appear. Effective resolution depends on how large the image is placed. A 1,800-pixel-wide photo placed at six inches across contains about 300 pixels per inch; enlarge that same image to twelve inches and the effective resolution falls to about 150 pixels per inch. The file has not changed, but each inch of the printed image has fewer pixels to describe it.
Roughly 300 pixels per inch is a common target for raster photographs viewed at close range, not a guarantee that every image or print process needs the same setting. Inspect photographs at their actual layout size and watch for blur, blockiness, or visible pixels around fine detail. Cropping also matters: if you crop away much of an image, fewer of its original pixels remain to fill the placed area.
Logos, icons, and clean line illustrations are often better supplied as vector artwork when available. A vector describes shapes mathematically, so it can be scaled without the stair-stepped edges that appear when a small raster graphic is enlarged. If a logo exists only as a low-resolution image, reducing its size may make the pixels less apparent, but it cannot restore detail that was never captured.
Preserve color and typography through export
Color on a monitor is produced with light, while many print workflows build color with inks or toners. RGB and CMYK describe different color models, and converting between them can change the appearance of some hues. A bright screen color may not be reproducible in the same way on paper. Before converting a file or assigning a profile, find out which color workflow the printer accepts; the right choice depends on the production process and the printer’s instructions.
Typography has its own handoff risks. When fonts are embedded in the PDF, the file can carry the font data needed to display and print the text consistently. If the software does not permit embedding a font, a designer may convert type to outlines, but that changes editable text into shapes. Keep an editable source copy before making that conversion, and check small text, line breaks, and spacing in the exported version.
Transparency effects and placed graphics can also behave differently during export. Review the PDF itself rather than relying only on the design application’s canvas: inspect gradients, overlapping objects, fine rules, and any text that sits over an image. This is a file check, not a substitute for approving a physical proof when one is part of the job.
Run a file-level check on the exported PDF
Open the actual PDF you plan to send and confirm these items in order:
- Version and pages: Make sure this is the intended revision, with the expected page count and no forgotten draft or blank page.
- Dimensions and orientation: Check the page size and direction against the finished piece. Look for accidental scaling or a page boundary that includes extra workspace.
- Edges and marks: Confirm artwork reaches the required bleed area, and include crop marks only when the printer’s instructions call for them.
- Text and images: Review the PDF at a useful zoom for missing or substituted fonts, altered line breaks, clipped content, and softened images.
- Delivery settings: Compare the exported file with the print shop’s requested setup, including any specified color or PDF settings, before sending it.
For Greensboro print jobs, Copy King Printing lists business cards, brochures and catalogs, flyers, and full-color and black-and-white printing. A document that passes preflight is easier to hand off because its intended size, content, and export are explicit; the final production instructions still determine the exact file setup.