How to Prepare Artwork for Professional Printing

Good print starts with correctly prepared artwork. This guide explains the main things to check before uploading a file for professional printing with Wright Print.

Best file format for printing

A print-ready PDF is our preferred format for most products because it keeps the page layout, fonts, images and other design elements together in one file. High-quality image files may be suitable for some products, but PDF is the safest choice when your design contains text and multiple elements.

Use the correct artwork size

Create your document at the finished size of the product you're ordering. If the design reaches the edge, most standard trimmed print also needs 3mm bleed on every side.

Add 3mm bleed

Bleed is artwork that extends beyond the final trim edge. It allows for the small amount of movement that can occur during trimming and helps prevent thin white edges appearing on designs intended to print edge-to-edge.

For example, A4 finishes at 210 × 297mm. With 3mm bleed on every edge, the supplied artwork size becomes 216 × 303mm.

Keep important content inside the safe area

Don't place important text, logos or contact details right against the trim edge. Keeping essential content comfortably inside the finished size reduces the risk of it appearing too close to the edge or being affected during trimming.

CMYK and RGB colour

Commercial printing normally uses CMYK colour, while screens commonly display RGB. Where possible, create or export your artwork in CMYK. RGB artwork may be converted for production and some colours can look different in print compared with a bright screen.

Image resolution

For most standard printed products, images should normally be around 300dpi at their final printed size. Images taken from websites or screenshots may look acceptable on screen but can appear soft or pixelated when printed.

Fonts

Embed fonts when creating your PDF, or convert them to outlines where appropriate. This helps prevent fonts being substituted or displaying differently when the file is opened on another system.

Multi-page artwork

For booklets and other multi-page products, supply pages in the correct reading order unless the individual product instructions state otherwise. Check that the front and back covers and all internal pages are present before uploading.

Final check before ordering

Open the exported PDF and check spelling, page order, image quality, colours, bleed and positioning. Upload your print-ready artwork when ordering. We'll check the supplied file before production and contact you if we identify an issue that needs your attention.