5 Print Design Tips to Keep Your Printer (and Sanity) Happy
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Designing for print isn’t just about making things look pretty—it’s about making sure your beautiful creation doesn’t turn into a pixelated, misaligned disaster once it leaves your screen. At Zipp Printing, we’ve seen it all, and trust us, a little prep work goes a long way. Here are five essential (and sanity-saving) tips to make sure your designs shine in print!
1. Bleed and Crop Marks: Give Your Design Some Breathing Room
Printers aren’t mind readers, and they need a little wiggle room. That’s where bleed comes in—extending your design 0.125 inches past the edge ensures no awkward white borders after trimming. And crop marks? Think of them as little “cut here” indicators for the printer, so your design gets sliced exactly where it should (and not through your logo—yikes!).
2. Outline Fonts and Embed Images: Lock It Down
Imagine sending your design to print, only to have your carefully chosen font replaced by Comic Sans. Nightmare fuel, right? Outlining fonts turns them into vector shapes, ensuring they stay exactly as you intended. Embedding images is just as crucial—it keeps them from mysteriously disappearing or printing in potato quality. Save yourself a headache and lock those elements in place!
3. Vector Graphics: The Superheroes of Print Design
Raster images (like JPEGs) are like that friend who looks fine from a distance but falls apart under close scrutiny. Vector graphics (AI, EPS, or PDF) scale infinitely without losing quality, so whether your logo is on a business card or a billboard, it’ll look crisp and professional. Say no to pixelated prints—go vector!
4. File Types: Not All Heroes Wear Capes (but PDFs Do)
Sending the wrong file type to your printer is like bringing a spoon to a knife fight—it’s just not going to work. Stick to high-resolution PDFs, AI, or EPS files for best results. Also, check your color mode—print lives in CMYK, not RGB. If you skip this step, your vibrant blue may turn into a sad, dull gray. And nobody wants that.
5. Exporting a Print-Ready PDF from Canva (Yes, It’s Possible!)
Canva is great for quick designs, but if you don’t export correctly, you might end up with a mess. Here’s the golden rule:
• Click ‘Download’
• Select ‘PDF – Print’
• Check the boxes for ‘Crop marks and bleed’
Boom! Now your Canva masterpiece is ready for print without any surprises.
Final Thoughts: Print Like a Pro
Print design isn’t rocket science, but it does require some know-how. Follow these five tips, and your printed materials will look as polished as you intended. And if you ever feel lost, Zipp Printing is here to help—because nothing makes us happier than bringing your designs to life (without any print horror stories).
Now go forth and design with confidence!
Written by Melissa Keusch
