Whether you are
a designer or are someone who works with a designer, keep in mind these common
mistakes when sharing design files to save time on both sides of the
conversation. If you are sending an art file to be printed, these are
especially important to avoid so that your design will be printed exactly how
you’d like it to be!
1. No
bleed areas included
One of the most
common mistakes we see when receiving art files is the lack of bleeds. A bleed
area refers to an extra 1/8” (or more) of an image or background design that
extends beyond the trim area of your printing piece to ensure that there is no
misalignment when your final piece is cut.
2. Colors
are in RGB, not CMYK
To quickly
describe the difference, CMYK is the color mode intended for printing with ink,
while RGB is the color mode intended for screen displays. CMYK uses white as
the natural color of the print background and black as a combination of colored
inks, so the more color added in CMYK mode, the darker the result. The more
color added to RGB, on the other hand, the lighter the result because RGB uses
white as a combination of all primary colors and black as the absence of light.
With this being
said, when a file is sent in RGB mode but is intended for print, the art will
print with a dramatic color difference to that seen on screen. To avoid any surprises with your printed
designs, be sure to set up your file in CMYK mode from the start.
3. Low
resolution images
For print, the golden resolution is at least 300 dpi, and for digital use, it is recommended to have an image with at least 72 ppi resolution. To read more about resolution, check out our blog Understanding Resolution. When sending images or files to your designer to add into a file or for printing, make sure that the resolution meets these standards (and that if using sourced images, they are print-quality files from professional image sources!)
4. Fonts
aren’t outlined/ links aren’t embedded
Another mistake
on the top of the list of what we see most often is that links aren’t embedded or
fonts aren’t outlined. It is ideal to
send a file for print that has embedded links and fonts so that everything will
print exactly how it was designed without any replacements or errors. If a file is sent without these elements
embedded, a missing link and/or missing font error will show up, holding up
print or preventing a designer from editing any further without the supplied
files. To outline your text, go to Type>Create Outlines (Shift+Control+O)
in Illustrator. To embed a link, select your image in the Links Panel, and
select Embed Image from the drop down in the top right corner.
5. Artboard
size doesn’t match size of the design
If you are
sending an art file directly to be printed, always make sure that you are
providing the file at the size that you intend for print. For example, if you’re wanting to print a notecard
at 4” x 6”, set up your art to match this size.
If a 5” x 10” file is sent to be printed at 4” x 6”, your design will
end up being cut off when scaled, or will need to be resized.
If you have any
questions or hesitations about your design files, reach out to NorthPoint’s
design team, and we will be happy to help! Whether it’s designing, resizing, making recommendations,
or actually bringing your art to print, we’ll walk you through every step of
the way.
