Every week, our production team catches a file that would have come back wrong if we’d run it as supplied. Usually it’s one of three things: no bleed, low resolution, or colours set up in the wrong mode. None of these are hard to understand once someone explains them properly, so I thought I’d do exactly that.
Bleed: why your background needs to run past the edge
Bleed is the extra artwork you extend past the trim line of your finished piece, usually by three millimetres in Australia. Printing and cutting are mechanical processes, and even a very small shift during trimming can leave a thin white sliver at the edge of your page if there’s no bleed to cut into. Extend any background colour, image or design element past the trim edge by three millimetres on every side, and that sliver never shows up. Text and anything important should stay well clear of the trim line too, generally at least three to five millimetres inside it, so nothing critical gets cut off if the trim shifts slightly.
DPI: why your screen and your printer disagree
DPI stands for dots per inch, and it’s the measure of how much detail an image holds when it’s printed. A screen displays images at around 72 to 96 pixels per inch, and that looks perfectly sharp on a monitor. Print a screen resolution image at full size, though, and it comes out soft or pixelated, since the printer needs far more detail packed into the same physical space. For most commercial print, aim for 300 DPI at the final printed size. If you’re not sure whether an image will hold up, check its dimensions at 300 DPI before you send it through. An image that looks sharp on a website is very often not sharp enough for a poster or brochure at the same physical size.
Colour: why CMYK and RGB aren’t interchangeable
Screens build colour from red, green and blue light, which is why digital files are usually set up in RGB. Printing presses build colour from cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink, which is CMYK. The two systems can’t produce exactly the same range of colours, and a file that looks vivid on screen in RGB can shift, sometimes noticeably, when it’s converted to CMYK for print. Setting your file up in CMYK from the start, rather than converting at the last minute, gives you a much more accurate preview of what will actually come off the press. This matters most with bright blues, greens and oranges, which are the colours that shift the most between the two systems.
The habit that saves the most reprints
Send a proof request before a full production run, every time, even on a job you’ve done before. A proof catches bleed, resolution and colour issues before they’re printed a thousand times over, and it costs far less time than a reprint. Our design team checks incoming files as a matter of course, but the earlier an issue is caught, the less it costs everyone in time and materials.
FAQ
How much bleed do I need for print in Australia?
Three millimetres on every side is the standard bleed allowance for most commercial print jobs in Australia. Extend background colours and images past the trim edge by this amount to avoid white edges after cutting.
What DPI should my print file be?
300 DPI at the final printed size is the standard for sharp commercial print. Check your image’s actual dimensions at 300 DPI before sending a file, since screen resolution images are usually far below this.
Why does my printed colour look different to my screen?
Screens display colour in RGB, using red, green and blue light, while printing uses CMYK ink. The two colour systems have different ranges, so colours, especially bright blues, greens and oranges, can shift when converted from RGB to CMYK. Setting your file up in CMYK from the start reduces this difference.
Do you check files before printing?
Yes. Our design team reviews incoming files for bleed, resolution and colour setup, and we provide a proof for approval before full production begins.
Get your file checked before you print
If you’re not sure whether your file is print ready, talk to our design team before you submit your next job. We’ll check it properly the first time, so your print comes back right the first time too.
