So you've got a design project that you're ready to take to the printer. Congratulations! You are about to take a big step in transforming your vision into reality. But before you do, there are some things you need to know about getting your design ready for the printing process. Read on for tips on how to make sure your design is print-ready and looks perfect when it comes off the press.
Getting Your Design Ready for Print
The first step in getting your design print-ready is to make sure that all of the images and artwork are high resolution (at least 300 dpi). If the images are too low resolution, they will look pixelated or blurry when printed. Make sure all of your fonts are either included in the document or have been converted to outlines so that they don't change when printed. Also, double check that all of the colors used in your design are CMYK and not RGB. CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black - these are the colors used in offset printing presses, while RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue - these are used by computer monitors. Finally, make sure that all of your text is legible; if it's too small you won't be able to read it once it's printed.
Proofreading & Preflighting
Once you've made sure that all of the elements of your design are properly formatted and ready for print, it's time to proofread and preflight everything. Proofreading involves checking every element of your document against its original source material (e.g., a logo from a vector file) or against other documents (e.g., an email with copy edits) to make sure nothing has changed since its inception. Preflighting is a process of checking all of the technical aspects of a document such as font embedding or trim marks before sending it off for printing - this helps ensure that there won't be any surprises once it gets onto press (or back from the printer!).
Printing can be an intimidating process but it doesn't have to be! With careful preparation and attention to detail, you can make sure that your designs look perfect when they come off the press – just like you envisioned them! Take some time up front to get your design ready for print by making sure all of the images/artwork is high resolution, fonts have been converted into outlines/embedded correctly, colors are CMYK instead of RGB, and text is legible after proofreading & preflighting everything before sending off your project! Good luck!
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