File preparation guide
How to export a print PDF from Canva, Word, PowerPoint and InDesign
Export is the moment a good design becomes a good file — or does not. Most programs default to settings for screens and e-mail, not print. A few right settings save a round of corrections.
Canva
Create the design at the finished size of the product. In the File menu turn on "Show print bleed" and stretch backgrounds to the outer line. When downloading, choose "PDF Print" and check "Crop marks and bleed". If you can choose a color profile, choose CMYK.
Word
Word has no bleed. When the background does not reach the edge, set the page to the finished size and keep margins of at least 3 mm. When it does reach the edge, set a page 6 mm larger (3 mm each side) and tell the print shop. Save as PDF and, in Options, check PDF/A compliance — that keeps the fonts inside the file.
PowerPoint
Set a custom slide size at the finished size, not 16:9. When exporting to PDF, choose "Standard (publishing online and printing)", not "Minimum size". Images inserted small and stretched on the slide print weak — insert the original file.
InDesign and Illustrator
Set a 3 mm bleed in the document setup. When exporting, choose a PDF/X preset — PDF/X-4 when the print shop accepts it — and in Marks and Bleeds check "Use Document Bleed Settings". Add crop marks only if the print shop asks for them.
Before you send
Open the PDF you created, not the design file: check the page count, the size, that the background runs past the edge and that no font has changed. A password-protected file cannot be opened by the print shop — send it without protection.
What Drapress checks when the file is uploaded
Drapress reads the PDF the way the print shop will: page size against the product, bleed, fonts that were not embedded, forms, comments and layers that would not print as they look, and locked files. Spreads exported as one page can be split into single pages in one click, and fields and comments meant to print can be merged into the page — always after a confirmation and with a proof.
See it in action
In this video (75 seconds, no sound) a sample file goes through the Drapress check, from upload to sending it to the print shop.
Read the video as text
The file looked fine on screen. At the press, the bleed falls short. And a photo that may print blurry. Upload your PDF. Your original is kept. Live view of every check: size, bleed, fonts, colors, images. Bleed missing on page 3: a thin white strip may show after trim. Step by step: the photo on page 5? Replace it, or accept it as it is. Screen colors (RGB): the shop converts them for print; shades may shift. Missing bleed? A few clicks build it from the page's own edge. It fixes only what is safe to fix. Before and after: the background now runs past the cut line. A warning left? You decide, then send it to the print shop.
What an automatic check cannot catch
The check does not know which program made the file or what you meant to put in it. A page dropped in export, a hidden slide that never came out, or an old version sent by mistake — only the proof shows those.
