File preparation guide
How to prepare a print file: a checklist before you send
Most print delays come from the file, not the press: a size that does not match the order, a background that stops exactly at the trim line, a photo saved from a website. Go through this list before you send, and the job moves without another round of questions.
1. The size matches the order
Set the document to the finished size of the product — after trimming. An A5 flyer is 148 × 210 mm; a US business card is 3.5 × 2 in. When the size is slightly off, the print is scaled or cropped, and text near the edge suffers.
2. There is bleed, and important content stays away from the edge
Backgrounds, photos and color bands that reach the edge continue 3 mm (1/8 in) past the trim line — that is bleed. Text, logos, phone numbers and QR codes stay at least 3 mm inside the page. The bleed and safe zone guide explains it in full.
3. Images are sharp at their printed size
An image that looks fine on screen can print soft. What matters is resolution at the size it is actually printed: about 300 dpi for anything held in the hand, less for a sign seen from a distance. Screenshots and images saved from social media are almost always too weak.
4. Colors suit print
A press prints with four inks (CMYK); a screen shows light (RGB). Glowing RGB colors — neon green, electric blue — print duller. Keep small black text in black only, not rich black. The color guide has the details.
5. Fonts travel inside the file
In a print PDF the fonts are embedded in the file. A font that is not embedded is replaced at the print shop, and lines move. A proper print export does this for you; when in doubt, turn a headline or logo into outlines.
6. One file, the final version
Send one PDF with a clear name, with the number of pages ordered, in the right order. A saddle-stitched booklet is built in multiples of 4 pages, cover included. Before approving, read the proof page by page — especially names, dates, prices and phone numbers.
What Drapress checks when the file is uploaded
When a file is uploaded, Drapress checks that its size matches the product, that there is bleed on every side the content reaches, that no text sits too close to the trim, that images are sharp enough at their printed size, that fonts are embedded and that the page count fits. Findings are shown in plain words, on the page where they were found. Some can be sorted out in one click — adding bleed, say, or splitting spreads into single pages — and the print shop decides on the rest.
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
An automatic check cannot tell whether a name is spelled right, a date is current, a price in the leaflet is correct or the photo is the right one. Only you can check that — in the proof, before you approve.
