How to Avoid Printing Disasters? Pre-Print File Check Guide!

In digital printing, encountering discrepancies between the expected and actual print results, or having to repeatedly adjust files, can disrupt printing schedules and increase costs. To ensure that the final printed product matches the design document, it is essential to carefully check the file details before printing to minimize unnecessary trouble.

Converting Text to Outlines and Embedding Images

Converting text to outlines transforms the text content into non-editable images, effectively preventing issues such as missing images, misplaced text, missing fonts, or font deformation during file transfer. Embedding images ensures that links are not lost when files are viewed on different computers, guaranteeing print accuracy.

Checking Color Modes

RGB mode is suitable for electronic displays with brighter colors, while CMYK mode is used for printed materials with darker tones. Using RGB mode for printing can result in significant color differences that cannot be corrected. Therefore, before delivering the design draft, it is essential to verify that the color mode is CMYK and confirm whether the color difference is acceptable. Additionally, if spot color printing is required, ensure to match the PANTONE color code.

Checking Black Elements

For small black elements such as body text and QR codes, it is best to use pure black (C0 M0 Y0 K100) to avoid issues like ghosting or dirty prints. However, for large black areas, pure black may appear insufficiently deep, so mixing the other three colors (cyan, magenta, yellow) can make the black more rich and full.

Checking Fonts

Using overly small font sizes and thin lines can result in unclear fonts that are difficult to recognize after printing. To ensure print quality, it is recommended to use a font size of 6pt or larger and ensure that the size of reversed text is not less than 10pt. Additionally, the thinnest width of lines and strokes should not be less than 0.25pt, and the width of reversed lines should be at least 0.5pt. This ensures clear and readable printed materials.

Checking for Bleeds

After any design is printed, it needs to be cut to become a finished product, and cutting inevitably involves errors. Therefore, when designing, add a 3mm bleed around the finished size to avoid cutting off important content or leaving white edges due to cutting errors.

Content and Markup Checks

Before printing, carefully check the text content in the document. The proofreading process for book publications usually requires three rounds of proofreading and three revisions. Although other printed materials may not have such strict requirements, when outputting production files, it is essential to carefully check the text content for typos, grammatical errors, and non-compliance with relevant regulations to ensure text accuracy.

In addition, to avoid mistakes and reduce unnecessary rework, it is necessary to clearly mark the printing quantity, size, process requirements, etc., in the design file before printing. If spot colors are required, specify the Pantone color code to reduce communication time, improve production efficiency, and facilitate post-production acceptance and inspection.

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