Seven things that go wrong between artwork and print.
Most print problems start long before the job reaches the printer. Here is the checklist we use on every project – and what can go wrong if you skip a step.
Once a job is on the press, there’s no going back. A 2mm mistake means a reprint, and a reprint can take two weeks. Every point below has cost someone money – so here’s how to avoid them.
01 — Bleed and crop marks
Anything touching the edge of the page needs 3mm of bleed beyond the trim. Guillotines drift, and a page trimmed 1mm inside your artwork shows a white hairline down one edge of every copy.
Keep text 5mm inside the trim, more on a perfect-bound spine. A page number sitting 2mm from the edge will lose its descender.
02 — Image resolution
300dpi at final placed size, not at original size. An image that is 300dpi at 100mm becomes 150dpi when you scale it to 200mm, and 150dpi looks soft on coated stock in a way it never does on screen.
If the only copy of a photograph is the one on your website, it is not print-ready. Ask for the original.
03 — Colour profile
Artwork should go to print in CMYK, using the colour profile your printer asks for. If an RGB file gets converted at the printer, your bright brand orange can easily come out looking dull and brown.
If a brand colour has to be exact across every job, specify a Pantone and pay for the spot. It is cheaper than three reprints arguing about it.
Proof sheet · colour bars · press check
04 — Fonts and outlines
Embed everything, or outline everything, and never rely on a printer having your licensed face. A substituted font reflows the whole document, and nobody notices until the box arrives.
05 — Registration black
Body text set in registration black — 100% of all four plates — will look like it is vibrating, because it is. Small text goes in 100% K alone. Save rich black for large solid areas, and ask your printer for their build.
06 — Folds and pagination
A roll fold needs the inner panel cut 2–3mm narrower or it buckles. A saddle-stitched book needs a page count divisible by four. Both are decided at layout, not at the bindery.
07 — The proof itself
Check a printed proof on the actual paper, in daylight, with whoever wrote the text in the room. A PDF on a laptop is not a proper proof. Ten minutes spent here can save you a costly reprint.
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