Artwork Guidelines

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Welcome to the Printfly Artwork Guidelines! To ensure your designs are printed exactly as you envision them, with the highest quality possible, it’s essential to set up your files correctly. Following these steps will help prevent delays and ensure a smooth printing process from start to finish.


1. File Formats

To ensure compatibility and the best results, please supply your artwork in one of the following formats. Our strong preference is for a Press-Ready PDF.

  • PDF (Press-Ready): This is the industry standard and our most preferred format. Please export using a 'Press Quality' setting.
  • Adobe Illustrator (.ai): Please ensure all fonts are outlined and images are embedded.
  • Adobe Photoshop (.psd): Please supply in 300dpi at the final print size and flatten all layers.
  • EPS (Encapsulated PostScript): A vector format that is also widely accepted. Ensure fonts are converted to outlines.

We do not recommend submitting files in formats like JPEG, PNG, Microsoft Word, or Publisher, as they may not be suitable for high-quality commercial printing.

2. Colour Mode: CMYK

All artwork must be supplied in CMYK colour mode. This is the standard colour model for four-colour process printing.

  • What is CMYK? CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black). These are the four ink colours used in commercial printing.
  • Avoid RGB: RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is the colour mode used for digital screens (like monitors and phones). If you supply files in RGB, they will be converted to CMYK before printing, which can cause noticeable and unexpected colour shifts.
  • Rich Black: For a deep, rich black colour in large areas, we recommend using the CMYK values: C=40%, M=30%, Y=30%, K=100%. For small text, use 100% K (Black) only.

3. Bleed, Trim & Safe Area

This is one of the most important steps for professional printing. Setting up bleed correctly prevents unsightly white edges on your final product after trimming.

  • Bleed (3mm): Please add 3mm of bleed to all edges of your artwork. Bleed is the area of your design that extends beyond the final trim edge. Any background colours or images that touch the edge of your design must extend to fill the bleed area.
  • Trim: This is the final size of your printed product after it has been cut.
  • Safe Area (3mm inside trim): Keep all important text, logos, and content within a 3mm safe area inside the trim line. This ensures that nothing crucial is accidentally cut off during the finishing process.

4. Image Resolution

For sharp, clear, and high-quality printed images, all photos and raster-based graphics in your artwork must have a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) at their final print size.

  • Images with a lower resolution (e.g., 72dpi images taken from websites) will appear pixelated and blurry when printed.
  • Simply increasing the resolution of a low-quality image in Photoshop does not improve its quality. You must start with a high-resolution source image.

5. Fonts and Text

To avoid issues with missing fonts or text reflowing, all text in your document must be converted to outlines (or curves).

  • This process converts your text into vector shapes, so it no longer relies on font files being installed on our computers.
  • Please be aware that once text is converted to outlines, you can no longer edit it. Always save a separate, editable version of your file before outlining the fonts.

Final Checklist

Before you upload your artwork, please run through this quick checklist:

  • Is the file in a preferred format (Press-Ready PDF)?
  • Is the document set up in CMYK colour mode?
  • Does the artwork have 3mm of bleed on all edges?
  • Is all important text and content within the safe area?
  • Are all images at least 300dpi?
  • Have all fonts been converted to outlines/curves?
  • Have you proofread all text for spelling and grammar errors?