File and print guide
Our designs already follow these rules, and the design studio checks your changes against them before you can approve a proof. This page explains what the checks mean.
Bleed
Printing goes slightly past the edge of the piece, and the extra is trimmed off. This extra is the bleed: 0.125 in on every side. Backgrounds and photos that should reach the edge need to fill the bleed too, or a thin white line can show after trimming.
Safe area
Keep text and logos inside the safe area, a margin inside the cut line, so trimming can't clip them.
| Product | Size | Safe margin |
|---|---|---|
| Business cards | 3.5 × 2 in | 0.125 in |
| Postcards | 6 × 4 in | 0.1875 in |
| Rack cards | 4 × 9 in | 0.1875 in |
| Door hangers | 4.25 × 11 in | 0.1875 in |
| Flyers | 8.5 × 11 in | 0.25 in |
| Pocket folders | 9 × 12 in | 0.25 in |
In the studio, Show print guides draws the bleed, the cut line and the safe area on your design.
Colors
Screens mix red, green and blue light; presses print cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink (CMYK). Your proof shows colors as they'll print, so some bright screen colors look a little duller there.
Photos and logos
- Upload PNG or JPEG images. Large phone photos are made smaller before upload.
- For sharp printing, a photo needs about 300 pixels for every inch it covers on paper. A photo 3 inches wide should be at least 900 pixels wide.
- The studio warns you when a photo is low resolution and won't let you approve one that would print blurry.
- A logo with a transparent background (PNG) sits cleanly on any color.