1. Understanding Bleed, Trim, and Safety
When designing for print, three lines are critical:
- Trim Line: This is where the paper will be cut.
- Bleed Line: (Usually 0.125" outside the trim). Your background art must extend to this line to avoid white edges after cutting.
- Safety Line: (Usually 0.125" inside the trim). Keep text and important logos inside this area to ensure they aren't chopped off.
2. Resolution Matters
For print, your images needs to be 300 DPI (Dots Per Inch) at the actual size they will be printed. Web images are typically 72 DPI and will look pixelated if printed.
3. Exporting PDFs
We prefer PDF/X-1a:2001 standard. This flattens transparency and embeds fonts, ensuring what you see is what we print.