Bleed, resolution, CMYK, margins, fonts and spot inks. The eight mistakes that make a print shop send your PDF back, and how to check for them before you send it.
What resolution a print file needs, why 300 ppi is the standard and how to spot a pixelated image before it reaches the press.
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4 min read
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Getting started
You create a campaign, choose the checks a file has to pass and share a link with your customer. When they upload the final artwork it is validated on its own, and the result shows up on screen straight away with the exact reason if something fails.
Create your first campaign, review the validations that switch on and copy the upload link. There is nothing to install, on your side or your customer side.
No. Your customer opens the campaign link, drops the file and sees the result right there. Accounts are only for your team.
PDF is accepted by default, since that is what reaches the press. The format validator is configurable per campaign, so you can allow other extensions if your workflow needs them.
Up to 200 MB per file and up to 15 files in a single submission. If you set a lower size ceiling on the campaign with the file size validator, that one wins.
Software checks usually take seconds. Heavy files, or jobs that include an AI check, can stretch to a minute or so. Your customer page refreshes itself, so there is nothing to reload.
Preparing the artwork
It is the final artwork: the closed, print-ready file your customer hands over. That is exactly what gets uploaded to the campaign and validated.
The bleed check asks for 3 mm by default and also looks for crop marks. You can change the millimetres, or stop requiring the marks, on the campaign itself.
The default floor is 300 dpi for images. It is adjustable per campaign: for large format it is normal to lower it, because the viewing distance allows for it.
CMYK is required by default, both for the PDF and for the images inside it. If your workflow accepts RGB you can change it on the campaign.
The check looks for fonts embedded in the PDF. Outlining is a different thing and is not checked, though it causes no trouble either: outlined text no longer carries a font to embed.
The margin check flags elements closer than 3 mm to the trim, which is where the guillotine can eat them. The value is adjustable per campaign.
Foil, UV, embossing or die cuts have to come as separate spot plates, not mixed into the CMYK. The check looks for those separations by name and flags a finish buried in the process colours.
White set to overprint disappears on press: you see it on screen and it never reaches the sheet. It gets caught before the file goes to the machine.
Plans and trial
You get 7 days and 50 validations with every check switched on, and no card. We ask for it before the trial ends so you carry on without interruption. If you do not subscribe, uploads and validations stop, but you keep read access to your campaigns and history. Nothing is deleted for not paying.
Yes, whenever you like and in both directions, from the billing portal. The new plan limits apply as soon as the change is confirmed. If you cancel, you keep access until the end of the period you already paid for.
Yes, on the Pro and Enterprise plans. The page your customer sees carries your logo and your colours, not ours.
No. Everything measurable is checked by software and always gives the same answer. AI only steps in where judgement is needed, writes down what it saw and why, and the final call is always the print shop.
Files are kept for 90 days. You can delete them earlier from the dashboard whenever you want.
Only your team: files belong to your organisation and are not shared with anyone else. You can export all your data or request its deletion whenever you want, and upload pages are kept out of search engines.
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