Unlike digital projects and documents you can visualise on a screen, once print projects are brought to life mistakes and errors can’t be fixed. Ensuring your printed material is designed, edited, and exported correctly will save you money and time. The difference between going to print and designing a digital project is that once your work is printed on paper, you cannot correct anything. You can always get rid of everything and reprint your work, but it will come at a cost.
From the paper your work is printed on to the details and special finishes, there are several factors that play a vital role in how your printed material and literature is perceived. Thus, you need to ensure you complete all these pre-print checks. Obviously, if you notice a mistake or typo on an online website or an issue with the design, it is very easy and quick to change. However, if you see the same error on a batch of printed pamphlets, the only way to fix it is a costly reprint.
We all know that the power of print is undeniable – reaching potential customers on a personal level is a surefire way to increase conversions – however, you have to ensure the documents are entirely print-ready before sending them to the printer.
Follow the below basic tips to ensure the experience goes as smooth as possible. In case you are a graphic designer, perhaps you will find these tips too basic, however we advise that you still check if there aren’t a couple of points you are skipping. These recommendations will help you avoid mistakes and issues.
The bleed
Bleed is the artwork located beyond the boundaries of the document after it is sliced and printed. Since the slicing of the document will never be totally accurate, you need to give at least 0.125” of bleed for prints like pamphlets, business cards, posters and brochures. Large format prints can require even more bleed. Make sure you double-check with your provider of document printing services before going ahead and printing your work – ask them what is the ideal amount of bleed required for the specific material you want printed.
Any designer worth their salt understands that failing to put a proper amount of bleed on your artwork is asking for trouble.
The right colour profile
Most print projects like magazines, business cards and brochures are printed with a four-colour process called CMYK. There are some exceptions like many large format prints, these run on inkjet three-colour machines known as RGB, but the fact is that the vast majority of print works will run under the CMYK colour profile.
Can you certainly say you understand the difference between CMYK and RGB? Failing to differentiate the basics may result in designers and other professionals making very expensive mistakes at times, when the time comes to sending their documents to print. Before you send off any materials, make sure all your images in the document are in CMYK.
Calibrate the monitor
This is very useful when trying to lower the differences between what is ultimately printed and what you see on the screen. Sadly, it is just not possible to be a hundred per cent accurate in terms of colours on the screen, since screens have back light that will make colours look much brighter. But having a quality monitor and calibrating it periodically can ensure a better quality of colours and hence less surprises at print.
Proofreading
This may sound as a very obvious step, however you might be surprised how often it is overlooked. Spelling mistakes are very easy to fix, but you need to take the time to catch them. Make sure you double-check the final version of your work. One piece of advice: don’t rely on spell checkers software or programs. They are not able to catch correctly spelled words that you have just placed in the wrong place, like when using “your” when you wanted to use “you’re” or other examples.
