Most print problems start before anything hits the press — they start on your computer. We see it all the time at YN Print Shop: a customer sends over a great looking design, and we have to be the ones to say it isn’t ready to print. Wrong color mode, low resolution, missing bleed these things delay your job and add to your cost.
The fix is usually simple. Here’s what to check before you send us your files.
Resolution: The 300 DPI Rule
Print needs 300 DPI (dots per inch) at the size it’s going to print. Your screen runs at 72–96 DPI, so images that look sharp on-screen can still print blurry.
Before you wrap up your design, check the resolution on every image. In Photoshop: Image → Image Size. If you’re working with web graphics, swap them out for high-res version scaling up a low-res image won’t fix it.
Bleed and Safe Zone: Don’t Cut Off Your Design
Bleed is extra design space — 1/8″ beyond the edge of your finished piece. Paper shifts a little when it’s cut, and without bleed you can end up with a thin white border where there shouldn’t be one.
Keep anything important — text, logos, key graphics — at least 1/8″ away from the trim edge. This is called the safe zone. Set up bleed from the start in your design program. InDesign, Illustrator, and Canva Pro all have a bleed setting when you create a new document.
Color Mode: CMYK, Not RGB
Screens use RGB — a color system based on light. Printers use CMYK — a color system based on ink. The two don’t match perfectly, and some colors (bright blues, neons, vivid purples) can shift a lot in the conversion.
Design in CMYK from the start so what you see on screen is closer to what prints. In Illustrator or InDesign, set this when you create the document. In Photoshop: Image → Mode → CMYK.
Fonts: Outline Them or Embed Them
If you send a file with live text and we don’t have that font, the design breaks. Text shifts, spacing changes, and the layout falls apart.
Two fixes: convert your text to outlines before you send (in Illustrator: Type → Create Outlines), or embed your fonts when you export to PDF. Either way, keep an editable copy for yourself.
The Easiest Format to Send
Export as a print-ready PDF with bleeds included and fonts embedded. It’s the format most print shops prefer, and it travels well.
Not sure if your file is ready? Send us a message before you place your order. Five minutes of back-and-forth beats a delayed job. Contact YN Print Shop and we’ll take a look.