--- title: "Print-Ready PDF Checklist: What to Check - CE.SDK Glossary" description: "A print-ready PDF checklist: bleed, safe margin, 300 PPI images, CMYK color, embedded fonts, and crop marks, plus which PDF format to send and how to check it." url: "https://img.ly/glossary/print-ready-pdf-checklist/" type: "page" --- > This is the markdown version of [Print-Ready PDF Checklist: What to Check - CE.SDK Glossary](https://img.ly/glossary/print-ready-pdf-checklist/). For all pages in one file, see [llms-full.txt](https://img.ly/llms-full.txt). For an index of all available pages, see [llms.txt](https://img.ly/llms.txt). --- # Print-Ready PDF Checklist ## What Does a Print-Ready PDF Need? A print-ready PDF needs bleed, a safe margin, images at 300 PPI, CMYK color, embedded fonts, and [crop marks](https://img.ly/glossary/crop-marks.md), so a print shop can send it to press without fixing anything first. Shops check each file before it goes to press and ask for a new one when something is missing, so a file that is ready from the start saves a round trip. CE.SDK can export PDFs with bleed and printer's marks, and its Print Ready PDF plugin turns them into CMYK PDF/X files. ## What Should You Check Before Sending a PDF to Print? Go through these six items before you upload, since most file problems come down to one of them. - **Bleed on every side** — Artwork that touches the edge runs 3 mm (0.125 in) past the trim. - **A safe margin** — Text and logos stay at least 3 mm inside the trim, clear of the blade. - **Images at 300 PPI** — Photos carry 300 pixels per inch at the size they print. - **CMYK color** — Colors are set up in the four inks the press uses, not screen RGB. - **Embedded fonts** — Each font is embedded or converted to outlines, so the shop's system can't swap in another. - **Crop marks** — Short lines outside the corners show the shop where to trim. ## Which PDF Format Should You Send? Print shops often ask for a PDF/X file, a version of PDF made for print, and the two common choices handle transparency differently. The [PDF/X](https://img.ly/glossary/pdf-x.md) entry explains the standard, and our [guide to PDF/X standards](https://img.ly/blog/what-does-print-ready-pdf-mean-understanding-pdf-x-standards-for-professional-printing.md) compares the versions in detail. ### PDF/X-4 Keeps transparency live, so shadows and blends print as designed. Most modern shops accept it, which makes it the usual choice. ### PDF/X-1a The older standard flattens transparency before the file leaves your hands, which can change how overlapping elements print. Some shops still ask for it. ## How Do You Check a PDF Before Printing? Run a preflight check. Design and PDF tools include one that flags missing bleed, low-resolution images, font problems, and colors in the wrong color space, and print shops run their own check on every file they receive. Inside CE.SDK, your integration can check a design before export for elements outside the page, content that sticks out past its edge, text hidden behind other elements, and empty placeholders. Those are layout checks, so a preflight still has the final word on the print file. ## How to Export a Print-Ready PDF in CE.SDK ### Step 01: Set the trim size and bleed Size each page to the finished piece and give it a bleed margin. A safety inset can show users where to keep text, and it never prints. On the web, the Print Setup panel lets users set the bleed themselves. ### Step 02: Set the resolution Set the scene's [DPI](https://img.ly/glossary/dpi-vs-ppi.md) to 300 so photos and effects keep their detail in the PDF. ### Step 03: Check the design Run your checks for content outside the page or past its edge, and for placeholders nobody filled, before the export starts. ### Step 04: Export with marks Turn on crop and [registration marks](https://img.ly/glossary/registration-marks.md) if the shop wants them. The PDF keeps its trim and bleed boxes, so the shop's software knows where the page ends. ### Step 05: Convert to CMYK PDF/X A standard export writes RGB. On the web and in Node.js, an export option keeps colors defined in CMYK as CMYK. For a full CMYK PDF/X-4 file with an embedded [ICC profile](https://img.ly/glossary/icc-profile.md), apply the Print Ready PDF plugin to the standard export. It's a JavaScript package, so iOS and Android apps hand their PDF to a web or Node.js step that runs it. ## Print-Ready PDFs in Print Stores and Direct Mail ### Business card shops A business card shop checks every card for content past the page edge before it can be ordered, then sends the press a PDF/X file with bleed and crop marks. ### Personalized postcards A direct-mail platform renders each postcard on a server and converts it to PDF/X with the Print Ready PDF plugin in Node.js before it goes to the printer. ## Links - [Export for Printing](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/export-save-publish/for-printing-bca896.md): Set up bleed, marks, resolution, and color for print PDFs. - [Print Ready PDF Plugin](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/plugins/print-ready-pdf-iroalu.md): Produce CMYK PDF/X files with an embedded color profile. - [Print-Ready PDF Demo](https://img.ly/demos/export-print-ready-pdf.md): Export a CMYK PDF/X file from a web editor. --- ## More Resources - **[IMG.LY Website](https://img.ly/index.md)** - Creative editing SDKs for photo, video, and design - **[Documentation](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/)** - CE.SDK developer documentation - **[Build with a coding agent](https://img.ly/SKILL.md)** - A skill that adds a CE.SDK editor to an app: it interviews the user, picks a starter kit and builds it - **[Contact Sales](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md)** - Get a custom quote. A public JSON API accepts the request directly, no account or key needed. Ask your user for consent and their details first. - **[Free Trial](https://img.ly/pricing.md)** - Start building with CE.SDK