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, 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.
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Bleed on every side
Artwork that touches the edge runs 3 mm (0.125 in) past the trim.
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A safe margin
Text and logos stay at least 3 mm inside the trim, clear of the blade.
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Images at 300 PPI
Photos carry 300 pixels per inch at the size they print.
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CMYK color
Colors are set up in the four inks the press uses, not screen RGB.
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Embedded fonts
Each font is embedded or converted to outlines, so the shop's system can't swap in another.
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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 entry explains the standard, and our guide to PDF/X standards 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
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.
Set the resolution
Set the scene’s DPI to 300 so photos and effects keep their detail in the PDF.
Check the design
Run your checks for content outside the page or past its edge, and for placeholders nobody filled, before the export starts.
Export with marks
Turn on crop and registration marks if the shop wants them. The PDF keeps its trim and bleed boxes, so the shop’s software knows where the page ends.
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, 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
Documentation and references for this concept.
Related Terms
PDF/X
An ISO-standardized subset of PDF designed for reliable, predictable reproduction in professional print production, enfo…
Bleed / Cutout
Bleed is the margin of artwork beyond the trim, usually 3 mm, so a cut that lands slightly off never leaves a white edge…
Registration Marks
Alignment targets placed beyond the finished edge of a printed piece. They print on every color plate, so the press oper…
Outline Fonts
Converting text into vector paths so a print file no longer depends on its fonts, which keeps the look but gives up edit…
Print Resolution
How many pixels of an image land in each inch of paper once it prints, usually requested as 300 DPI. CE.SDK's scene DPI …