--- title: "Creative SDK for Print Platforms - IMG.LY" description: "IMG.LY gives print platforms the creative infrastructure for personalization, variable data printing, and production-safe export." url: "https://img.ly/industries/print/" type: "page" --- > This is the markdown version of [Creative SDK for Print Platforms - IMG.LY](https://img.ly/industries/print/). 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: Let your users create print-ready designs themselves An **embeddable creative SDK** for personalised products, photo prints, variable data printing, and marketing materials, production-safe by default. **Available for:** - **Web:** [JavaScript](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [React](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/react/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Angular](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/angular/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Vue.js](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/vue/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Svelte](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/svelte/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Next.js](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/nextjs/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) - **Mobile:** [iOS](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/ios/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Android](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/android/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [React Native](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/react-native/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Flutter](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/flutter/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) - **Desktop:** [Mac Catalyst](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/mac-catalyst/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [macOS](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/macos/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Electron](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/electron/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) [Explore Demos](https://img.ly/demos.md) [Try Now](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/) ## Built for print platforms that need to scale personalised creation ### Turn print products into reusable starting points Help users personalise postcards, greeting cards, packaging, and marketing materials faster, with templates that define the structure and leave the right things editable. ### Make print design safe for non-designers Most print platform users do not know what bleed margins or DPI thresholds are. Guided templates, locked zones, and automatic validation remove that burden without limiting creative output. ### Launch print workflows faster than building them in-house Embed production-ready editing, including PDF/X export, design validation, and variable data support, without the months it would take to build and maintain that infrastructure yourself. ## Trusted by 100+ industry leaders **Trusted by:** Digitas, Omneky, The Print Bar, Brandwatch, Planoly, HP, Shopify, Reuters, Hootsuite, Semrush, Shutterfly, one.com, Sprout Social, Constant Contact, Spread Group > "Integrating IMG.LY’s editor meant we didn’t have to build or maintain a complex editing layer ourselves. That kept our team focused on our core AI ad engine and saved us countless development hours — while still giving our customers the ability to polish and customize creatives at scale." -- Hikari Senju, CEO, Omneky > "With IMG.LY we built a central creative portal that now powers over 140 dealer campaigns across multiple automotive brands. Before this, asset creation was slow and inconsistent." -- Martin Röhr, Product Owner, Digitas > "By embedding IMG.LY’s editor we were able to hit key RFP requirements and deliver a template-based creative experience that now serves 1,000+ customers. It helped us win more deals and exceed enterprise expectations without needing to hire dedicated design teams." -- Rob Driscoll, Director of PM, Optimizely > "Since integrating IMG.LY’s editor, we now deliver 30,000+ ad creatives per month, dramatically shorten time-to-launch, and help our clients cut design spend by up to $10,000 per month." -- Logan Welbaum, Founder, Plai > "Our customers create over a million personalized postcards each year choosing from over hundreds of templates with IMG.LY’s SDK. It’s the only solution that allows us to build our own specialized, on-brand UI that integrates seamlessly with our platform." -- Jeanine Zaalberg, Product Manager, SwissPost > "From a developer’s perspective, the most powerful feature of the photo editor is the integration process. It was completely flawless, quick, and easy to integrate." -- Stefano Fornari, CTO, Funambol > "We compared IMG.LY SDK with other solutions and found that it would be the best fit for us since it provides all the features that are crucial for our use case." -- Carem Pereira, SCRUM Manager, HP ## Case Study: How **Postbuddy** modernised direct mail personalisation with IMG.LY Postbuddy set out to bring direct mail into the digital age, enabling customers to personalise postcards without having to understand print constraints like bleed, layout, or safe zones. By embedding IMG.LY's creative infrastructure, they built a template-driven personalisation workflow with dynamic data injection that keeps every output production-safe, without adding support or preflight overhead. > "It is almost impossible to imagine we could have built this company without an SDK. Doing it from scratch would have been a time sink, and we would have to maintain everything ourselves." -- Hans Christian Bøggild, CEO, Postbuddy - Data-driven postcards produced, personalisation handled directly inside the product - Fourfold campaign performance gains through A/B testing - Reduced user friction, no separate design tool or PDF handoffs needed - Lower maintenance burden, avoided building a custom editor from scratch - Faster time to launch [Read the case study](https://img.ly/case-studies/postbuddy.md) ## Key capabilities Everything needed to embed structured, production-safe print creation into your platform. ### For your users #### Personalise print templates without design expertise. Customers edit text, images, and colours inside clearly defined zones, no knowledge of print production rules required, no risk of accidentally breaking layout or spec. [Learn more](https://img.ly/demos.md) #### Replace the blank page with a structured starting point. Template-based creation means customers begin from a valid, production-safe design, reducing abandonment, errors, and the time it takes to reach a finalised order. [Learn more](https://img.ly/demos/placeholders.md) #### See exactly what will be printed before ordering. Real-time previews including 3D product mockups close the gap between digital design and physical output, setting accurate expectations before the order is placed. [Learn more](https://img.ly/demos/mockup-editor.md?c_product=postcard) ### For your platform #### Locked layouts and placeholders. Lock brand assets, typography, and structural elements while exposing only the intended personalisation zones, via the role and scope system built into the editor. [Learn more](https://img.ly/demos/placeholders.md) #### Bleed, trim, and margin support. Author templates with print-correct bleed and trim marks baked in. Export enforces these constraints regardless of what customers edit, so no file leaves the platform out of spec. [Learn more](https://img.ly/demos/design-validation.md) #### DPI, colour mode, and resolution control. Configure minimum DPI thresholds, colour profile requirements, and image resolution validation so every file meets production standards before it reaches your export pipeline. [Learn more](https://img.ly/demos/design-validation.md) #### Export formats for professional print workflows. Export to PDF, PDF/X, PNG, and JPEG. Connect your export pipeline to any MIS, order management system, or print backend downstream. [Learn more](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md) ## One creative engine across web, mobile, and print kiosks Customers design on desktop, adjust orders on mobile, and personalise products at in-store kiosks, often within a single purchase. IMG.LY runs one shared engine across every touchpoint, exposing the same controls programmatically and to AI agents. Automate variable-data production at scale, or let an agent draft personalised products an operator picks up in the UI. Same scene, same fidelity, no export-and-reimport in between. **Available for:** - **Web:** [JavaScript](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [React](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/react/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Angular](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/angular/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Vue.js](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/vue/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Svelte](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/svelte/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Next.js](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/nextjs/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) - **Mobile:** [iOS](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/ios/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Android](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/android/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [React Native](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/react-native/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Flutter](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/flutter/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) - **Desktop:** [Mac Catalyst](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/mac-catalyst/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [macOS](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/macos/get-started/overview-e18f40.md), [Electron](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/electron/get-started/overview-e18f40.md) ### I: Identical output quality Designs render and export consistently across web, mobile, and kiosk, no per-platform differences in how print rules are applied or how files are produced. ### II: No duplicated print logic Bleed settings, colour profiles, and validation rules live in the template, not in platform-specific code, define them once and they apply everywhere. ### III: Faster rollout to new surfaces Add mobile or kiosk support without re-engineering your print constraints or rebuilding validation logic from scratch for a new platform. ## From integration to print-ready output in days A focused path from first line of code to production-safe print output, with print-specific constraints, validation, and export configured along the way. 1. **Spin up the print editor starter kit** (10 min): Install the SDK and clone the print editor starter kit to get a working local environment running in minutes. 2. **Integrate into your product flow** (1–2 hours): Embed the editor into your existing order or product customisation screens with a few lines of code. 3. **Configure constraints and previews** (4 hours): Set bleed, trim, DPI, and export rules. Enable 3D mockup previews so customers see exactly what they will receive before ordering. 4. **Launch and validate** (1 hour): Roll out to a pilot group, monitor for errors and reprints, then scale across your full product catalogue. [See integration guide](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/) ## The building blocks for print ### AI for Print on Demand Give non-designers AI generation, background removal, and resolution fixes inside locked, print-ready templates, so they produce press-ready products themselves. [Explore](https://img.ly/use-cases/ai-editor/print-on-demand.md) ### Print Personalisation Template-driven personalisation with locked brand elements and defined editing zones. Customers customise freely within the right boundaries, every output stays on-spec without manual oversight. [Explore](https://img.ly/use-cases/print-personalization.md) ### Variable Data Printing Merge dynamic text, images, and data fields into print-ready files at scale. Generate personalised postcards, brochures, and direct mail pieces from a single template without rebuilding designs per recipient. [Explore](https://img.ly/use-cases/variable-data-printing.md) ### Photo Prints Let customers upload, adjust, crop, and clean up their own images as part of the design experience, background removal, filters, and framing included, without sending them to an external tool. [Explore](https://img.ly/use-cases/photo-prints.md) ### Product Customisation Real-time product configurators for packaging, apparel, and merchandise. Customers see exactly what they are ordering, including 3D preview, before committing to print. [Explore](https://img.ly/demos/mockup-editor.md?c_product=postcard) ### Web-to-Print Turn finished print designs into safe, guided self-service experiences at scale, without breaking layouts, print specs, or production workflows. [Explore](https://img.ly/use-cases/web-to-print-design-tool.md) ## What every print platform requires Print platforms succeed when creative freedom and production safety exist in the same system, not as competing priorities. ### Personalisation without print knowledge Customers must be able to customise products confidently, without understanding bleed, DPI, or colour profiles. The system has to enforce those rules on their behalf, automatically and invisibly. [Design Editor](https://img.ly/demos.md) ### Templates that enforce what can and cannot change Brand assets, layout structure, and typography need to stay locked. Personalisation zones need to be clearly defined. Without this, every order is a support risk and a source of preflight failures downstream. [Placeholders & Lockable Designs](https://img.ly/demos/placeholders.md) ### Production-safe output by default Every exported file needs to meet print specifications without manual correction. Errors caught after export mean reprints, refunds, and support load, the editor must enforce specs at design time, not at preflight. [Automated Design Validation](https://img.ly/demos/design-validation.md) ### Previews that reflect what will actually be printed When the preview does not match the finished product, customer expectations are mismanaged and returns follow. Real-time mockups, including 3D, close that gap before the order is placed. [Mockup Editor](https://img.ly/demos/mockup-editor.md?c_product=postcard) ### Photo editing that stays inside the platform Customers need to adjust, crop, and clean up images as part of the design flow, not in a separate tool that breaks the ordering journey and creates inconsistent results. [Photo Editor UI](https://img.ly/demos/background-removal.md) When creative intent, customer input, and production requirements are governed by the same system, errors stop being a cost of doing business. ## Why print teams trust IMG.LY ### Battle-tested in high-volume environments The SDK powers 500M+ creations per month across 600+ products, including production-critical print workflows where correctness and throughput are non-negotiable. ### Print correctness enforced by the engine Bleed, DPI, colour profiles, and validation are handled by the SDK itself, not by manual preflight checks, operator review, or downstream correction. ### Ready for the full range of print products From postcards and photo books to apparel, packaging, and marketing materials, templates, variable data, mockup preview, and AI generation cover the full product range in one SDK. ### One engine, maintained for the long term IMG.LY owns and maintains the creative engine so your team does not have to. Regular releases, comprehensive documentation, and dedicated integration support come as standard. ## More from IMG.LY ### Creative SDK Embed a full-featured photo, video, and design editor in any app. [Explore](https://img.ly/products/creative-sdk.md) ### Photo Editor SDK Native photo editing with filters, retouching, and stickers. [Explore](https://img.ly/products/photo-sdk.md) ### AI Editor Conversational editing where users prompt for changes in plain language. [Explore](https://img.ly/use-cases/ai-editor.md) ### AI Gateway Unified API for image, video, and text generation across providers. [Explore](https://img.ly/ai-gateway.md) ### Creative Automation Build template-driven creative production pipelines at scale. [Explore](https://img.ly/use-cases/creative-automation.md) ### Brands & Agencies Scale brand-safe creative production across campaigns. [Explore](https://img.ly/industries/brands-agencies.md) ### Digital Asset Management Turn approved assets into editable, reusable content. [Explore](https://img.ly/industries/digital-asset-management.md) ### E-Commerce Power configurable products and on-demand creative. [Explore](https://img.ly/industries/e-commerce.md) ## Print platforms are no longer judged only by what they produce They are also judged by how confidently customers can create it. IMG.LY helps you embed that creation layer directly into your platform, with guardrailed templates, production-safe output, variable data automation, and a creative engine across every surface your customers order from. [Explore Print demos](https://img.ly/demos.md) ## Print FAQs ### Print **Q: How do you prevent customers from breaking print layouts?** A: IMG.LY supports lockable design templates and placeholder zones that define exactly what customers can and cannot change. Layout structure, typography, and brand assets can be locked at the template level, while personalisation fields remain open. Every output stays within the constraints the template author defined, regardless of what the customer does inside the editor. **Q: How do you handle bleed, trim, and DPI?** A: Bleed and trim marks are configured at the template level and enforced at export, customers never need to understand or manage them directly. DPI thresholds and colour profile requirements are set by the platform and validated automatically before any file is submitted downstream. **Q: Are previews truly print-accurate?** A: CE.SDK includes real-time mockup previews, including 3D product previews, that reflect how the design will materialise on the finished product. Validation warnings surface in the editor as customers work, not at preflight after submission. **Q: Which export formats are supported for print?** A: All CreativeEditor SDK scenes can be exported as PNG, JPEG, and PDF. The Print-Ready PDF plugin enables PDF/X export with CMYK values preserved on vector and text elements, and named spot colours that pass through for print-provider pick-up. **Q: Can this integrate with an existing print backend?** A: Yes, the export pipeline can connect to any MIS, order management system, or print backend downstream. The SDK handles the creation and validation layer; your existing infrastructure handles fulfilment. **Q: How does this work across web, mobile, and kiosks?** A: One SDK runs across web (React, Angular, Vue, Next.js, Svelte), iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, macOS, and Electron. The same templates, constraints, and validation logic apply on every surface, no per-platform re-engineering required. **Q: Do you offer integration support?** A: Yes. IMG.LY's solutions team offers different levels of support based on your licence type, from documentation access through to dedicated integration assistance. Contact the team to discuss your use case. --- ## 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 - **[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.