• Untitled Design - 2025 - 06 - 18t150822 516

How to Prep Your Files for Print - A Quick Checklist

  1. At Tompkin Press, we love helping our customers bring their print ideas to life - quickly and professionally. But the key to getting crisp, clean, high-quality results? It all starts with how your files are set up.

    If you’ve ever sent something off to print and it came back not quite right, don’t worry - you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve put together this quick and easy checklist to help you get your files print-ready and stress-free.

    Whether you’re printing business cards, booklets, banners or leaflets, this guide will help you avoid common mistakes and make sure everything runs smoothly.

1. Use the Right File Format

  1. We always recommend sending final artwork as a PDF - it’s the most stable and reliable format for print. Avoid sending files as Word documents, PowerPoints or screenshots - they don’t always hold formatting properly.

    Best bet: PDF with embedded fonts and images.

2. Set the Right Colour Mode (CMYK, Not RGB)

  1. Screens use RGB colour (Red, Green, Blue), but printers use CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black). If your file is still in RGB, the colours might print differently to what you see on screen.

    Top tip: Always convert your artwork to CMYK before sending.

3. Include Bleed & Safe Zones

  1. Bleed is the extra area around your design that gets trimmed off - we recommend adding 3mm of bleed on all sides. Also, keep important text or logos at least 5mm inside the edge (safe zone) so nothing gets accidentally cut off.

    Bleed = no white edges. Safe zone = no lost information. Simple!

4. Check Your Resolution

  1. For printed materials, your images and artwork should be at 300dpi (dots per inch). Anything lower might look pixelated or blurry once printed.

    Rule of thumb: If it looks fuzzy on your screen when zoomed in - it’ll look fuzzy on paper too.

5. Embed or Outline Your Fonts

  1. If your fonts aren’t embedded or outlined, they might not display correctly when we open your file. That fancy font you found online? If we don’t have it, it could default to something completely different.

    Fix it: Convert text to outlines (in Illustrator) or embed fonts (in PDFs).

6. Double Check Spelling & Details

  1. Once your file goes to print, changes can’t be made - so give it one last proofread. Check:

    • Phone numbers
    • Email addresses
    • Spelling & grammar
    • Dates and pricing
    • Placement of logos/images

    A second pair of eyes never hurts!

  1. Still Not Sure? We're Happy to Help.

    If you're ever in doubt, just drop us a message or give us a ring. We’re here to make print feel easy - not overwhelming. And if something’s not quite right, we’ll always let you know before it hits the press.

    Need something printed fast? We’ve got you. Just send us your artwork, and we’ll do the rest.