Short, practical guides to the things that decide whether a file prints clean: bleed, resolution, paper weight, ink limits and colour. Written by people who prep files for press.
Why every print file needs colour past the trim line — and exactly how much to add.
3 min read Colour · CMYKScreens glow in RGB, ink absorbs in CMYK. Why the brightest colours never survive the press.
3 min read Resolution · DPI300 is the famous number — but the honest answer depends on size and viewing distance.
3 min read Paper · WeightWhy '80 lb' means two completely different papers — and how GSM cuts through it.
3 min read Ink · TACThe hidden ink limit that decides whether your darks dry — or smear all over the next sheet.
3 min read Layout · BindingThe formula, the paper-bulk trap, and why your cover template must fit on the first try.
3 min read Image · HalftonePresses only print solid ink, yet photos look smooth. Dots of varying size are the illusion.
3 min read Colour · BlackWhy 100% K looks washy on big areas — and why 400% black is a production disaster.
3 min read Layout · MarksThe little lines around a print file aren't decoration — each one instructs a machine.
3 min read Paper · StockCoated or uncoated, what weight, how opaque — the decisions that change how a job feels.
3 min read Layout · DielineThe flat blueprint that tells a cutter where to slice, fold and glue a package.
3 min read Image · FormatsPixels that blur when enlarged, or maths that scales forever — and when each one wins.
3 min read Colour · InksFour inks mixed into millions of shades, or one premixed ink that's always exact.
3 min read Paper · SizesWhy A4 halves perfectly into A5 — and why US Letter refuses to behave the same way.
3 min read Press · Dot gainWhy your midtones go muddy and shadows fill in once the file hits real paper.
3 min read Binding · BooksStapled at the fold or glued into a flat spine — page count usually makes the call.
3 min read Files · PDF/XThe print-safe PDF standard — and why X-1a and X-4 are not interchangeable.
3 min read Press · OverprintWhether the colour underneath is cut away or printed through — and why it matters for black.
3 min read Press · TrappingThe tiny deliberate overlap that hides the white slivers when plates don't line up.
3 min read Layout · Book coverBack, spine and front as one flat spread — sized to the millimetre so the fold lands right.
3 min read Colour · TroubleshootingYou signed off a bright, punchy file and the proof came back flat. Here's what actually happened.
3 min read Files · How-toThe handful of settings that turn a normal PDF into one a printer will actually accept.
2 min read Layout · Business cardsUS, EU, UK and Japanese standards — plus the bleed most templates forget to mention.
2 min read Image · TroubleshootingFuzzy edges on type or a logo in print? It's almost always one of two things.
2 min read Files · ChecklistTick these off before you hit send, and your job goes straight to press — no emails, no delays.
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