CMYK Next Tuesday

File Preparation Guide

Because gorgeous prints start with gorgeous files, darling.

Before You Start

We want your prints to look absolutely stunning. To make that happen, we need your files set up correctly. This guide walks you through preparing print-ready PDFs in Affinity Studio (our top pick), Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and yes—even Canva.

Our Specifications

Product Finished Size Bleed Margins Color Mode Resolution
Headshots 4" × 6" 0.125" 0.25" CMYK 300 DPI
Large Format 13" × 19" 0.125" 0.25" CMYK 300 DPI
Postcards 4.25" × 6.25" 0.125" 0.25" CMYK 300 DPI
Booklets / Magazines 5.5" × 8.5" 0.125" 0.25" CMYK 300 DPI
Calendars 8.5" × 11" 0.125" 0.25" CMYK 300 DPI
Flyers / Mailers 8.5" × 11" 0.125" 0.25" CMYK 300 DPI

Key Terms (A Quick Refresher)

Margins

The safe zone inside your document. Keep all important text and elements at least 0.25" from the trim edge. Anything closer risks getting cut off, and nobody wants half a logo.

Bleeds

The extra 0.125" of image or color that extends beyond the trim line. When we cut your prints to size, this ensures there are no ugly white edges. If your design has color or images going to the edge, you need bleeds.

Trim Line

Where the knife goes. This is your actual finished document size.

Safe Zone

The area inside the margins. This is where your important content lives.

PRO TIP: Think of it like a sandwich: the bleed is the bread crust (gets cut off), the trim is where you slice, and the margins keep the good stuff safely in the middle.
Our Top Pick

Affinity Studio

This is the one we recommend, and not just because it's free (though… it's free). Affinity Studio is the full-featured, professional-grade design suite formerly known as Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo—now combined into one app and made completely free. It handles CMYK natively, does margins and bleeds without breaking a sweat, exports press-ready PDFs, and costs exactly zero dollars. It's like finding a designer boyfriend who also cooks and has good credit—you don't question it, you just say thank you.

Seriously: if you don't already have Adobe Creative Cloud and you're not sure what software to use, start here. Affinity Studio gives you everything you need for print-ready files with none of the subscription drama. We use it ourselves. We love it. We might be slightly obsessed.

Setting Up Your Document

  1. Go to File > New.
  2. Set Type to Print.
  3. Set your Page Width and Page Height to your finished trim size.
  4. Set DPI to 300.
  5. Set Color Format to CMYK/8.
  6. Under Margins, enter 0.25" for all sides. Use the lock icon to link all four values.
  7. Under Bleed, enter 0.125" for all sides.
  8. For multi-page documents (booklets, magazines): check Facing Pages and set your page count.
  9. Click Create.
PRO TIP: In Affinity Studio, the bleed area shows as the area between the page edge and the outer red line. The margins show as blue guides inside the page. It's color-coded. It's intuitive. It just works.

Why We Love It

Full CMYK support—design in CMYK from the start, not just on export. What you see is what we print.

Built-in margins and bleeds—no manual guides, no math, no workarounds. Just type in the numbers and go.

Multi-page layouts—booklets, magazines, catalogs, all handled natively with facing pages, master pages, and proper page management.

Vector + raster + layout in one app—Affinity Studio combines what used to take three separate apps (Illustrator + Photoshop + InDesign) into a single workspace. You can switch between personas without ever leaving the app.

PDF/X-4 export—press-quality PDF output with proper bleed, crop marks, and color management. Exactly what we need.

Did we mention it's free?—Because it's free.

Exporting to PDF

  1. Go to File > Export.
  2. Select PDF as the format.
  3. Choose the PDF/X-4 preset (best for press-quality output).
  4. Under More or Advanced:
  5. Check Include bleed.
  6. Optionally check Include crop marks.
  7. Make sure Raster DPI is set to 300.
  8. Click Export.

Adobe Illustrator

Illustrator handles margins and bleeds like a champ. Here’s how to set everything up from the start.

Setting Up Your Document

  1. Go to File > New (or Ctrl/Cmd + N).
  2. Set your Width and Height to your desired finished print size (e.g., 8.5" × 11").
  3. Set Units to Inches.
  4. Set Color Mode to CMYK.
  5. Set Raster Effects to High (300 ppi).
  6. Under Bleeds, enter 0.125" for Top, Bottom, Left, and Right. Click the link icon to set all four at once.
  7. Click Create. You'll see a red line around your artboard—that's your bleed boundary.

Setting Up Margins (Guides)

Illustrator doesn't have a built-in margin setting, so we'll use guides.

  1. Go to View > Rulers > Show Rulers (Ctrl/Cmd + R).
  2. Click and drag from the left ruler to place a vertical guide at 0.25" from the left edge.
  3. Repeat for the right side: place a guide at [document width] minus 0.25". For an 8.5" doc, that's 8.25".
  4. Drag from the top ruler to place horizontal guides at 0.25" from the top and 0.25" from the bottom.
  5. Lock your guides: View > Guides > Lock Guides.
PRO TIP: Make sure all background colors and images extend all the way to the red bleed line, not just the artboard edge.

Exporting to PDF

  1. Go to File > Save As and select Adobe PDF (.pdf).
  2. Choose the [Press Quality] preset from the dropdown.
  3. In the Marks and Bleeds tab:
  4. Check Use Document Bleed Settings (this pulls in your 0.125" bleeds).
  5. Optionally check Trim Marks if you want visible cut lines on the PDF.
  6. In the Output tab, confirm Color Conversion is set to No Conversion or Convert to Destination (CMYK).
  7. Click Save PDF.

Adobe InDesign

InDesign is the gold standard for multi-page layouts like booklets, magazines, and catalogs. It handles margins and bleeds natively—it was literally born for this.

Setting Up Your Document

  1. Go to File > New > Document.
  2. Set your page size to the finished trim size (e.g., 5.5" × 8.5" for a half-letter booklet).
  3. Set Margins to 0.25" on all sides. Click the chain link icon to set all four at once.
  4. Under Bleed and Slug, set all bleed values to 0.125".
  5. For booklets/magazines: check Facing Pages and set your Number of Pages.
  6. Set Intent to Print.
  7. Click Create. Your margins appear as magenta guides; your bleed area appears as a red outline.
PRO TIP: For booklets and saddle-stitched magazines, make sure your total page count is divisible by 4. Trust us on this one.

Working With Your Layout

Keep all critical text and logos inside the magenta margin guides. Extend all backgrounds and full-bleed images out to the red bleed line. This is non-negotiable if you want clean edges.

Exporting to PDF

  1. Go to File > Export and choose Adobe PDF (Print).
  2. Select the [Press Quality] preset.
  3. In the Marks and Bleeds tab:
  4. Check Use Document Bleed Settings.
  5. Optionally enable Crop Marks.
  6. In the Output tab, set Color Conversion to No Color Conversion (if already CMYK) or Convert to Destination with a CMYK profile.
  7. In the General tab for multi-page documents, make sure Pages is selected (not Spreads) unless we've specifically asked for spreads.
  8. Click Export.

Adobe Photoshop

Okay, real talk: Photoshop does not have margin or bleed settings. It's a pixel editor, not a page layout tool. But we know people use it for everything (we don't judge), so here's how to make it work.

The Key Concept

Since Photoshop doesn't understand bleeds, you need to make your canvas larger than the finished size to account for the bleed area. You'll add 0.125" to each side, which means adding 0.25" total to both the width and the height.

Canvas Size Cheat Sheet

Product Finished Size Canvas Size (with bleed)
Headshots 4" × 6" 4.25" × 6.25"
Postcards 4.25" × 6.25" 4.5" × 6.5"
Half-Letter Booklet 5.5" × 8.5" 5.75" × 8.75"
Letter / Calendar 8.5" × 11" 8.75" × 11.25"
Tabloid 11" × 17" 11.25" × 17.25"
Large Format 13" × 19" 13.25" × 19.25"

Setting Up Your Document

  1. Go to File > New.
  2. Set your Width and Height to the canvas size with bleed from the chart above (e.g., 8.75" × 11.25" for a letter-size print).
  3. Set Resolution to 300 Pixels/Inch.
  4. Set Color Mode to CMYK Color, 8 bit.
  5. Click Create.

Setting Up Guides for Trim and Margins

This is the part that takes a little extra love. You'll create guides manually to show where the trim and safe zone are.

Trim Line Guides (where we cut)

  1. Go to View > New Guide.
  2. Create four guides at these positions:
  3. Horizontal: 0.125" (top trim)
  4. Horizontal: [Height minus 0.125"] (bottom trim)—e.g., 11.125" for letter size
  5. Vertical: 0.125" (left trim)
  6. Vertical: [Width minus 0.125"] (right trim)—e.g., 8.625" for letter size

Margin Guides (safe zone)

  1. Create four more guides:
  2. Horizontal: 0.375" (top margin = 0.125" bleed + 0.25" margin)
  3. Horizontal: [Height minus 0.375"] (bottom margin)
  4. Vertical: 0.375" (left margin)
  5. Vertical: [Width minus 0.375"] (right margin)
PRO TIP: The 0.375" number is your bleed (0.125") plus your margin (0.25") combined. That's the magic number in Photoshop.

Exporting to PDF

  1. Go to File > Save As (or File > Save a Copy) and choose Photoshop PDF.
  2. Select the [Press Quality] preset.
  3. In the Output section, confirm Color is set to CMYK.
  4. Under Compression, make sure image quality is set to Maximum.
  5. Click Save PDF.
Important: Photoshop PDFs will NOT include crop marks or formal bleed data in the PDF metadata. That's okay—as long as you built the canvas to the correct bleed size, we can work with it. Just let us know it's coming from Photoshop so we know the full canvas includes bleeds.

Canva

Look, we're not going to pretend Canva isn't a thing. Millions of people use it, and it's gotten surprisingly capable for print work. It does have some limitations compared to professional design software, but if you follow these steps, we can absolutely work with your Canva files.

What You Need to Know First

Canva works in RGB by default and does not let you switch to CMYK inside the editor. This means colors may shift slightly when printed. Bright neons and super-saturated colors are the most likely to look different. If exact color matching is critical to your project, we recommend using one of the professional tools in this guide. For most projects, though? Canva's PDF export handles the conversion well enough.

You'll need a Canva Pro, Canva for Teams, or Canva for Education account to access bleed and crop mark settings. Free accounts cannot export with bleeds. If you're on the free plan, talk to us—we may be able to work around it, but it'll require some extra handling on our end.

Setting Up Your Document

  1. Click Create a Design and choose Custom Size.
  2. Set your dimensions to your finished trim size (e.g., 8.5 × 11 in). Make sure you're using inches, not pixels.
  3. Click Create new design.

Enabling Bleeds

  1. Once your design is open, go to File > View Settings (or click the three-dot menu).
  2. Toggle on Show print bleed. You'll see a dashed line appear near the edges of your design—this is where the cut will happen.
  3. Also toggle on Show margins. A second set of dashed lines will appear inside the page, showing the safe zone for text and important elements.
  4. Extend all background colors, photos, and edge-to-edge elements past the outer bleed line to the very edge of the canvas.
  5. Keep all important text and logos inside the inner margin line.
PRO TIP: Canva's bleed area is slightly smaller than the 0.125" we prefer, but it's close enough to work in most cases. Just make sure your backgrounds extend fully to the canvas edge.

Working With Your Design

A few things to keep in mind while designing:

Fonts: Canva embeds fonts automatically when you export to PDF, so you don't need to worry about outlining text. One less thing to stress about.

Images: Use the highest-resolution images you can find. If you're uploading your own photos, make sure they're large enough. Canva will let you scale a tiny image to fill the page, but it'll print like a blurry mess. If it looks soft on screen, it'll look worse on paper.

Transparency and effects: Canva's transparency, shadows, and gradient effects generally export well to PDF. Just double-check your exported file to make sure nothing looks off.

Multi-Page Documents (Booklets, Magazines)

Canva handles multi-page designs well. Just add pages within your design using the + Add page button. For booklets and saddle-stitched pieces, remember: your total page count needs to be divisible by 4. When you export, all pages will be included in a single PDF.

Exporting to PDF

  1. Click Share (top right corner), then click Download.
  2. Set the file type to PDF Print. Do NOT choose "PDF Standard"—it's lower resolution and not suitable for professional printing.
  3. Check the box for Crop marks and bleed. This is essential. Without this checked, your PDF will not include the bleed area, and we'll have white edges on your prints.
  4. Check Flatten PDF if the option is available. This prevents any editability issues and ensures what you see is what we print.
  5. Leave Color Profile set to the default (Canva will embed an appropriate profile).
  6. Click Download.
PRO TIP: After downloading, open your PDF and zoom in to check the edges. You should see small crop marks (little lines in the corners) and your design should extend slightly beyond them. If your design stops right at the crop marks with white showing beyond, the bleeds didn't export correctly—go back and make sure your backgrounds extend to the canvas edge.

Heads Up: Canva Limitations

We want to be upfront about what Canva can't do, so there are no surprises:

  • No CMYK editing: Your design stays in RGB until export. Most of the time this is fine, but if you're printing brand materials where a specific Pantone or CMYK value is required, Canva isn't the right tool.
  • No custom bleed size: You can't set a specific bleed dimension like 0.125". Canva applies its own standard bleed. It's close to what we need, but not exact.
  • No overprint or spot color control: If those terms mean nothing to you, don't worry about it. If they do, you probably shouldn't be using Canva for that project.
  • Resolution: Canva exports at 300 DPI for PDF Print, which is perfect. Just don't accidentally choose PDF Standard (150 DPI) or you'll wonder why your prints look soft.

Final Preflight Checklist

Before you send your file, run through this list. It takes 30 seconds and saves everyone a headache.

  • ✓ Color mode is CMYK—not RGB, not Pantone (unless discussed with us)
  • ✓ Resolution is 300 DPI—zoom in to 100%—if it looks pixelated, it'll print pixelated
  • ✓ Bleeds extend 0.125" past the trim—no white edges, no naked borders
  • ✓ Important content is 0.25" from the trim edge—inside the safe zone, where it belongs
  • ✓ Fonts are outlined or embedded—we don't have your fonts, and substitution is never cute
  • ✓ Links are embedded (Illustrator/InDesign)—missing images = gray boxes = sad prints
  • ✓ Exported as PDF, Press Quality or PDF/X-4—not a JPEG, not a Word doc, not a screenshot of your screen (yes, this has happened). Canva users: PDF Print, not PDF Standard

Questions? Problems?
Existential file prep crises?

Reach out to us before you submit. We'd rather help you fix it now than charge you to fix it later. We're nice like that.

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