Print-Ready File Setup Guide
A prepress reference for designers, marketers, contractors, and anyone submitting artwork to LA Print Center. Getting your file right the first time avoids delays, prevents reprints, and makes sure what you see on your screen is what comes off the press.
Quick Checklist: The 5 Rules That Matter Most
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Color Modes: CMYK vs. RGB
Why files must be converted to CMYK before printing. Screens display color using RGB — red, green, and blue light combined. Printing presses build color differently, using CMYK ink — cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. These are two fundamentally different color systems, and RGB has a wider range of visible colors than CMYK can physically reproduce with ink.
- Always design and export in CMYK mode, not RGB.
- Bright, saturated colors — neon greens, electric blues, vivid oranges — are the ones most likely to shift, since they often fall outside CMYK's printable range.
- Converting late (right before export) is safer than designing in RGB the whole time, since early RGB colors can look correct on-screen but shift unpredictably once converted.
What happens if RGB files are submitted. One of two things happens:
- Our RIP (raster image processor) automatically converts it to CMYK at output — and colors can shift noticeably, especially blues turning purple and neon colors losing vibrancy.
- On some jobs, we'll flag the file and request a converted version before proceeding, which can add a day to your turnaround.
Resolution & DPI Requirements
Resolution requirements scale with your print size and typical viewing distance — the closer someone will stand to the piece, the higher the resolution needs to be.
| Print Type | Examples | Required DPI |
|---|---|---|
| Small format / close-up | Business cards, brochures, flyers, spec books | 300 DPI |
| Large format | Banners, foam core, posters, yard signs | 150–200 DPI |
| Extra-large format | Billboards, building wraps | 72–100 DPI |
Bleed, Trim, and Safe Zones
Bleed is extra artwork that extends past your intended trim line, so any slight shift during cutting doesn't leave an unwanted white edge. Safe zone is the buffer inside your trim line where you keep important text and logos, so nothing gets clipped.
Fonts & Text Layers
Font problems are one of the most common — and most avoidable — prepress issues. If a font isn't installed on our system and isn't embedded or outlined in your file, our software will silently substitute a different font, which can shift your layout, break spacing, or reflow text off the page.
- Converting text to outlines (Illustrator): select your text, then Type > Create Outlines. This converts live text into vector shapes — the letters will always look exactly as designed, but the text is no longer editable.
- Converting text to outlines (InDesign): Type > Create Outlines works the same way for isolated text objects, though for a full-document PDF export, embedding fonts is usually the better approach so your file stays editable.
- Embedding fonts: choose the Press Quality or PDF/X-1a export preset — these automatically embed all fonts used in the document, keeping text live and editable while still displaying correctly on any system.
Special Considerations for Blueprints & CAD Files
Export directly to 100% vector PDF — avoid scanned JPEGs. Export your PDF directly from your CAD software (AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, etc.) rather than printing to paper and scanning it back in. Scanned raster images lose the crisp line quality of vector work and can introduce scale distortion from the scanning process itself.
Line weight preservation. Maintain a minimum line weight of 0.25pt (0.003") for any lines you need visible in the final print. Thinner lines risk dropping out entirely at smaller reduction scales, especially on half-size or reduced check plots.
Keep true scale ratio. Always use a specific, fixed scale (e.g., "1:1" or your intended drawing scale) rather than an auto-fit option.
Preferred File Formats
LA Printing Services
Los Angeles Printing Services
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