Avoiding Common Prepress Mistakes: A Complete Guide to Flawless Print Production
When it comes to print production, the prepress phase is essential. This is where our team carefully reviews and prepares your files to ensure the final output matches your vision. Mistakes during this phase can lead to costly reprints, delays, and unsatisfactory results. While this process is handled internally, we’ve created an educational guide based on our Print Production Client Checklist to help you understand what we look for. Whether it's packaging, signage, catalogs, or mailers, these guidelines ensure your files are print-ready—saving you time, effort, and money.
Why Prepress Matters
Prepress involves all the steps needed to ensure a design is correctly formatted and ready to go before it reaches the press. It’s about more than just hitting 'print'—it’s about making sure every element of your design is accurate, from color and resolution to layout and file export settings.
At Thysse, we’ve seen our share of prepress mishaps, and we know how easily small errors can lead to significant issues in the final product. Not only can mistakes lead to poor-quality prints, but they can also cause significant delays in your project timeline. Issues like incorrect bleeds, missing fonts, or low-resolution images often require rework, meaning your project will spend more time in the prepress phase instead of moving ahead to production.
Julie Thysse, our Preflight & Color Science Manager, sums it up perfectly:
"The key to avoiding common prepress mistakes is all in the details. Proper setup ensures that your design translates perfectly from screen to print."
Getting those details right means focusing on specific best practices that can help you avoid the most common pitfalls and keep your project on schedule. A well-executed prepress process ensures that your files are print-ready, preventing reprints, extra costs, and delays in delivering the final product.
Prepress Best Practices: How to Avoid the Most Common Mistakes
1. Use High-Resolution Images (300+ DPI at Scale)
One of the most common mistakes we see is using images with low resolution. For websites and digital use, 72 DPI (dots per inch) is fine, but print requires images to be 300 DPI at the size they’ll be printed. Another common issue is setting a document to 300 DPI but working on a smaller canvas than the final print size. For example, working at 300 DPI on a 20x40" canvas when the print size is 200x400" can still result in blurry images. Always check both the resolution and scale to ensure your images will print sharp and clear.
2. Include a .125” Bleed
Bleeds are another area where print projects can go wrong. A bleed refers to the area of the design that extends beyond the trim line, ensuring there are no white borders after the project is cut to size. At Thysse, we recommend including at least a .125” bleed on all sides of your document to allow for any slight movements during trimming.
Without a bleed, you run the risk of having unintentional white borders around the edges of your print. Double-check your document’s bleed settings in the file setup stage to avoid this issue.
3. Set the Document to CMYK Color Mode
When designing for print, always make sure that your document is set to CMYK color mode. While RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is used for digital screens, CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) is used for printing. If you create your file in RGB mode, colors may appear differently in print than they do on your screen.
To avoid unexpected color shifts, convert your file to CMYK early in the design process. Most design software allows you to check and adjust the color mode in the file settings. This step will help ensure your colors print as intended.
4. Embed or Outline All Fonts
Missing fonts are a common issue that can delay a print project. If fonts aren’t embedded or outlined in your file, we won’t be able to proceed with printing until the issue is resolved. Without the correct fonts, text can default to another font, potentially causing layout issues and affecting the professional appearance of your project.
Before you export your file for printing, make sure all fonts are embedded. Alternatively, you can outline the fonts, converting them into vector shapes that retain their appearance regardless of the fonts installed on the printer’s system. Worried you'll need to make copy changes? Save a duplicate file with the extension _OUTLINE so you can easily go back to the original version for edits if needed.
5. Export with Crop Marks
Crop marks indicate where the paper should be trimmed after printing. These marks help the printer know exactly where to cut, ensuring that the final product is the correct size. When exporting your PDF, make sure crop marks are included.
Most design software gives you the option to add crop marks during export. This simple step can prevent misaligned cuts and ensure that your project comes out looking polished and professional.
6. Export as Single Pages
Another common mistake is exporting a multi-page document as spreads, rather than single pages. When exporting for print, always choose to export as single pages. This ensures that each page will print correctly, avoiding issues with alignment or double-sided printing.
7. Carefully Review Proofs Before Approval
Once your file has been prepped and exported, it’s crucial to review the proof carefully before giving final approval. Check for issues like color inaccuracies, missing fonts, layout misalignments, or any unexpected design changes. This is your last chance to catch errors before the project goes to print, so take your time. To ensure the best resolution, download your proof and open it in a PDF viewer.
The Print Production Client Checklist: Your Go-To Guide for Prepress
At Thysse, we follow a thorough internal process to ensure every project is reviewed before going to print. While we manage the details through our Print Production Client Checklist, this guide reflects the key elements we review in preflight—not a requirement for you to meet when sending us files. Here’s an inside look at the essential aspects we cover:
Client File Check
- Ensure that all links and fonts are included in the packaged files.
- For InDesign files, make sure the files are packaged properly.
- For Illustrator files, all images should be embedded and fonts supplied.
- Photoshop files should remain unflattened, with fonts supplied.
- All graphics and images will be converted to CMYK for printing.
- Proper image resolution should be 300 DPI for print.
- Make sure all bleeds are at least .125” and margins are set correctly.
- Vector logos should be used wherever possible for crisp lines and high-quality printing.
Color Requirements
- Check if there are any known branding guidelines or color standards.
- If matching to a previously printed sample or match print, provide that sample for accuracy.
- If using a spot color, don’t convert it to process; leave it as a spot.
Proofing Requirements
- Ensure that you’ve requested a hard proof or PDF proof based on your project needs.
For a more in-depth guide, you can download the complete Print Production Client Checklist here.
Setting Up Your Own Preflight in InDesign
While following best practices is essential, it’s also a great idea to create your own preflight profile in Adobe InDesign to automate the process of checking for common mistakes. A preflight profile will allow you to quickly identify any issues in your document before you export it for print, saving you time and reducing the chances of costly errors.
How to Set Up Preflight in InDesign:
- Open the Preflight Panel:
- Go to Window > Output > Preflight to open the Preflight panel in InDesign.
- Create a New Preflight Profile:
- In the Preflight panel, click the Options button (the three lines in the top right corner) and choose Define Profiles.
- Click the + icon to create a new preflight profile.
- Customize the Profile:
- Here, you can set specific rules for your preflight checks, such as ensuring that all images are at least 300 DPI, confirming that fonts are embedded, and verifying that the document uses CMYK color mode.
- You can also set up checks for overset text, missing links, and other common issues.
- Apply the Profile:
- Once you’ve created your custom profile, it will automatically apply to the open document. Any errors or warnings will appear in the Preflight panel, allowing you to address them before exporting the file.
By setting up a custom preflight profile, you can catch issues early and streamline your workflow, ensuring that every project is print-ready with minimal fuss.
For a more detailed tutorial on how to create and manage preflight profiles in Adobe InDesign, check out this helpful article from Adobe.
How to Export PDF Files for Print
Once your file is set up correctly, the next important step is to export it for print. Using the correct export settings ensures that your file is ready for printing without any additional adjustments.
Exporting Files with the Thysse Preset
To make the process easier, we’ve created a custom Thysse Adobe PDF Preset that includes all our preferred settings for print-ready PDFs. Here’s how to load and use it:
- Load the Thysse Adobe Preset:
- In InDesign, go to File > Adobe PDF Presets > Define...
- Choose Load and select the Thysse preset file.
- Exporting with the Thysse Preset:
- Once your document is ready, select the Thysse preset from the export settings dropdown.
- This preset ensures that all necessary settings—such as crop marks, bleeds, and correct color settings—are automatically applied.
- Export Your PDF:
- After selecting the Thysse preset, click Export, and your file will be ready for print.
You can download the Thysse Adobe PDF Preset here.
Free Resources to Ensure Success
To make your prepress process as smooth as possible, we’ve made both the Print Production Client Checklist and the Thysse Adobe PDF Preset available for free download. These resources will guide you through every step, from file setup to export, ensuring that your project is print-ready and error-free.
By following the tips outlined in this guide and using our downloadable resources, you can avoid common prepress mistakes and ensure that your files are ready to produce high-quality printed materials every time.
Wrapping Up: Prepare for Print Success
Prepress is the foundation of any successful print project. Paying attention to details like image resolution, color settings, fonts, and export options will save you from headaches later in the production process. Whether you’re working on a small brochure or a large-scale packaging project, taking the time to review your files and ensure they’re prepared correctly will lead to better results and a smoother print experience.
Ready to get started on your next print project? Download our checklist and preset files today, and make sure your files are prepped for perfection!
Still need help? We're always here for you. Drop us a line.
