Making The Printed Page Pop

Looking to have a document professionally printed to ensure the best possible results? If so, then you may be considering the option of having an online printing company take on this task for you. Generally, the best way to ensure a great printing job is to send your file over as a PDF, rather than any other format. As you're preparing a PDF for print, however, there are some tips you'll want to keep in mind to ensure the best possible results.

Do Embed Fonts & Images

If you're incorporating images or any non-standard fonts into your document, then you'll need to make sure that you embed them into your PDF. The option to embed should be available to you when you go to save the document. By embedding images, you can make sure that they don't get shifted around on the page. By embedding fonts, you can ensure that any non-standard fonts (ones that don't come default on a computer) will show up properly and won't be substituted with a standard font before printing.

Do Specify Trim Marks & Bleed

Another important aspect of preparing a PDF file for printing is to specify all trim marks and bleed. A trim mark is essentially a boundary on the page where text and images should be cut off. If your document is going to be handheld by your readers after printing, make sure you have a trim mark that's large enough so that the text won't be covered up by your readers' hands. On the other hand, if your document's text and images should extend all the way to the end of the page, make sure you set it to bleed.

Don't Upload a Low-Res PDF

Finally, understand that not all PDFs are created equal; yours should have the highest resolution possible to ensure the best quality printing. Therefore, when you create your PDF, try to choose one with the highest DPI possible. The same goes if you're given an option to select DPI when you're saving your document. Uploading a low resolution PDF will result in pixelated images and an overall low quality print that may be difficult to read.

Preparing a PDF document for online printing companies does take some time and careful planning. However, by making sure to embed images and fonts, set trim lines properly, and uploading a high resolution image, you should end up with a quality printed document.