Print & File Specifications

Notice: AI-Generated Artwork

Using ChatGPT or another AI platform to create graphics?

Please note that these platforms do not currently create or export professional print ready or high resolution graphics. AI-generated artwork submitted for printing may require substantial upcharge preparation fees. Paying these fees does not guarantee that the artwork can be corrected or will produce a clear, high-quality print. In some cases, we may reject the artwork due to it needing to be recreated entirely. We reserve the right to reject artwork that does not meet our printing requirements. If you choose to proceed with a file after being advised of its limitations, you accept the resulting print quality. We are not responsible for defects caused by the supplied artwork.

What are Bleeds?

A “Bleed” is when the picture, color or other graphic extends 1/8″ (.125″) beyond the trim edge of the paper. That excess image or color is then CUT OFF to give the piece a clean edge.
If you don’t include a bleed, your piece could have white paper appearing on the edge after the piece is trimmed. This happens because the paper could shift slightly during the trimming process.

Example of proper bleed.

Proper bleed is nessesary so that Accent Printing can give you a finished piece that looks like this:

Without a proper bleed, your finished piece could look like this:

See the white paper peeking out around the left side and bottom of the image of the kitty? This is what happens if you don’t “Bleed” your images and colors properly in your document.

Text or images that are not meant to be trimmed off the edge of your final printed piece must be 1/8″-1/4″ (.125″-.25″) from the edge of your layout (also known as Safety or Safe Area). Items placed 1/8″ (.125″) or closer are in danger of being trimmed off or showing inconsistent margins.

In the example below, you have a standard 3.5″ x 2″ business card, the final artwork provided to us needs to have a background size of 3.75″ x 2.25″ (.125″ on all sides) — the added .125″ is the bleed. The bleed area (shown in blue) extends .125″ beyond the trim edge of the page (show in red). The trim edge is the final trimmed size of your printed piece. The safe area (show in green) is an example of the area in which you need to keep all important text and artwork that you do not want to have cut off.

What is a Bleed?

Remember, if you want something to bleed it must extend 1/8″ (.125″) beyond the final trim edge of the page.

Adding Bleeds in Adobe InDesign

  1. Open InDesign and click File > New > Document…
  2. Enter the TRIM dimensions under Page Size (for example, a standard business card would have trim dimensions of 3.5″ x 2″)
  3. If you do not see “Bleed and Slug” at the bottom of the window, click the “More Options” button.
  4. Enter 0.125 for the top, bottom, left and right bleed

Adding Bleeds in Adobe Illustrator

  1. Open Illustrator and click File > New…
  2. Enter the TRIM dimensions in the Width and Height boxes (for example, the trim dimension on a standard business card would be 3.5″ x 2″)
  3. Enter 0.125 for the top, bottom, left and right bleed
  4. Set the the Color Mode to CMYK
  5. Set the Raster Effects at High (300ppi)

Adding Bleeds in Adobe Photoshop

  1. Open Photoshop and click File > New…
  2. Enter the FULL BLEED dimensions. That is, 1/4″ extra both vertically and horizontally.
  3. Set the Resolution at 300 pixels/inch
  4. Set the Color Mode to CMYK

Canva Files

When creating a file to print from Canva, you will need to set the file to the correct size you want printed. Then, you will turn on the bleed/margins. Find these in the ‘File’ drop down and then choose ‘Settings’ and click on Show margins and Show print bleed. Now you can preview the bleed on all edges of the document. Anything past the dotted line is the ‘bleed’. You want the background art to be extended to the bleed line on all sides. (Guides will not print and can be a great tool to help you align your document.)

Preparing File to Print in Canva

  1. Click on ‘Share’ in the top right.
  2. Click on ‘Download’.
  3. In ‘File type’ choose ‘PDF’.
  4. In ‘Presets’ choose ‘Print’.
  5. Then go to Advanced Settings and choose ‘Crop marks and bleed’.
  6. Click download.

Digital File Delivery

Accent Printing and Copy Center will accept your digital files for printing. Given the wide variety of software packages, not to mention the settings within those packages, not all files are “print worthy”. We do not mean your design is not good, we are talking about the ability or inability of some software programs to output suitable printing files. Our staff is available to assist you in preparing your files properly so we can meet your deadline, quality requirements and budget needs.

All files must be submitted in PDF format.

If you are unsure about saving your project correctly, please feel free to contact us at 254-776-8805.

Files that are too large to email as an attachment may be uploaded to our FTP site.

We put the Accent on Quality!