The Quick Checklist for Exporting a Print-Ready PDF From Illustrator or InDesign

Exporting your files correctly can be a challenging task for some. Even experienced designers are often double-checking some specifics on the web to make sure they’re doing everything correctly. So below we’ll guide you through this process step-by-step and in case you’d prefer to print it for future reference, we created a PDF for you guys to make it even easier which you can find at the bottom.

First things first, when your design is ready there are some steps you should focus on to double-check your own work and make sure it’s technically correct.

Remove any objects from the artboard that are not intended to be printed

For the sake of cleaning up your file, check if there are any extra layers, swatches, links, objects or other elements that don’t need to get printed. This way you’ll prevent any errors after printing and after all that work you put in, that’s something you definitely don’t want.

Check links that are missing or that need to be updated

Any missing or outdated links would be mentioned with a popup most of the time but taking the time to check this beforehand is always the better way. In both Illustrator and InDesign you can find this in the Links Panel.

Make sure the Bleed Area is completely filled with your background content

The Bleed Area is there to create some margin for the printing process and to avoid any white borders around your design you should check if your background color is completely overlapping this.

Check if there’s no important content outside the Safety Margin

Just like the Bleed Area is there to create some margin on the outside of your design, the Safety Margin takes care of the inside. Avoid placing any important elements (e.g. logos, text) outside that Safety Margin. Would be a shame if your phone number would be cropped off on your business card am I right?

Double-check your spelling and any design related flaws

That same phone number should be typed correctly to avoid missing out on that dream client that called the wrong number. So double-check all your copy and other design elements from top to bottom and test if any of the used QR codes or other links are working properly.

Delete any templates you used, or at least enable the visibility of that layer

When you’re working from a template, make sure this layer is enabled or deleted once you’re ready to export your files as this will be visible in the print as well.

The document color mode should be set to CMYK

In case you’re not familiar with the difference between CMYK and RGB, head over to our article on this topic and you’ll be up-to-date within a couple of minutes. In short, RGB is meant for digital purposes and CMYK should be used for printing.

So whenever you have used any RGB swatches or your Document Color Mode is still set on RGB, you could change this to CMYK. The color tones will shift a bit as CMYK doesn't have the bright hues of RGB so you’ll need to edit this.

Images should be at least 300dpi

To avoid any low-quality raster images on your print, try to get the maximum quality for this. 300dpi is the standard for high quality printing, while 150dpi is still considered as acceptable but avoid going any lower than that.

Outline your text to avoid any font related issues

We have received many questions on this topic over the years so we decided to create an in-depth article about the question ‘Is it still necessary to outline your text?' (Spoiler: It’s not). In case you’re exporting your file to a PDF it’s not needed to outline your text as your fonts will be embedded automatically. When you work with a different file format or in case you need to share your open files with someone else you could either Embed your Fonts or choose to outline them.

So in case you still prefer to work outline your text, select your text and go to Type > Create Outlines. Make sure to go back to this step after exporting to keep your editable text for future purposes.

Once you’ve checked everything above, it’s time to export!

For InDesign:

1. Click on File > Export
   
2. Illustrator - Click on File > Save A Copy
   InDesign - Click on File > Export
3. Set the Format to “Adobe PDF (Print)”, name the file and select “Save”
   
4. You will be prompted with a dialogue box of settings. Select  the “Press Quality” preset. Under “Marks and Bleeds” check the box ‘Crop Marks’.
   
5. Check the “Use Document Bleed Settings” box to include the Bleed Area you defined during the setup of your file. In case you haven’t done this during the setup, make sure to check the minimum size of the Bleed Area for your type of document.
   
6. Click “Export”.
   

[Jukebox-Exporting-Checklist-for-InDesign.pdf]

For Illustrator:

1. Click on File > Save a Copy
   
2. Set the Format to “Adobe PDF (Print)”, name the file and select “Save”
   
3. You will be prompted with a dialogue box of settings. Select  the “Press Quality” preset. Under “Marks and Bleeds” check the box ‘Crop Marks’.
   
4. Check the “Use Document Bleed Settings” box to include the Bleed Area you defined during the setup of your file. In case you haven’t done this during the setup, make sure to check the minimum size of the Bleed Area for your type of document.
   
5. Click “Export”.
   

[Jukebox-Exporting-Checklist-for-Illustrator.pdf]

That’s it! And if it helps you, use the PDF files above which are set to A3 and can be printed for future reference. Now you won’t have to scour the web every time you need to export something for print.

Curious to know how you can set up your document properly? To guide you through this process we created an article to help you out with each important step from setting up a Bleed Margin, Color Profiles, Template Layers and much more...

So the next time you need to create some new Business Cards or Custom Stickers, it will be a smooth ride.

And get in touch with our lovely Support Team in case you have any questions.