When designing your own artwork for commercial printing, it is important to set up your document correctly before you begin designing.

The document size, orientation, bleed and safe margins all need to be considered so your finished printed piece looks the way you intended.

The easiest way to avoid layout problems is to start with the correct finished size and use the product specifications or PDF template provided on the product page whenever one is available.

1. Document Size

The first step in creating artwork for printing is making sure your document is the correct size for the finished printed piece.

We can print many custom sizes, but many of the products we offer have standard finished sizes.

Some common examples include:

• Business Cards: 3.5" × 2"
• Postcards: 6" × 4"
• Letterhead: 8.5" × 11"
• Standard 8.5" × 11" Brochures: 8.5" × 11" finished size
• #10 Envelopes: 9.5" × 4.125"
• Rack Cards: 4" × 9"

Other products, including invitations and specialty printing products, are available in additional sizes.

Always check the individual product page for the exact finished size and artwork requirements for the product you are ordering.

Product pages may also include PDF templates showing the proper document dimensions, bleed area, margins and other layout information.

2. Bleed and Safe Margins

If the color, photograph, background or other artwork in your design extends all the way to the edge of the finished printed piece, this is called a bleed.

Bleed allows the artwork to extend beyond the final trim line. After printing, the excess area is trimmed away so the color or image extends completely to the edge of the finished piece.

For example, if you want a solid color background or photograph to print all the way to the edge of a postcard, brochure or business card, the artwork must extend beyond the final trim line.

How much bleed do I need?

Bleed requirements can vary by product. Always check the individual product page or template for the required bleed before preparing your artwork.

When a product requires bleed, the document may need to be larger than the finished size to provide the additional artwork that will be trimmed away.

Keep important information inside the safe area

Do not place important text, logos, phone numbers, addresses, photographs or other critical design elements too close to the trim edge.

As a general guideline, we recommend keeping important elements at least 1/8" inside the finished trim edge, unless the specific product requirements indicate otherwise.

This helps prevent important information from being affected by normal trimming variations.

3. Document Orientation

Pay attention to the orientation of your document when setting up your artwork.

Depending on the product, you may design your artwork in:

• Landscape orientation
• Portrait orientation

For example, a 3.5" × 2" business card can be designed horizontally or vertically depending on the desired layout.

The product specifications will indicate the finished dimensions. Make sure your document orientation matches the way you want the finished product to appear.

4. Folding and Multi-Panel Layouts

If you are designing a brochure, newsletter or another folded printed piece, the layout needs to account for the finished folded size and panel arrangement.

Not every folding style uses panels that are exactly the same width. Some folding methods require one or more panels to be slightly narrower so the finished piece folds correctly.

For folded products, we strongly recommend using the PDF template provided for the specific product and folding style whenever one is available.

Our product pages provide information about the available folding options and finished sizes.

5. Use Our Product Templates

Whenever possible, start your design using the appropriate template for the product you are ordering.

Our templates can show important information such as:

• Finished document size
• Bleed area
• Safe area or recommended margins
• Folding guides
• Panel dimensions
• Other production information

Using the correct template before beginning your design can save time and help prevent costly layout corrections later.

If you need a template for a particular product, contact us and we'll help you locate the appropriate template when available.

RGB, CMYK and Spot Colors

Color setup is another important part of preparing artwork for commercial printing.

Our modern digital printing workflow uses CMYK four-color process printing. Artwork containing RGB colors or spot colors may be converted to CMYK during production.

For the most predictable printing results, we recommend preparing full-color artwork using an appropriate CMYK color workflow whenever possible.

If your artwork contains Pantone® or other spot colors, those colors are converted to their CMYK equivalents during our production workflow.

Because color conversion can result in differences between the original color and the final printed color, exact color reproduction should be considered when preparing artwork for printing.

For a more detailed explanation, see our guide:

Spot Color vs. Full Color (CMYK) Printing

Need Help Setting Up Your Artwork?

If you're not sure how to set up your document for printing, we can help.

You can use our product specifications and templates to prepare your own artwork, or you can have Discount Printing Service help prepare or create your artwork.

Our modern AI-assisted graphic design capabilities can also help us create certain types of artwork more efficiently, potentially allowing us to offer more affordable flat-rate design fees for qualifying projects.

Whether you create your artwork yourself or have us create it for you, the finished file still needs to be properly prepared for commercial printing.