This guide covers everything you need: file formats, color modes, resolution rules, bleed and safe area, font handling, and software export settings. Whether you're a freelancer, brand manager, or designer building a client's print kit — this checklist will save you time, money, and reprints.

What Does Print-Ready Actually Mean?

A lot of designers confuse "print-ready" with "high quality." They're not the same thing. A beautifully crafted logo saved as a 72 DPI JPEG is not print-ready, no matter how much work went into it.

Print-ready means a file is formatted so that a commercial printer can output it exactly as intended, without any guesswork. That involves several specific requirements working together:

• Vector-based artwork or raster artwork at sufficient resolution
• Correct color mode — CMYK or Pantone, not RGB
• Proper bleed where the design extends to the edge of a page
• Fonts handled correctly — outlined or embedded
• No compression artifacts, transparency issues, or missing links

Vector vs. raster is the foundational distinction. A vector file uses mathematical paths to define shapes, meaning it scales to any size without losing quality. An EPS or AI file can go from a business card to a billboard without degrading. A raster file is made of pixels with a fixed resolution — scale them up too far and you get a blurry, pixelated result.

300 DPI vs. vector resolution independence: Vectors have no DPI because they're not pixel-based. But when working with raster logos, 300 DPI at the final print size is the professional minimum. A logo that's 300 DPI at 2 inches wide becomes only 75 DPI if you scale it to 8 inches. Always check DPI at final size.

Flattened vs. editable files: An editable file preserves your layers, live text, and effects. A flattened file merges everything into a single layer, sometimes required for print. Always keep your editable master file and send a flattened or outlined version to the printer.

Essential File Formats for Print

Not all file formats are created equal. Here's what each format does and when to use it for print production.

AI (Adobe Illustrator) is your master file — all layers, live text, and editable vector paths. Never send this directly to a printer unless they specifically request it and you've already outlined fonts.

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) is the classic universal vector format, supported by virtually every professional design application and RIP system. EPS is widely preferred for older print workflows. For a deeper look, see our guide on EPS logo files explained.

PDF (Portable Document Format) is the format most modern printers prefer. A properly configured PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 file embeds all fonts, color profiles, and imagery with no outside dependencies.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is excellent for web and screen, but not always suitable for commercial press. Many printers don't accept SVG natively, and it handles color in ways that cause CMYK issues. For more on SVG for digital use, read best logo formats for websites.

PNG and JPG are for previews and digital use only. Never supply these to a professional printer as your print file. Even if accepted, confirm the DPI is 300 at final size.

Format Comparison

CMYK vs RGB: Why Color Mode Matters

This is where more print jobs go wrong than almost anywhere else. Printers use CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) inks. Monitors use RGB (Red, Green, Blue) light. These are fundamentally different color systems that don't map to each other perfectly.

When you send an RGB file to a commercial printer, the RIP software converts it to CMYK automatically. The problem is that RGB can produce colors physically impossible to replicate with ink — particularly vivid blues, electric greens, and bright reds. The automatic conversion often produces dull, muted, or noticeably shifted colors.

The fix: convert to CMYK before you send the file. Do it yourself in your design software so you control the result. Adjust any colors that shift badly during conversion, and proof before final output.

Pantone (PMS) spot colors use a premixed ink matched to a standardized swatch system — guaranteed color results regardless of printer or substrate. If your logo has a specific brand color, Pantone gives you the most consistent result across print vendors.

Process color (CMYK) is fine for full-color photography and complex illustrations. Spot color (Pantone) is best for logos and brand identity where color consistency is non-negotiable.

When to convert: If your printer supports spot color printing (1–3 color jobs like letterhead or packaging), keep your Pantone values. For full-color process jobs like brochures or catalogs, convert Pantone to CMYK and verify the result. The conversion can produce visible color differences — always do a physical proof before a full print run.

If your logo exists in colored, black, and white versions — as it should — make sure each version is prepared correctly. Browse colored logos, black logos, and white logos to see how professional logos handle these variations.

Resolution and Vector Requirements

Logos should be vector whenever possible. There is no resolution limitation — your AI or EPS logo can go from a 0.5-inch stamp to a 40-foot building wrap with zero quality loss.

When working with a raster logo, here are the hard rules:

300 DPI is the professional minimum for print — at the final output size. A logo at 300 DPI at 3 inches wide drops to 100 DPI if you scale it to 9 inches. Always calculate: DPI = pixel width ÷ final print width in inches.

Avoid upscaling. Bumping a 72 DPI web logo to 300 DPI in Photoshop by changing document settings doesn't add real detail — it just makes the file larger with the same blurry output.

Avoid compression artifacts. JPG compression creates blocky distortion around hard edges and text. Even a "high quality" JPG saved multiple times accumulates these artifacts. Always go back to the original uncompressed source file.

Large format printing (banners, trade show displays, vehicle wraps) can use lower DPI because viewing distance is greater — 100 to 150 DPI at final size is often acceptable. Always confirm with your print vendor.

Bleed, Safe Area, and Margins

If any part of your design needs to print right to the edge of the paper, you need bleed. Without it, minor cutting variations leave a thin white border along one or more edges.

Standard bleed is 0.125 inches (3mm). Your artwork extends 3mm beyond the final trim size on all sides where the design touches the edge.

The trim line is where the paper gets cut. The bleed area extends beyond it. The safe area sits inside it. Keep critical content — like your logo — at least 3mm inside the trim line.

• If a logo is centered and doesn't touch the edges, bleed isn't relevant to the logo itself.
• If the logo overlaps the edge of a bleeding background, the background needs bleed even if the logo doesn't extend that far.
• For business cards, stickers, labels, and packaging, always set up your document with bleed from the start.

Setting bleed in Adobe Illustrator: Enter 3mm in the Bleed fields when creating your document. In the Save As PDF dialog, check "Use Document Bleed Settings."

Embedding vs. Outlining Fonts

Fonts are one of the sneakiest causes of print file failures. If your logo contains live text using a font that isn't on the printer's system, that text will be substituted with a different font or flagged as an error.

Converting fonts to outlines is the safest approach. When you outline text, you convert it from live type into vector paths — letterforms become shapes, no font file needed, and the shapes print exactly as designed.

In Adobe Illustrator: Select all text, go to Type > Create Outlines (or Shift + Ctrl/Cmd + O). The text becomes vector artwork.

Embedding fonts in PDFs is the alternative. When you export using the PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 preset, font embedding is handled automatically. However, outlining is still the safest approach for logos.

Always keep your editable master file separate. Once you've outlined fonts, you can no longer edit the text. Save a live-text version before outlining, then send the outlined version to the printer.

Export Settings for Adobe Illustrator

Here's a step-by-step workflow for preparing a print-ready logo in Illustrator:

Export Settings for Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is a raster application, so logos exported from Photoshop are inherently raster. Use this workflow only when vector output isn't possible — for example, a photographic or textured logo treatment.

Common Print Mistakes to Avoid

These errors lead to wasted print runs, rejected files, and costly reprints. They're all entirely avoidable.

For more on logo usage across contexts and file types, see our guides on how to use logos in Figma and using logos in PowerPoint.

Print-Ready Logo Checklist

Use this before sending any logo file to a commercial printer. Check every item without exception.

Understanding Logo Variations for Print

A complete print-ready logo package isn't just one file. A professional logo system includes multiple versions: a full-color version, a black version for single-color printing, and a white version for dark backgrounds.

Understanding logo types also affects your print setup. A wordmark logo (text only) requires careful font outlining, while a symbol-based logo may need special attention to fine details at small sizes. Minimalist logos with very thin strokes need those strokes expanded before print to avoid them disappearing at fine detail levels.

Frequently Asked Questions