Support: PDF Print Check
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Common questions
How do I check if a PDF is ready to print?
Open it here. In a few seconds you get a report on the things printers check: the finished page size, whether bleed is marked, whether every font is embedded, whether each picture has enough pixels for the size it is placed at, and whether the colours are RGB or CMYK. Anything marked Fix is likely to get the file sent back.
What is preflight?
Preflight is the check a printer runs on every file before it goes to press, named after the checks a pilot makes before take-off. It looks for the technical faults that ruin a print run: missing fonts, pictures with too few pixels, no bleed, the wrong page size or colour. This tool runs the same kind of check on your own device.
What happens if fonts are not embedded?
The printer's computer uses a font of its own in place of the missing one. Letters change shape and width, so lines break in different places, text can run off the page, and some characters can vanish. Export the PDF again with fonts embedded, which most programs do by default, or convert the text to outlines.
How does it measure image resolution?
It finds every picture on every page, works out the size it has been placed at in inches, and divides its pixels by that size. The result is the real pixels per printed inch, which is what decides sharpness. The DPI number saved inside a picture is ignored, because it says nothing about how large the picture was placed.
What resolution do pictures need for printing?
As a working rule of the print trade, anything held in the hand wants 300 pixels per inch and prints well from about 200. Posters and signs on a wall are fine at 100 to 150, and banners seen from a distance at 50 to 72. Choose how the print will be seen and the check uses the matching thresholds.
Is RGB a problem for printing?
Usually not. Presses print with cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks, so an RGB file has to be converted, and most printers do that for you. Very bright blues, greens and oranges cannot be matched in ink and come out a little duller. If your printer asks for CMYK, export the file as CMYK so you see the change before they do.
Why does it say no bleed is marked when my design goes to the edge?
Because the check reads what the file says, not what the picture shows. A PDF marks its cut line and bleed with measurements called the trim box and bleed box, and yours has none. If the page is the finished size with nothing extra round it, there is no bleed. Add it with Add Bleed and Crop Marks, or export again from your design program with bleed switched on.
Does a clean report mean my file will print perfectly?
It means none of the usual technical faults were found. It cannot judge whether a photo is in focus, whether the colours are the ones you wanted, or what your own printer insists on. Ask them for their specification, and for a proof on a large or costly job.
Is my PDF uploaded?
No. The PDF is opened and read by your browser on your own device. It is never sent to us or to anyone else, nothing about it is stored, and closing the tab clears it.