Printer Ready

The print check guide

What we check, in plain English.

No jargon. No print-shop assumed knowledge. Just a quick run-through of every check we run on your file and what to do if something fails.

The 30-second version

A printer needs your file to be the right size, with extra artwork at the edges (bleed), sharp images, the right colour mode, and fonts bundled inside. We check all five and fix what we can automatically — so you don't have to learn print prepress.

Check 1 of 5

Page size

Confirms your document is a recognised paper size like A4, A5, or Letter.

What we look at
We measure the page and compare it to standard print sizes. If it matches A4, A5, A6, Letter, or similar — with or without bleed already added — you'll see a tick.
Why it matters
Printers run their presses at fixed sizes. An odd page size means your design gets trimmed, scaled, or rejected — and the colours and margins you carefully set in Canva can shift.
How to fix it
In Canva, start a new design from a paper-size preset (A4, A5, Letter) instead of "Custom size". If you've already designed at the wrong size, resize the canvas with Magic Switch or recreate at the correct size.

Canva tip

Canva's default "Document" size is A4. If you picked "Custom" or used a social-media template, your size probably won't match a print standard.

Check 2 of 5

Bleed

Checks that your design extends 3mm past the edge so nothing gets cut off.

What we look at
Bleed is extra artwork that goes beyond the trim line. We look at every page and make sure the background, photos, or colour blocks reach at least 3mm past where the paper will be cut.
Why it matters
Cutting machines aren't perfect — they're accurate to about 1mm. Without bleed you get thin white slivers along the edges of your printed piece. With bleed, the cutter has room to be slightly off without it showing.
How to fix it
Use the "Just add bleed" or auto-fix option here and we'll mirror your edges outward by 3mm and add crop marks. If your design has photos or patterns right up to the edge, the mirrored bleed can look a little odd on screen — that's normal. It won't appear on the final print; it only gives the cutter a safety margin. Or, in Canva Pro, turn on "Show print bleed" before exporting and drag your background out to the bleed line.

Canva tip

Canva's free plan doesn't show bleed guides. If you exported a free-plan PDF with edge-to-edge artwork, you almost certainly don't have bleed — let us add it.

Check 3 of 5

Image resolution

Looks for blurry images. Anything below 300 DPI may look pixelated when printed.

What we look at
We measure every photo and graphic in your PDF and work out its effective DPI (dots per inch) at the size it's placed. Below 300 DPI is the danger zone for printing.
Why it matters
Screens are forgiving — print is not. A photo that looks crisp on your laptop can come back from the printer soft, fuzzy, or visibly pixelated. 300 DPI is the industry minimum for sharp results.
How to fix it
Replace low-DPI images with higher-resolution versions. If you stretched a small photo to fill the page, find the original at a larger size, or scale the photo down in your design.

Canva tip

Free stock photos from the web are often only 72 DPI. Use Canva's built-in photo library or upload your own high-resolution files (the bigger the file size, usually the better).

Check 4 of 5

Colour mode

Warns if your file uses screen colours (RGB) instead of print colours (CMYK).

What we look at
Screens mix red, green, and blue light (RGB). Printers mix cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink (CMYK). We scan your PDF for colours that are still in RGB mode.
Why it matters
RGB can produce bright, glowing colours that ink simply can't reproduce. If you don't convert, the printer's machine will — and the result is often duller or shifted (especially vivid blues, greens, and oranges).
How to fix it
Click the "Convert to CMYK" button on the report and we'll rewrite the RGB colours in your PDF to CMYK using a standard FOGRA39 profile — no extra software needed. Compare the original and the fixed file side by side; very bright blues, greens, and oranges may shift slightly because those colours sit outside the CMYK ink range, but the rest will match closely. If you're on Canva Pro, you can also export directly as a CMYK PDF from the download menu and skip this step.

Canva tip

Canva exports everything in RGB on its free plan, but there is a CMYK version in Canva Pro plan. That's why almost every Canva PDF will trigger this warning. It's usually fine; just be aware bright colours may look slightly different on paper.

Check 5 of 5

Fonts embedded

Makes sure every font is included in the file so text prints exactly as designed.

What we look at
We open the PDF and check that each font used in the document is bundled inside the file ("embedded"), not just referenced by name.
Why it matters
If a font isn't embedded, the printer's computer has to substitute it with something it does have installed. Spacing breaks, line lengths change, and your beautifully-set headline can come out in Arial.
How to fix it
Re-export the PDF from your design tool with "Embed fonts" turned on. From Canva, the standard "Download as PDF Print" option embeds fonts by default — so this rarely fails on Canva files.

Canva tip

Canva's "PDF Print" download embeds fonts automatically. Avoid "PDF Standard" for print work — it's optimised for screens.

Canva tutorial

How to add 3mm bleed in Canva

A 5-step walkthrough for setting up bleed and exporting a proper print-ready PDF.

Read the guide

Fix specific print problems

If you already know what needs fixing, jump straight to the tool:

Add bleed to a PDFConvert RGB to CMYKMake Canva print-readyPDF print check

Ready to check a file?

Upload your PDF, JPEG or PNG file and we'll run all these checks in just a few seconds. 

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