Print file requirements
PDF, CMYK, 300 dpi for small formats and 150 dpi for banners, bleed, outlined fonts. The file check is free of charge.
General rules
Get these six things right and your file passes on the first attempt:
- PDF format. Exported for print, with embedded images, without comments or annotation layers.
- CMYK. Everything in the document — photos, logos, flat colours — in CMYK. No RGB.
- Resolution. 300 dpi for small formats — business cards, flyers, leaflets, stickers. 150 dpi for banners, because they are viewed from a distance.
- Bleed. 3 mm on every side for small formats, 10 mm for banners.
- Fonts outlined or embedded. Outlined is safer. If a font is only embedded, it can get substituted when the file is opened.
- Black text at 100 % K. Not a rich black built from four inks — that gives greyish, blurry text at small sizes.
No unrasterised transparencies, drop shadows or blending modes. If you use such effects, rasterise those objects before exporting.
Safe area
Keep the important content — text, logo, phone number, QR code — away from the edge. Start from the bleed and add the same distance again inwards.
The reason is simple: cutting has a tolerance. In a run of 500 business cards the last one is not trimmed to the same micron as the first. Text glued to the edge looks like a mistake.
Do not put a thin frame around the perimeter. It demands perfect trimming and almost always ends up uneven on one side.
Roll-up banner 85×200
There is one detail here that catches people out most often: the visible area is smaller than the graphic. The bottom edge of the graphic goes into the cassette and rolls up, so it is never seen.
- Keep important text at least 10 cm above the bottom edge of the graphic.
- Put the logo and the main message in the top half — from 120 cm upwards. That is the area people read when the banner stands on a stand.
- The bottom third is usually blocked by a counter, a chair or a person standing at the stand. Do not put a phone number or an address there.
- The background has to run all the way to the very bottom edge, so no white strip shows when the graphic is rolled.
If you rent the hardware and bring your own graphic, make sure its size matches the cassette. A graphic from another banner rarely clamps in properly.
Accepted files
| Format | Note |
|---|---|
| the preferred option for everything | |
| AI | with outlined fonts and embedded images |
| EPS | with outlined fonts |
| TIFF | flattened, CMYK |
| JPG | only at 300 dpi at final size, without heavy compression |
Files from word processors and presentation tools are not suitable for print. If that is all you have, tell us — the design service is €25.00 flat.
For large files use a file transfer service and send us the link by email.
Free file check
Every order goes through a free check before printing. We look at the colour mode, the resolution, the bleed, the fonts, the black text, and whether the size matches the product you ordered.
If we find a problem, we write to you with exactly what to fix. We do not touch your design without permission. Small technical issues we can fix ourselves if you let us.
Proof approval
Approval of a digital proof is required before printing. The proof shows how your file will come out after processing — size, trim, positioning.
Check these on the proof before approving: spelling of names and numbers, whether the phone and address are current, the correct size, whether the QR code works, and whether all pages of a folded leaflet are in order.
Printing starts only after your approval. Once printing has started the order cannot be cancelled, because the job is personalised. So read the proof carefully.
What slows an order down
- An RGB file — it needs converting and the colours shift.
- Missing bleed — a white strip appears at the trim.
- Low resolution — an upscaled image comes out blurry.
- Missing fonts — text gets substituted and reflows.
- Wrong size — an A4 file ordered as A5.
- Slow proof approval — the standard 3 working day production time starts from the approval, not from the payment.
If you are in a hurry, there is 24-hour express at a factor of 1.35 and same-day at a factor of 1.60. In both cases the clock still starts at the approved proof, so answer the proof quickly.
If you are not sure
Send the file to mail@expo.rentals and ask. The check is free and it does not commit you to an order. We reply within 2 working hours during business hours.
