Printing Insights from the Production Floor

Ever ordered “80 lb” paper and been surprised that it felt way thinner or thicker than you expected? You’re not alone – North American paper weights can be confusing. . Here’s the short version: The “lb” is a basis weight – the weight of 500 sheets of a specific parent sheet size Different paper types use different parent sizes That means 80 lb text and 80 lb cover are not the same thing So “pounds” only make sense if you also know the paper type. That’s where GSM (g/m²) come

If you design for print, you’ve probably seen this requirement in specs:“Please use 300 ppi images.” On its own, that line is incomplete. What actually matters is: the size of the image in your layout, and the number of pixels the image has. You can have three images at 300 ppi, 72 ppi and even 10 ppi that look identical in a print-ready PDF, as long as they all have the same pixel dimensions. The PPI field in the file is not the hero here – pixel count at the final print siz

Minimum size: 0.8" (20 mm) square for hand-held pieces; 1.2"+ (30 mm+) for posters viewed from a few feet Quiet zone: leave at least 4 modules of clear space on all sides (no logos or patterns bleeding in) Contrast: dark code on light background; avoid low-contrast brand colours and busy images behind the code File prep: supply vector (PDF/SVG/AI) or a 1000×1000 px PNG at 300 dpi; no JPEG compression Error correction: use level Q or H if you’re overprinting, laminating, or pl

Designing an 8.5″×11″ (216×279 mm) tri-fold? Use these panel widths so the fold-in panel tucks perfectly: Outside (back—fold—front):3.6354″ • 3.6667″ • 3.6979″92.34 mm • 93.13 mm • 93.93 mm Inside (left—middle—right):3.6979″ • 3.6667″ • 3.6354″93.93 mm • 93.13 mm • 92.34 mm Specs that save headaches Bleed: 0.125″ (3.17 mm) all around. Safe area: keep text/logos ≥0.125″ (≈3 mm) from folds/trim. Crossover images: don’t span folds; if you must, give 1/16″ (1.59 mm) cushion. Orie