How to set up your print file
Send one PDF of single pages in reading order. If anything touches the edge, add 0.125 in of bleed on every side. Keep text inside the safe area, use photos with enough pixels and embed your fonts; the numbers for each product follow.
Sizes and page counts
| Product | Page size in your file (with bleed) | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Coil workbooks | 8.75 x 11.25 in | Up to 48 interior pages, plus a front cover |
| Letter booklet | 8.75 x 11.25 in | 8, 12 or 16 including the cover |
| Small booklet | 5.75 x 8.75 in | 8, 12 or 16 including the cover |
| Wall calendar 11 x 8.5 | 11.25 x 8.75 in | 28 |
| Mini wall calendar | 8.75 x 5.75 in | 28 |
| Planner and notebook covers | 5.75 x 8.75 in (or 8.75 x 11.25 in) | Front cover; stapled notebooks also a back cover |
| Notebook interiors you supply | 5.5 x 8.5 in, black and white | Exactly 48 (stapled) or 100 (coil) |
| Planner pages you supply | 5.5 x 8.5 in or 8.5 x 11 in, black and white | Up to 4 of your pages, or your own full interior |
No bleed? If nothing touches the edge, send the trimmed size instead.
Safe areas
- Booklets, notebooks and covers: keep text and logos 0.25 in inside the trim.
- Coil books: keep 0.5 in clear along the coil edge. That is the left edge of right-hand pages and the right edge of left-hand pages.
- Wall calendars: keep text 0.375 in inside the trim. Keep a 1 in circle clear at the centre of the outer edge, where we drill the hanging hole. That is the bottom of odd pages (cover and month grids) and the top of even pages (photo pages). See the calendar design guide.
Photos and images
Use at least 240 pixels per inch at the printed size; 300 is ideal. A full-page photo on the 11 x 8.5 calendar needs about 2,700 x 2,100 pixels, or 3,375 x 2,625 pixels at 300. Photos from phones are usually large enough; images saved from websites and social media are usually not.
Black-and-white pages
Planner and notebook interiors and the black-and-white coil workbook print in black and gray only.
- Use gray shading, not color, for boxes, highlights and table rows. Light colors can turn almost white.
- Set body text in solid black, not a dark color, so it prints crisp.
- Check photos on your proof. A photo that relies on color contrast, such as red on green, can turn flat in gray.
Fonts and color
- Embed all fonts when you export (Canva and Word do this by default in their PDF export).
- Design in RGB or CMYK; we convert to print color. Bright screen colors (neon greens, electric blues) print a little duller on paper.
- Black-and-white products print in shades of gray; check photos and colored text on your proof.
Exporting
- Canva: turn on File > Settings > Show print bleed, then Share > Download > PDF Print with Crop marks and bleed checked.
- Word: use our Word templates, then File > Save As > PDF and choose "Standard (publishing online and printing)".
- Google Docs: set the page size under File > Page setup, then File > Download > PDF.
- InDesign or Affinity: export PDF/X-4 with 0.125 in bleed and no printer's marks, or marks outside the bleed.
Common problems and how to fix them
| What you see on the proof | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A thin white line at the edge | The background stops at the trim | Stretch backgrounds 0.125 in past every edge and export with bleed |
| Text cut off or too close to the edge | Text sits outside the safe area | Move it inside the safe area for that product (above) |
| A blurry or blocky photo | Too few pixels for its printed size | Use the original photo; check its pixel size against the table above |
| Pages in the wrong order | Spreads or printer's pairs in the file | Export single pages in reading order |
| Wrong page count | Missing or extra pages | Add or remove blank pages on purpose to reach the count |
| A different font than you chose | Fonts were not embedded | Export again with fonts embedded |
Before you upload
- Open the PDF and page through it once from start to finish.
- Check the page count against the table above.
- Check the page size: the trim size, or the trim plus 0.125 in on every side.
- Zoom in on every photo at 100 percent. Blurry on screen means blurry on paper.
- Read every name, date, phone number and web address one more time.
Rather not set it up yourself? Start from our free templates, or for calendars send your photos and logo and we lay it out for $39 per order.
What we check
When you upload, we check the page size, page count, bleed, fonts and image resolution. If something needs fixing, we tell you exactly what before we send the proof. We never resize or change your content without asking.
Questions
Can I send spreads instead of single pages?
My page count is off. What happens?
Do you accept files other than PDF?
Printed and shipped by Charlotte Print in Charlotte, North Carolina.