Prepress & Artwork
Bleed, resolution, fonts, PDF export — turn your design into a print-ready file
- Audience
- Designers・Print Production Staff・Brand Owners
- Bleed
- Resolution
- Illustrator
- Canva
- Print Submission Guidelines
- Fonts
- File Output
Complete guides
- COMPLETE GUIDEPrint Design Complete Guide: Typography, Color, and File Handoff — a Design Only Counts When It Prints RightA design that dazzles on screen but prints badly is just wasted paper. Print design and pure digital design are two different disciplines: different color spaces, different resolution thresholds, even different font-licensing traps. This guide walks through print design from spec framing, typography and color to final file handoff and proof approval, so every design survives the press7 STEPS
- COMPLETE GUIDEThe Complete Guide to Bleed Settings: 3mm Is Only the Starting Point, with Specs for Every Print Product"Leave 3mm of bleed" is probably the most memorized line in printing, and also the one most often misapplied. It is correct for business cards, but posters, packaging dielines, and books all follow their own rules. This guide walks through how bleed works, the real-world numbers for different products, and how to set it up correctly in tools like Canva and Word, so sending files to print no longer feels like a gamble6 STEPS
- COMPLETE GUIDEThe Complete Guide to Artwork Preflight and Print Prep: 7 Steps to Save on Reprinting CostsFixing a mistake at the artwork stage costs nothing, but discovering that same error on the press means paying for a complete reprint. This guide outlines seven essential checkpoints before sending files to print—color, fonts, images, transparency, bleed, file naming, and proofing—in order. Running through this checklist is your most affordable quality control policy7 STEPS
- COMPLETE GUIDEBrand Color Consistency: A Complete Process Guide — From Color Swatch Definition to Press Proofing, Keeping Every Print Run on TargetThe most common complaint in brand work is "the business card and brochure primary colors don't match" — and the problem usually isn't the print shop's skill level, but rather the failure to establish clear brand color standards from the very beginning. This guide walks through every checkpoint where color can drift: setting color swatch benchmarks, the logic behind CMYK and RGB conversion, production file specifications, proofing and color-matching workflows, and cross-vendor color management SOPs — breaking each step down so you can follow along and keep your brand colors consistent7 STEPS
- COMPLETE GUIDEThe Complete Business Card Guide: From Design to Press in One PassA business card looks like the simplest print job, yet it is the one that goes wrong most often at the last minute — color shifts, edges trimmed off, blurry text, the wrong paper. This guide walks every gate from design and artwork to paper and press, in order, so you print it right and print it well6 STEPS
- COMPLETE GUIDEA Complete Guide to Print Procurement and Pre-Press Quality Control: From Spec Confirmation to Delivery Inspection — Every Pitfall CoveredIn my years working with clients, most print disputes don't come from poor craftsmanship at the print shop — they stem from a breakdown at some earlier stage before the job ever goes to press. Wrong color mode in the final artwork, skipped proofing, mixed-up paper weights — one mistake and you're looking at an entire reprint. This guide lays out every chokepoint in the procurement and print-submission process, walking you through from spec confirmation all the way to delivery inspection, so you have a practical checklist to follow the next time you send a job to print6 STEPS
PPWR Label Impact: Which Three Hurdles Will Printers Hit First?
Once PPWR takes effect, label printers will first face compliance questionnaires, material documentation, and responsibility assignments. This article breaks preparation down into equipment, consumables, and design, so designers and brand clients can get their paperwork and handoff process in order while the rules are still being clarified
Upgrading Moisture Resistance in Bio-Based Films: How to Use Plasma Coatings
For bio-based films such as PLA and PHA, what often keeps packaging from making it into production is not printing but moisture management. Plasma coatings add moisture resistance at the surface, giving designers and procurement teams a way to put materials, files, and proofs on the same specification sheet
Packaging Capacity Expansion as a Market Signal: How Should Brands Respond?
Pratt, Amcor, JBM, and O-I are all putting capital into paper, plastic, metal, and glass capacity, and the packaging market is being reshuffled Brands can read the demand signals behind this expansion and use a review framework to assess suppliers and material choices
6 Key Packaging Trends: A Decision Checklist for Taiwan's Small and Mid-Sized Printers
Billerud's Packaging Tomorrow 2026 brings packaging decisions back to materials, circularity, regulations, and real-world costs. This checklist organizes practical decision points for Taiwan's small and mid-sized printers and designers to use directly in briefs, prototyping, and quotation meetings
Corrugated Plant Digital Transformation: Three Checkpoints from BOBST × Packitoo
At the 2026 UK corrugated industry trade show, BOBST and Packitoo demonstrated how orders, estimates, equipment data, and logistics handoffs can be put into one workflow. This article breaks down how small and midsize corrugated plants can get started through three checkpoints, and shows brand clients what to ask suppliers
California AB 2253 and SB 1180: Two Red Lights for Flexible Packaging
Within one week, California sent the flexible packaging industry two policy warnings in a row, prompting the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) to co-sign calls urging the governor to veto AB 2253 and SB 1180 Brands and printers need to understand how the bills affect materials, recycling, extended producer responsibility, and environmental messaging so compliance costs can be handled at the design and procurement stages
Combustible Dust Management: Packaging Plants Can't Afford to Wait for an Incident
Combustible dust risk in packaging plants is already affecting equipment, insurance, audits, and brand delivery schedules. Readers will get four on-site management pillars, an investment sequence for small and mid-sized Taiwan print shops, and checklist questions brand procurement teams can put directly to suppliers
Cyrel ReNew's Two New Plates: What's the Difference?
DuPont expands Cyrel® ReNew into both solvent and thermal platemaking workflows, giving small and midsize flexographic printers a reason to review their plates, equipment, and file-delivery process Designers can use the differences between ESXR and EFXR to build a more reliable prepress self-check workflow
Epson F370: A Small-Shop Guide to Cotton Heat Transfer
Epson has launched a compact dye-sublimation printer for personalized products alongside a cotton primer, extending customization beyond polyester to white and light-colored cotton apparel After reading, you will know what the F370 can do, what extra step cotton adds to the process, and how a small shop should test samples before taking orders
The Pulp Mill Takeover Subsidy Race: How Should Printers Respond?
A €2 million bridge loan has bought France's Fibre Excellence Saint-Gaudens a few more weeks while it waits for a takeover bid. This pulp mill takeover race could carry supply risk all the way to Taiwanese printers and brand procurement teams
Spirits Anti-Counterfeiting Goes Beyond Labels: The Cap Is the Next Line of Defense
Spirits anti-counterfeiting is moving beyond the label surface to the structure of the cap. Guala Closures' upgrade is a reminder for designers to rethink the order of closure planning and final artwork approval. By the end, you'll know how to build tamper-evident features into packaging specifications and use a single handoff checklist to reduce revisions and the gap between approved files and the mass-produced result
Pantone 420C: A Taiwan Printing Guide
Pantone 420C looks understated, but it puts paper stock, four-color conversion, and grayscale pairing to the test This guide covers choosing a brand gray, color-pairing logic, and prepress checks, so the elegant gray on your screen becomes a deliverable result on the press
The PACK Act Moves Through Committee: How Should Taiwanese Exporters Prepare?
The U.S. PACK Act has advanced through the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Although it is not yet an effective law, it has put third-party verification of packaging claims and FTC oversight on the federal radar. Brands should start organizing their wording, supporting evidence, and packaging versions now, so export revisions do not have to start from scratch
How Is an Inverted Pet Food Cup Changing the User Experience?
Amcor launches an inverted pet food cup in China, making the cup's orientation part of the feeding action Designers need to re-sequence their workflow from structure and prepress through prototyping. Mai Strategy's three-gate print check provides a practical inspection framework
Don't Count Only the Ink in Wide-Format Printing: 6 Waste Blind Spots
Waste in wide-format printing often hides in waiting, reprints, warm-up, and trimming scraps. The FESPA Print Census offers a practical way to take stock, and I've turned it into a checklist that small and midsize print shops in Taiwan can use today, breaking it down item by item from equipment and materials to the print-submission process
Printing Industry Crisis: Don't Wait for Capacity to Break Down
A call from France's UNIIC over the Maury Imprimeur restructuring points to a challenge facing Taiwan's printing industry: when print volumes fall, high fixed costs do not disappear in proportion. By looking at capacity, file preparation, and the supply chain, readers can find practical decision-making approaches for small and midsize printers and design teams
Fujifilm's Plate Business Changes Hands: A Supply Chain Warning for Asia-Pacific Prepress
Fujifilm's plate business is changing hands. Asia-Pacific prepress teams should first take stock of supply, technical support, and replacement materials This article turns the process and procurement risks behind the announcement into Mai Strategy's Three Gates for Print Production
Fujifilm's Plate-Material Restructuring: A Backup Checklist for Taiwan Printers
Fujifilm is restructuring printing-plate production and sales in some overseas markets. Taiwan printers should confirm supply and CTP backup plans early, while designers should include file versions, color, and proofing conditions in Mai Strategy's Three-Gate Print Check
How to Choose Beauty Refill Packaging? A File-Ready Guide to Amcor's Expanding Rigid and Flexible Range
Amcor is aggressively expanding its rigid and flexible refill packaging lines for personal care, signaling that refillable design has become table stakes in Western markets. How should Taiwan's brands and contract manufacturers respond to this green wave?
How Do Birch Bark Coatings Fit into the Printing Line?
Turning birch bark waste into a bio-based barrier coating gives paper-based packaging another material option, but a beautiful material story does not make the production floor cooperate automatically. From final artwork and pretreatment through post-processing, designers and small and mid-sized printers should know what to ask before sampling and what to check on the floor
Paper-Fiber Takeout Trays Are Here: 3 New Details Designers Need to Watch
ProAmpac developed a fiber-based tray for Circle K's PepsiCo-backed chicken-wing product, replacing plastic packaging. It is another example of hot takeout food moving to a new packaging material. This article breaks down what designers should watch from a printing and prepress perspective when handling this kind of job
The Cost of Shrinking Fragrance to 10mL: How Mini Bottles Rewrite Print Registration and Line Economics
Bormioli Luigi launched an on-the-go mini fragrance bottle, signaling that luxury packaging is entering a micro-sizing race. When bottle dimensions shrink drastically, the margin for error in print registration and glass molding drops off a cliff, throwing down a direct challenge to prepress habits and traditional line economics
Why Avery Dennison Says Labels Are No Longer Consumables, but Media Channels
Labels have moved far beyond ingredient lists. Avery Dennison's latest perspective highlights how smart labels are turning into two-way media connecting brands directly to consumers. What does this mean for prepress design and printing? Here is a clear breakdown from file setup to production planning
SmartDFE Version 6: GPU Power Speeds Up Variable Data RIP by 30x
Hybrid Software launched SmartDFE Version 6, headlined by a GPU-native RIP engine that processes variable data PDFs up to 30 times faster. This directly changes how prepress and production teams handle complex files