How to Set Up Print-Ready Art

Step One—Getting Ready

Download our die template, which is available as an EPS and as a PDF. The die shows where each cut and fold is and gives you the exact dimensions of the front, back, pockets, and even the glue tabs! “Live” areas (where text and critical graphics should be kept) are also indicated as well as bleed—where the art needs to “bleed” off an edge to compensate for shift during die cutting. If that’s more than you need, you can simply use our front cover-only template, also available as an EPS or PDF. All these files are included in the download along with a “How to Use the CSF Template” instructional PDF file.

Here are some key points about the die:

Bleed on a cut edge is 1/8 inch. Bleed across a reinforced glue flap fold is 1/16 inch. The art does not need to bleed across the front/back cover folds or across the cover/pocket folds. Bleed is simulated in our die file so you can see exactly how it works. NOTE: You don’t have to be precise in your bleed dimensions. As long as there is enough bleed, we can remove any excess. So if you want to just add, say, a quarter-inch extra on all sides to cover your bases, that’s fine. We’ll take it from there.
Follow the dimensions provided in the die very carefully so that your art lines up correctly. Keep an eye out for no-print areas. You can put background color in these areas but no text or important graphics.
Similarly, keep live copy and important graphics within the designated “live” areas to ensure that nothing important gets cut off, covered up, or otherwise obscured.
Check centering carefully. This is a problem we see often, and if your art is off-center, we may not be able to fix it—which means reaching out to you for new art, which could significantly delay your order if you or your designer is not available right away.

Step Two—Setting Up Your Art

Set up your art using the die as a guide. If you’re working in software that has layers (like Adobe software), then put the die on its own layer and lock the layer so that you can’t accidentally move the die.

Ideally, your art should be created using Adobe Illustrator or InDesign, but we recognize that this isn’t a realistic ask for most people. If you aren’t working in software where you can easily lay out the entire folder on the full die, then that’s OK. Set up each panel (front, back, each pocket, and each inside above the pockets, if applicable) as a separate file and carefully follow the dimensions provided in the die file PDF.

Once your art is set up, export or “save as” your file(s) as a high-quality PDF if possible. Certain file types, as discussed below, can be problematic, but we can almost always use PDF files.

NOTE: We do not recommend setting up your artwork in non-graphics software like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint. If you use software like this, then be sure to save your files as high-quality PDFs and send us those. We cannot work with .doc, .docx, .pptx, or other non-graphics file formats for artwork.

Working with Colors

Choose your colors carefully! Your folders will print in CMYK, so if you set up your art using spot colors, those colors will convert to the closest CMYK match on press. Don’t know what CMYK and “spot colors” mean?
- CMYK stands for Cyan–Magenta–Yellow–Black. (Why use K for black instead of B? No one knows…😆) CMYK is also known as “four-color process,” “process colors,” and “process builds.” Just like it is for your home printer, this combo is standard for printing on a press.
- So, then, what are spot colors? Think of oil paints on a palette. You can buy a nice pre-made green paint color, or you can mix your own using yellows and blues on your palette. It works the same way in printing: You can build colors using CMYK (essential for full-color images) or you can use pre-mixed colors known as spot colors. In Illustrator, you can designate a color as being a process build or a spot color. Always set your colors as process CMYK builds.
Be sure your file is set to a CMYK, not RGB, profile, if you’re using software (like Illustrator) that has such a setting. If you’re using an online design service, like Canva, be sure to export your art as CMYK.
Any images you use should also be CMYK—NO RGB IMAGES! Digital cameras/phones and many stock image sites render/sell images in RGB, which is what you need for online use. But for printing, those images must be CMYK. If you don’t convert your files, we will do it for you (but see more under “Step Three—Outputting Your Files” below).
If you set up your art in color but you want your folders to print in one or more of our stock colors—MAKE SURE YOU TELL US when you place your order. If your art is submitted in color, we will use the color you used unless you tell us otherwise.

Using Images

Images should be high resolution, but what exactly does that mean? Ideally, all images should be at least 300 pixels per inch (ppi). This will ensure good quality printing. But a lot of images get saved as 72 ppi, and once that happens, there’s no going back (you can remove pixels, but it’s much, much harder to add them—at least in any effective way). So how do you use these low-resolution files?
- First, don’t enlarge them! When you enlarge an image, you effectively spread out the pixels, which just exacerbates the problem when the image is already low res. This can cause your images to look pixelated.
- Preferably, low-res images should be reduced in size in order to jam the pixels together, which is the poor man’s way of compensating for the lower pixel count. For example, say you have an 8 x 8-inch image at 150 ppi, and you reduce the size to 4 x 4 inches. By reducing the size by 50%, you effectively double the pixels per inch. Your image is still 150 ppi, but the reduction in size helps “fake” a higher resolution.
- JPEG files are automatically lower quality than many other pixel-based image file types because the JPEG (or JPG) format throws out some of your pixels to reduce the size (in kilobytes) of your file. That’s just what JPEGs do. It’s automatic and there’s nothing you can do about it. Once you save with that file format, those pixels are gone. So when possible, save images as TIF (or TIFF) or PSD format. Do not use GIF format. This format is for online images only. Do not use PNG format. This format is RGB only.
- NOTE: If your software gives you the option to save your files with layers, do it! Layered images are much easier to adjust if necessary, whereas non-layered images are often impossible to adjust (or are at least extremely limited).

What is “Vector” Art?

There are two basic types of art files—pixel-based and line art, aka, vector art. We think of pixel-based images in terms of things like photographs and other images that are extremely detailed or life-like. Adobe Photoshop is the software most often associated with pixel-based images. We think of vector art as being drawings, and the software most readily associated with vector art is Adobe Illustrator.

Vector art has no pixels and, therefore, no resolution (and no resolution issues!). It’s easy to reproduce and to modify, assuming you have the proper software for that. But just because you have a drawing doesn’t necessarily mean that you have vector art, because the file format has a lot to do with it. Vector art that’s saved as a JPEG, for example, is no longer vector because the JPEG format converts the art to pixels.

Common pixel-based file formats include JPEG/JPG, PNG, PSD (Photoshop), GIF, and TIF. Common vector art file formats include AI (Illustrator), EPS, and PDF.

What’s the point? If you have vector art saved as AI or EPS format, leave it that way! The moment you save that art as a JPG or TIF, you convert it to pixels, which makes it much harder to modify and could create resolution problems.

And, by the way, the same applies to text. It’s much better to create text in vector-based software like Illustrator or layout software like InDesign than in pixel-based software like Photoshop. But if you’re creating your art in Canva or a similar service, just make sure you output your files at the highest resolution possible so that your text stays crisp and clean.

Designing for Backs, Pockets, and Above Pockets

While you may not plan to submit a custom design for your front cover, you may want to provide your own text/layout for your back cover, pockets, and above pockets, as applies, and we encourage you to do so if you’re so inclined.

But chances are, if you do set these up yourself, you’re going to gravitate toward software like Word and PowerPoint or other non-graphics software that you have easy access to and are familiar with. And that’s totally OK. Just follow a couple of important steps to help us ensure that your layouts fit the intended areas of the folder and that we are able to use your files.

First, download our die templates and refer to the PDF for the dimensions of the live areas for the back, pockets, and above pockets. Make sure you set up your text/graphics following these dimensions to ensure that your layouts fit properly on the die.

Second, when you’re ready to submit files, export your text/graphics as separate PDF files or as separate pages in a single PDF file. For example, if you’ve set up the back and both pockets, export three PDFs: back.pdf, right pocket.pdf, and left pocket.pdf. Or, if it’s easier, export to one PDF with the back on one page, the right pocket on one page, and the left pocket on another page.

NOTE: You can use whatever graphics/tables/charts/etc. you’d like in any of these areas as long as they fit the space available. On the back and pockets, you can also use any and all colors you want. If you want a full flood of color on the back and/or pockets, either include it in your design or let us know so we can add it for you. Above the pockets (requires SSP pricing), the only color available is black.

Step Three—Outputting Your Files

We highly recommend—and prefer—that you submit your final art files as high-quality PDF files. But what about the individual components that you use to create the full design?

The type of files and settings you use will determine whether or not your final PDFs are print-ready, so keep these things in mind.

Again, all files should be CMYK. Do not use RGB files because we’ll have to convert them for you, and then you won’t be able to see what that does to the colors (the difference between CMYK and RGB can be rather alarming in some cases). If you convert the files to CMYK yourself, you can review them before sending to ensure that your colors are still intact. File formats to avoid: PNG, GIF
Convert fonts to outlines. If you’re working in Illustrator, InDesign, or similar software, convert your fonts to outlines (proofread carefully first!!) before you send your files. This will avoid font-compatibility issues (especially from PC to Mac) and will prevent any accidental changes to your copy. Be sure to save a copy of your files with the “live” text in case you need to make changes later.
As mentioned, final art files should be sent as high-quality PDFs. If that’s not an option for you, for whatever reason, then the preferred formats are PSD, TIF, and EPS. JPG files are OK, but again, this format is not as high quality as the others.
We cannot work with non-graphics file formats, so any art set up in non-graphics software like Word or PowerPoint must be exported to a PDF.