8 Common Yet Entirely Avoidable Printing Errors

There are plenty of easily avoidable printing mistakes that people end up making time and again. Before you print your project, it is important to know just what these mistakes are and how you can avoid making them. So, here is a list of the 8 avoidable printing mistakes that you need to know about.

1. Insufficient Bleed

You should always leave some room for bleed in your printing document. Bleed is the space beyond the edge of your document; it is the bit of paper that will be cut out in a printing machine. Naturally, if your text is on the bleed, it will be cut out during printing! You should leave at least 3 mm for bleed for regular scale printing, and even more for large format printing.

2. Images that Don’t Convert to CMYK

Always make sure you use images that can easily switch to CMYK color format. If you are unsure about the format of your images, then you can consult your printers. You may need to convert your files if you want to match the exact colors of your images.

3. Spelling Mistakes

Spelling errors are actually quite common, so make sure you proofread your file before sending it for printing. Spelling errors make for a horrible impression, especially if you are going for a professional look for your printed content. To ensure that there are no spelling mistakes in your file, you can even ask your friends to go over your document and proofread it thoroughly.

4. Improper Image Resolution

Inexperience in printing can cause you to pick the wrong image resolution for your visuals. If you opt for a low resolution, your image will have a blurry quality to it; use a high resolution to ensure that your graphics are striking and clear. The minimum image resolution quality required to end up with good quality printed images is 300-400 PPI.

5. Saving Black and White Images as Colored

Make sure that the file type you choose to save your black and white images is for black and white and not for color images. The black and white images may obtain unneeded color during printing if saved improperly.

6. Choosing the Wrong File Formats for Printing

The file format you use should be ideal for printing; avoid using .gif and .png file formats, since they don’t translate well into print. They have a much lower PPI than the higher PPI needed for a print file, hence, they work best as screen only formats.

7. Not Using Quiet Borders

Quiet borders play the role of buffer zones that prevent your text from looking overcrowded. Leave a quiet border of at least 5 mm from your document’s edge. Make sure to not place any text in that designated space.

8. Illegible Text

Your printed text should at least be legible to the reader. To ensure text readability, avoid using low contrast backgrounds and text and employ proper line spacing. Also, make sure not to use illegible and elaborately cursive fonts that will only confuse your readers.

So, the next time you want to print out a project, just ensure that you are not making any of these avoidable printing mistakes.