Reference
Printing guides
Short, plain-language guides to the concepts that decide whether a print comes out right. Read them before sending anything to a commercial printer or printing a long run at home.
Guides
Pick a topic
What is bleed?
The extra 3 mm of artwork beyond the trim that prevents white edges after cutting.
What is the safe area?
Where your text and logos must stay so they survive imperfect trimming.
What DPI should you use?
A practical guide to 72, 150, 300 and 600 DPI and when each is appropriate.
How to print at actual size
Disabling "Fit to page" so rulers and templates print accurately.
PDF vs SVG for printing
When each format works best and how they compare for vector print files.
Common printing mistakes
Wrong DPI, no bleed, low-contrast text — and how to avoid them.
RGB vs CMYK
Why a print never matches the monitor, why converters disagree, and what to send instead.
Fit to page vs actual size
What each scaling option really does, and where the 3–6% shrink comes from.
Turn off Fit to page permanently
Three layers can apply scaling. Fix the wrong one and it comes back.
Why prints get cut off
Four causes, told apart by which part of the page went missing.
How to print labels in Word
A sheet of one label, one label on a used sheet, a mail merge from Excel, and labels that line up.
How to print on envelopes
Which way they go in, from Word or a PDF, and where the address goes.
How to print a printable at the right size
A download you bought or made: the right file, A4 or Letter, Actual size, wall art ratios, planners and patterns.
How to print double-sided
Long edge or short edge, both sides by hand, and booklets.
How to print a large image or PDF on multiple pages
What Acrobat, Paint, Excel and printer drivers can do, sheet counts for poster sizes, trimming and joining.
Nozzle check and print head cleaning
HP, Epson, Canon and Brother: find the gaps, clean, and know when to stop.
By problem
Start from what went wrong
- The printout is a few percent smaller than it should beFit to page vs actual size
- A template or ruler must print at exactly 100%How to print at actual size
- You set 100% and the next print is scaled againTurn off Fit to page permanently
- An edge or a strip of the page is missingWhy prints get cut off
- A white sliver shows after the print shop trims itWhat is bleed?
- Text near the edge was trimmed offWhat is the safe area?
- The image prints blurry or blockyWhat DPI should you use?
- Colours come out duller than on screenRGB vs CMYK
- Labels print a little off the sheetHow to print labels in Word
- The address lands on the back of the envelopeHow to print on envelopes
- A printable you downloaded prints at the wrong sizeHow to print a printable
- The back of each page comes out upside downHow to print double-sided
- The picture is bigger than the paperPrint a large image on multiple pages
- White lines through the print, or a color missingNozzle check and print head cleaning
Size problems are quicker to settle by measuring than by reading. Print the one-page calibration test and measure its 100 mm square: it tells you whether your printer prints at 100%, and if not, which setting is shrinking the page. Every guide here assumes nothing is uploaded and nothing needs installing; the tools they point to run in your browser.
For faded colors, streaks or a printer that has stood unused, start with a printer test page: it prints from the browser in one click, in color or black and white, and shows each ink, fine lines, small text and how close to the edge the printer reaches.