You finish a design, feel good about it, send it to the printer, and the proof comes back blurry, with the wrong colours or a logo that has gone fuzzy at the edges. Nine times out of ten the design was fine. The file was not.
File format is one of the least glamorous parts of printing and one of the most common reasons a job disappoints. This guide explains what PDF, AI, PNG, JPG and EPS actually are, when each belongs in a print job, and the handful of settings that separate a print-ready file from a reprint.
The one idea that clears up most of the confusion
Before the formats, understand the split that causes most problems: raster versus vector.
Raster files are made of pixels, a fixed grid of coloured dots. Photos are raster. They look great at the size they were made for, but enlarge one and the pixels stretch, so the image turns soft and blocky. JPG and PNG are raster.
Vector files are made of mathematical paths rather than pixels. Because the shapes are drawn by equations, they scale to any size with no loss of sharpness. A logo saved as vector prints crisp on a business card or a billboard from the same file. AI and EPS are vector.
That single distinction explains most format advice. Logos and line art want vector. Photographs are raster and that is fine, as long as the resolution is high enough.
The formats, and where each one fits
PDF is the safe answer for final print. If a printer gives you one upload box and no instructions, send a PDF. It locks your layout, fonts and images into one file that prints consistently, and it can hold both vector and raster content, so it handles a full brochure or business card layout in one go. For professional work, a press-ready PDF (the PDF/X family) is built specifically for high-resolution print. PDF is the delivery format, the thing you hand over.
AI is the editable master. An Adobe Illustrator file is your working vector original, the version that keeps layers, fonts and effects editable. Keep the AI file safe, because that is what you go back to when you need to change something. You usually export a PDF from it to send to print, unless your printer specifically asks for the AI.
EPS is the older vector format. It does a similar job to AI or a vector PDF and still turns up in logo libraries and with some suppliers. If you have a logo only as EPS, it will print well. For new work, AI plus PDF is the more common pairing.
PNG is a web format that people over-use for print. PNG is raster, so it does not scale up, but it does support transparent backgrounds, which is why it is handy for a logo dropped over a coloured area. For small on-screen elements it is fine. As the master file for a whole printed piece, it is the wrong tool: enlarge it and it softens.
JPG is for photographs, at the right resolution. JPG compresses images to keep file sizes down, which suits photos, but the compression throws away a little quality each save, and it cannot hold transparency. A JPG at 300 DPI at the size you are printing will look good. A small JPG pulled off a website will not, and no printer can rescue it.
TIFF is the high-quality photo format. TIFF stores images without the quality-losing compression of JPG, so it holds fine photographic detail and is favoured for professional photography and magazine-grade print. The trade-off is large file sizes. For most everyday jobs a high-resolution JPG or a PDF is easier to handle, but if a printer asks for TIFF on an image-critical job, that is the reason.
The mistake underneath most format problems is treating one file as both master and delivery. Keep an editable master (AI) and export a separate print-ready file (PDF). They are not meant to be the same thing.
Which format for which job, at a glance
- Business cards, flyers, brochures and multi-page layouts: press-ready PDF
- Logos and line art that must scale: AI or EPS vector, or a vector PDF
- Photographs: high-resolution JPG or TIFF at 300 DPI, or placed inside a PDF
- A logo needing a transparent background over colour: PNG, at the size it will print
- Large-format banners, posters and signage: vector wherever possible, so it stays sharp at scale
The settings that matter as much as the format
The right format still prints badly if these are wrong.
Colour: use CMYK, not RGB. Screens build colour from red, green and blue light. Printers build it from cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink. Design in RGB and send it to print and the colours can shift, often duller than they looked on screen. Set your document to CMYK from the start so what you approve is what you get.
Resolution: 300 DPI at final size. DPI (dots per inch) is the print density for raster images. Print work wants images at 300 DPI at the size they will actually appear. A photo that looks sharp on screen at 72 DPI has nowhere near enough detail for print. You cannot add resolution that was never there, so start with high-quality images.
Bleed: extend to the edge. Trimming has a small tolerance, so any colour or image meant to reach the paper edge should extend a few millimetres past the trim line. Without bleed you risk thin white slivers along the edges after cutting.
Fonts: outline or embed them. If the printer does not have your font, the text can reflow or swap to a default. Outlining fonts (converting them to shapes) or embedding them in the PDF locks the type exactly as you designed it.
Crop marks and a proof. Crop marks show the printer where to trim, and a proof, whether a PDF soft proof or a physical printed proof, is your last cheap chance to catch a typo, a colour that looks off, or an image sitting in the wrong place. A printed proof earns its keep on colour-critical jobs, because a screen can never show CMYK ink exactly.
What about Canva?
Plenty of Australian small businesses design in Canva now, and it can produce print-ready files. Export using the “PDF Print” option, turn on crop marks and bleed if the setting is offered, and flatten the file to avoid font surprises. Where Canva is weaker is precise CMYK control and true vector output, so for anything colour-critical or logo-heavy, a designer working in Illustrator gives you more command. For a straightforward flyer or a set of business cards, a Canva PDF export is usually enough.
Five mistakes that cause reprints
Most rejected print jobs trace back to the same handful of errors. Sending a low-resolution image pulled from a website or social media, where the detail was never there to begin with. Leaving the file in RGB, so the colours shift on press. Forgetting bleed, which leaves thin white edges after trimming. Using fonts the printer does not have without outlining them, so the type reflows. And treating a PNG or a small JPG as the master file for a whole layout when a print-ready PDF was the right call. Each one is quick to avoid once you know to look, and each one is expensive to fix after the job has printed.
A quick pre-flight checklist
Before you send anything to print, run through this:
- Correct format for the job (PDF for final layouts, vector for logos, 300 DPI raster for photos)
- Colour set to CMYK
- Raster images at 300 DPI at final size
- Bleed added on anything running to the edge
- Fonts outlined or embedded
- File named clearly, for example BrandName-Flyer-A5-Print.pdf
Tick all six and you have a genuinely print-ready file.
When in doubt, ask before you send
The honest shortcut is that a good printer would rather answer a two-minute question than reprint a job. If you are not certain whether your file is right, send what you have and ask. Design to Print Solutions checks every file for exactly these issues before anything goes on press, and we can tell you what needs fixing rather than printing a problem.
Getting the format right is the difference between a business card with crisp edges and one that looks slightly off, or a brochure whose colours match your brand instead of drifting. If you are also weighing up paper, our guide on coated versus uncoated stock covers how the surface affects the final look.
Have a file ready to check? Send it through for a quote and we will make sure it is set up to print sharp.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best file format for printing?
For most final print jobs, a press-ready PDF. It preserves your layout, fonts and images in one file, handles both text and images, and prints consistently. Keep an editable master in AI and export a PDF to send to the printer.
Can you print a PNG file?
You can, but it is rarely the best choice. PNG is a raster format that does not scale up, so enlarging it makes it soft. It is useful for a logo needing a transparent background, but for a whole printed piece a PDF or vector file will look sharper.
What is the difference between vector and raster files?
Raster files (JPG, PNG) are made of pixels and lose quality when enlarged. Vector files (AI, EPS, vector PDF) are made of mathematical paths and stay sharp at any size. Use vector for logos and line art, and high-resolution raster for photos.
Why do my printed colours look different from my screen?
Screens use RGB light and printers use CMYK ink, so colours can shift between the two, usually looking duller in print. Design in CMYK from the start so the colours you approve match the final print more closely.
What resolution do I need for printing?
300 DPI at the final printed size for raster images and photos. Lower-resolution images, such as those pulled from a website, will look pixelated in print, and resolution cannot be added after the fact.
Can I send a file I made in Canva to a printer?
Yes. Export using the PDF Print option, enable crop marks and bleed if offered, and flatten the file to avoid font issues. For colour-critical or logo-heavy work, a designer working in Illustrator gives you tighter control.
