Online Printing Checklist of the Forgetful

Do you find yourself forgetting a lot of the important settings and configurations for online printing? Well if you are forgetful like that, then I have a great checklist for you. Listed down below is YOUR online printing checklist that should always guide you in developing great drafts for your online printer as well as deal with their printing process more easily. Just go through the checklist one by one each time you print online, and you will always have less trouble in your printing.
1. Is your print document in the right file format? - The first thing that you will want to check is your print document file format. Online printing companies have a few preferred file formats that they want to receive from their customers. This is because those file formats are connected to the software for printing and design that they are using.

Always make sure that you adhere to their file format requirements and submit something that is compatible for them. If you don't, you will run the risk of them converting your documents and sometimes messing up your file format.

2. Is your template compatible with the printers? - Also check if your template itself for online printing is compatible with your printers. Some custom templates may be too large, too small or may have weird dimensions that the online printer just cannot produce. That is why it is important to check the maximum dimensions and specifications that you can dictate with your document. If one online printer can't handle your template, you might want to look for another one, or you might want to adjust your template to match their specifications.

3. Did you prepare backups? - Always try to check if you have backups of your file documents. This does not mean only having an extra copy in a separate folder of course. This also means having your designs saved in other formats to make sure that there are options for the online printer to use. Besides your main document in an editable file format, you should also send an Image format such as a PNG or a BMP to them. Beyond that you might also want to send a file in a ZIP or a RAR format as another kind of backup that is not prone to being corrupted.

4. Did you proofread all text? - Of course, always ask yourself if you done your proofreading. You do not want to get prints that have misspelled words or may lines with wrong grammar. There is no turning back once you send your prints for online printing, so make sure that you did this check 2-3 times.

5. Did you check all graphics? - Do not forget to check your graphics as well. Check for any corruption in the images and of course watch out for noise, odd pixels or bad cropping. Also make sure that your images have been inserted as a high resolution resource. This makes sure that your prints have the best full color images that do not look fuzzy.

6. Did you check the alignments and formatting? - Make sure that you also check the distances and alignments between your key design elements in your drafts. Sometimes, people forget to set margins and printing bleeds which adversely affect the results of your online printing. Make sure that you adhere to the standards of margins and bleeds and if possible look at other templates for comparison. Make sure that everything is measured properly for printing.
7. Do you have the right options ready? - Finally, ask yourself if you already have the right options ready for you to set in online printing. You do not want to randomly select your options as you order your prints. Make sure that you know what you want for your prints. Know the right paper material, paper weight, inks and other options beforehand so that you can get what you really want in online printing.

So that is your checklist for online printing. Print this out if you must to make sure that you have checked all the important aspects in your design and online printing process. Good Luck!