Common Printing Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

The most common reason is image resolution.

A photo that looks great on your phone or website isn’t always high enough quality for print. Images pulled from social media, screenshots, or websites are usually too low resolution to produce a sharp printed piece.

Our recommendation: Use images that are at least 300 DPI at the size they’ll be printed. If you’re not sure whether your artwork is good enough, send it to us first. We’d much rather help you before printing than have you disappointed with the finished product.

Computer monitors, phones, and printers all display color differently.

Your screen uses light (RGB), while commercial printing uses ink (CMYK). Because of that, some colors simply can’t be reproduced exactly the way they appear on a monitor.

Our recommendation: Design in CMYK whenever possible and request a proof if color accuracy is critical. We’ll also help you select the best process if you’re trying to match a specific brand color.

Bleed is one of the most misunderstood parts of preparing artwork.

When a piece is trimmed, there can be very slight movement in the cutting process. If your background stops exactly at the edge of the page, even a tiny shift can leave an unwanted white line.

Our recommendation: Extend backgrounds and images beyond the final trim size (typically 1/8") so your finished piece prints cleanly from edge to edge.

Absolutely.

A beautiful font isn’t always an easy font to read. Small script fonts or decorative typefaces may look impressive on a computer screen but become difficult to read once printed.

Our recommendation: Choose fonts that are clean, readable, and appropriate for your audience. Your message should always be easy to understand.

Paper makes a bigger difference than most people realize.

The same design can feel completely different depending on whether it’s printed on glossy stock, matte paper, a heavy cover, textured paper, or an uncoated sheet.

Our recommendation: Think about the impression you want to make. A premium business card should feel different than a product flyer, and a luxury brochure deserves different paper than a simple handout. If you’re unsure, we’ll gladly walk you through the options.

Yes. Then proofread it again.

Even professionally designed pieces can contain spelling mistakes, incorrect phone numbers, outdated websites, or missing information.

Our recommendation: Review every detail carefully. Better yet, have someone else read it before it’s printed. A fresh set of eyes often catches mistakes you’ve overlooked.

Not as close as you might think.

Anything placed too near the trim line risks being cut off during finishing.

Our recommendation: Keep important text, logos, and graphics safely inside the margins. We check every file before printing, but good design starts with proper spacing.

That’s exactly why we’re here.

Many online printers simply upload your file and hit "Print." We take the time to review your artwork, identify potential problems, and let you know if something needs attention before production begins.

A few minutes spent reviewing your files can save time, money, and frustration later.

A plain black in print is made using 100% black ink (K) alone — on paper, that can look slightly flat or gray, especially over a large area.

"Rich black" adds a touch of cyan, magenta, and yellow underneath the black, creating a deeper, more saturated black.

Our recommendation: Use rich black for large solid backgrounds and bold graphics, but stick with plain black (K only) for small text — the extra ink layers can blur fine print if they shift even slightly during printing.

It usually comes down to the coating, not the paper underneath.

Cards with a heavy UV coating, laminate, or foil are flexible, but that coating can develop tiny cracks along a trimmed edge if the card gets bent sharply — for example, tucked into a tight wallet slot or flexed while handing it over.

Our recommendation: This is normal wear on coated stock, not a defect. If you're stocking cards somewhere they'll get bent often, an uncoated or matte finish will hold up a little better than a heavy gloss or foil edge.

Pantone, or PMS, colors are pre-mixed inks — each one is formulated to be exactly the same shade every time, no matter who prints it.

Most everyday printing (business cards, flyers, postcards) uses CMYK process printing instead, which builds colors from four ink layers. CMYK can get very close to most Pantone colors, but a few — especially bright oranges, certain greens, and metallics — don't translate perfectly.

Our recommendation: If matching your exact brand color is critical, like a logo color used everywhere, tell us up front. We can advise on the closest CMYK match, or route jobs that need exact color to a print process that supports true Pantone matching.

Both add a glossy clear coating to specific parts of your design — usually a logo or headline — instead of the whole card, creating contrast against a matte background.

Spot UV is flat: shiny to look at, but you won't feel a texture. Raised Spot UV builds up a thicker layer of coating, so the design actually stands up off the card with a texture you can feel.

Our recommendation: Spot UV is a subtle, budget-friendly upgrade. Raised Spot UV makes more of a statement and is worth it for a logo or brand mark you want people to notice with their fingers, not just their eyes.

Suede cards have a soft-touch velvet laminate over the cardstock — instead of a shiny or matte finish, they feel almost like fabric.

That laminate also makes them water-resistant (they'll shrug off a little moisture or a coffee spill), though not fully waterproof.

Our recommendation: Suede is a great pick when you want a card that feels as premium as it looks — popular with real estate agents, photographers, and anyone whose card doubles as a first impression of quality.

Instead of just printing the front and back, Painted Edge cards add color to the card's outer edges too — so when you glance at a stack of them, you see a bold stripe of color running around the sides.

Our recommendation: It's a small detail that makes a big visual impact, especially for creative businesses, boutiques, and brands built around a signature color.

Both add a metallic foil accent to your design, but they feel different.

Foil Worx applies the foil flat against the card surface — you get the metallic shine without any texture. Raised Foil applies that same foil over a raised, textured base, so the metallic areas are both shiny and slightly embossed.

Our recommendation: Foil Worx is a clean, budget-friendly way to add metallic shine. Raised Foil is the more luxurious option when you want that foil accent to catch the light and stand up off the page.

Send us your project details — size, quantity, paper, color, and any finishing like folding, cutting, or binding. The more details you give us, the faster and more accurate the quote. Quotes come back within 24 hours, often the same day.

Not sure what you need? Tell us the goal of the project and we'll help you figure out the specs.

It varies by job, but most orders print in 3–5 business days once you approve the proof. Rush and same-day turnaround are available for time-sensitive projects — just let us know your deadline when you request a quote.

Often, yes. Same-day quotes are standard, and we can frequently move a job up when a deadline is tight.

What's possible depends on the product, quantity, and finishing involved, so send us your specs and the date you need it in hand. We'll confirm the actual turnaround for your specific order before you commit — no guessing.

No. We don't have minimum order quantities on anything — order exactly what you need, whether that's 10 pieces or 10,000.

For most jobs, yes — especially custom work. Once you approve the proof, we'll send an invoice. Payment confirms the order and puts your job into the production queue.

Yes. If we've printed it, we can reprint it with the same color match, stock, and specs. Use the "Reorder an Existing Job" option on our quote form — if you have a PO number or a reference to the prior order or invoice, include it and we'll match it up. Send updated artwork if you have it, and if not, we can pull the previous version from our system.

Yes — we ship anywhere in the U.S. We use reliable carriers and pack everything securely so it arrives in good shape.

Absolutely. If you're local, pickup is often the fastest option. We'll let you know as soon as your job is ready.

Let us know right away. Take a few photos of the damage and the packaging, and we'll work with you to replace the order as quickly as possible.

It means the file is fully prepared for printing and doesn't need any additional editing or adjustments before it goes to press.

Color separation is the process of splitting artwork into its individual color components — typically cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) — so each one can be printed separately.

Halftone printing uses patterns of small dots, varying in size and spacing, to reproduce continuous-tone images like photographs using a limited number of ink colors.

Pantone (PMS) colors are pre-mixed, standardized inks from the Pantone Matching System, used when a brand needs the exact same color every time regardless of who's printing it.

Not usually. In most cases, "white" in a design is simply the color of the paper showing through — it isn't an ink that gets printed.

Standard business envelope sizes range from #6¼ up to #14, depending on what you're mailing. The typical address window measures about 4.5" x 1.125".

The USPS also has its own size, thickness, and shape requirements that an envelope needs to meet in order to qualify for standard postage rates — ask us if you're not sure your piece qualifies.

Beyond our saddle-stitched booklets, common binding options include perfect binding, spiral binding, comb binding, three-ring binding, and case binding — each suited to different page counts and how the piece will be used.