Print-Ready Export Checklist

Print is unforgiving in a way screens aren't. A social post that's a few pixels off is invisible; a flyer with the wrong bleed comes back from the printer with a white sliver at the edge, or worse, text sliced off. This checklist covers the handful of things that actually cause print jobs to fail, so you can catch them before you export rather than after the run is printed.

Before working through this list, it's worth reading Exporting Your Design for the mechanics of exporting from Lega generally, and the Design Sizes & Dimensions Reference for the trim dimensions of common print formats — this page assumes you've already got the right size frame set up and is focused specifically on what makes that export print-safe.

1. Export as PDF

For anything going to a professional printer, export as PDF rather than PNG. PDF is the format print vendors expect — it's page-based, preserves intent at any output size, and is what most print workflows and RIP software are built around. PNG works for consumer-grade printing (a home inkjet, a local copy shop) but isn't the safe default for a print run.

2. Set resolution to at least 300 DPI

Screen formats render at low, fixed pixel densities and look fine. Print doesn't forgive that — anything under roughly 300 DPI (dots per inch) at final size will look visibly soft or pixelated on paper, especially on text and fine lines. When exporting from Lega, choose a resolution multiplier high enough that your frame's pixel dimensions divided by its physical size (in inches) clears 300. The Design Sizes & Dimensions Reference has a print sizes table that already does this math for common formats — for example, a US Letter flyer at 300 DPI needs to export at 2550 × 3300 px.

If your design started life as a lower-resolution image (an imported photo, a low-res logo), no amount of export resolution will fix it — the ceiling is set by your lowest-resolution source asset, not the frame's export setting.

3. Add bleed

Bleed is extra artwork extending past the trim line — the edge the piece gets cut to after printing. Printers need it because cutting isn't perfectly precise; without bleed, any tiny misalignment in the cut exposes a thin strip of unprinted paper (or background color) at the edge.

• Standard bleed is 0.125 inches (3mm) on each side for most commercial print jobs — check with your specific printer, since some require more.
• Any background color, image, or decorative element that's meant to reach the edge of the piece needs to extend into the bleed area, not stop exactly at the trim line.
• Keep essential content — text, logos, anything that must not get cut off — inside a safe margin, typically another 0.125 inches in from the trim line. Content right at the trim edge is the first thing that gets clipped if the cut drifts even slightly.

Set your Lega frame to the full bleed-inclusive size (trim size + bleed on all sides) if your print vendor requires you to supply bleed yourself, and keep your key content within the safe margin inside that.

4. Check color mode expectations

Screens display color in RGB; most commercial printing separates color into CMYK. Lega, like most design tools built for screen-first workflows, works in RGB. This matters because RGB colors — especially saturated blues, greens, and some brand colors — can shift noticeably when converted to CMYK for print. A few practical mitigations:

• Avoid relying on extremely saturated or neon colors for anything print-critical; they're the most likely to shift.
• If exact color matching is critical (a brand logo, a specific Pantone), confirm with your printer how they handle RGB-to-CMYK conversion, and consider a physical proof before a full run.
• For most everyday print jobs (flyers, postcards, business materials), the RGB-to-CMYK shift is subtle enough not to matter — this step matters most when color accuracy is contractually or brand-critical.

5. Double-check text size and contrast at physical scale

Text that reads fine on a screen at arm's length can be too small once printed at actual size and viewed from further away (a poster) or up close on lower-quality stock (a flyer). Zoom your Lega frame to something close to its physical dimensions before exporting and sanity-check that body text and fine print are still legible.

6. Final pass before export

• [ ] Frame dimensions match the trim size (or trim + bleed, if your printer needs bleed included)
• [ ] Resolution multiplier gets you to at least 300 DPI at final size
• [ ] Backgrounds and edge-to-edge elements extend fully into the bleed area
• [ ] Text and logos sit inside the safe margin, not at the trim edge
• [ ] No critical color depends on an exact RGB value surviving CMYK conversion
• [ ] Exporting as PDF, not PNG, for professional print vendors

Once this list checks out, export following the standard flow in Exporting Your Design. Getting these five or six things right before you export is the difference between a print job that comes back exactly as designed and one that comes back with a support ticket attached.