When preparing your school yearbook design for printing, it’s essential to export your file correctly. If not done properly, your printed result may have unwanted borders, dull colours, or low-resolution images. Below is a step-by-step guide to ensure your artwork is perfectly print-ready.
1. Select File Type: PDF Print
When it’s time to download your final artwork, always choose “PDF Print” as the file type.
This option ensures your file retains high resolution suitable for professional printers, unlike standard PDFs or image-based formats like JPG or PNG.
2. Turn On “Flatten PDF”
Flattening your PDF helps merge layers and elements, which reduces file complexity and prevents any shifting or missing assets during the printing process. It’s especially important when your design includes:
Transparency
Multiple fonts
Imported images or logos
Flattening makes your design “final” and more print-friendly.
3. Choose the Correct Colour Profile: RGB vs CMYK
This part depends on your Canva plan and what your printer prefers:
If you’re using Canva Free, select the RGB colour profile. While RGB is ideal for screens, many printers can still handle these files and convert colours automatically.
If you have Canva Pro, select CMYK. This is the standard colour mode for printing and will give you more accurate colour reproduction in your final prints.
Tip: If your colours appear vibrant on screen but dull on paper, it’s usually because RGB colours didn’t convert well to print. CMYK helps avoid this issue.
4. Download and Quality Check
Once your settings are correct, click “Download.” After downloading your file, it’s important to do a quick quality check before sending it off to print:
Open the file and zoom in on all images and logos. If they appear blurry or pixelated, they’ll likely print that way too.
As a general rule of thumb: If it looks low quality on screen, it will print low quality. Replace any fuzzy images with high-resolution versions.
If possible, print a sample on your home or office printer to check layout, spacing, and image clarity—even if the colours won’t be exact, it’s still a good preview of the final result.
5. Share your file with us (OneDrive, WeTransfer, Google Drive)
Once you are ready to share your completed *PDF with us, please refer to our following blog posts:
Taking a few extra minutes to set up your print file correctly can save you time, money, and disappointment. Professional printing requires precision—and the steps above ensure your final product will look polished and exactly how you imagined.
Have questions about preparing your files? Reach out to us—we’re happy to help guide you through the process!
