Pre-press is the preparation stage between finished design and the printing press — checking colour mode, resolution, bleed and margins so a job runs smoothly rather than getting delayed or reprinted. Our dedicated pre-press team checks every file before it goes to production, whether it was designed by us or supplied by a client.

Colour is usually the first thing checked, since files are often supplied in RGB — the colour space used for screens — rather than the CMYK colour space used in print, and converting between the two can shift how colours actually appear once printed. Catching this before production means colours can be adjusted or explained in advance, rather than a client being surprised by a different-looking result after printing has already happened.

Resolution and image quality are checked next, since an image that looks sharp on a screen at a small size can appear blurred or pixelated once printed larger, particularly on posters, banners or other large-format work. Bleed and safe margins are verified so nothing important gets trimmed off during finishing, and text or key elements aren’t placed so close to the edge that a slight shift in cutting causes a problem.

Fonts, file flattening and overall file structure are checked last, since missing or unembedded fonts and unflattened layers are a common cause of files not printing as intended, even when everything else about the design is correct.