How to Prepare Retouched Images for Print

Ask for the specifications first

Before anyone converts anything, get these from the printer or publication:

• The CMYK profile, such as a GRACoL or SWOP profile in the US or a FOGRA profile in Europe.
• The total ink limit.
• The final size, bleed and required resolution.
• The file format, and whether they want images placed in a PDF.
• The paper, which changes how dark and how saturated the image can go.

Keep an RGB master

Keep the layered RGB file and make print files from it. Converting to CMYK throws color away, so a CMYK file can't be turned back into a good web version. It's also much easier to make a new version for a different printer from the master.

Convert with care

Convert with the printer's profile and preview the result before committing to it. Rich colors will often dull, and that's when you adjust them by hand so the fabric or product still reads correctly.

Total ink is the sum of the four inks at the darkest point. Limits are commonly around 300% on coated paper and lower on uncoated paper and newsprint. Going over can cause smearing and drying problems, so it's worth checking the deepest shadows.

Size, sharpening and bleed

Magazines usually want about 300 pixels per inch at final size. Large outdoor prints are viewed from further away and need less, so ask rather than guess. Sharpen last, at final size, for that paper: sharpening that looks right on screen often looks soft in print, and sharpening for print often looks harsh on screen.

Leave bleed where an image runs off the page, and keep anything important away from the trim.

Proof anything that matters

For color-critical work, ask for a contract proof, which is a color-accurate print the printer agrees to match. Look at it under proper viewing light rather than next to a window. If you'd rather hand all of this over, see our prepress page. Covers are a common case, as how a magazine cover gets retouched explains.