How to Avoid Common Print Design Mistakes

Consider yourself delivering a beautifully designed brochure… only to find out that the name of your business was removed. Alternatively, your colorful poster could have been produced with boring, discordant hues. Does it sound annoying to you?

Accuracy, preparation, and knowing how your computer file converts to the physical world are essential components of print design. Furthermore, trust, reprints, and even money might be lost due to even minor errors.

Here on the blog, we’ll show you the most common print design mistakes made by designers in print projects, and how to fix them like an expert.

Printing Mistakes

No Bleed

What’s the problem? After printing, designers often notice unpleasant white edges because they forgot to include a bleed, which is a 3mm extension beyond the final trim size.

Solution: A bleed area of 3 millimeters should be established around all artwork. Fill this area with backdrops, photos, and anything else that is designed to droop over the edge. Once the edge is trimmed, it will be perfectly smooth.

Ignoring the Safe Zone

The issue: Having important elements, such as logos, text, or calls to action, placed too near the trim line? Risky. You can wreck your layout with just a few millimeters of error.

Solution: To avoid accidentally chopping off any important parts, make sure to leave at least 5 mm of material inside the trim area.

Off-Centre Borders

Why it happens: Trimming a print run is never completely accurate. A little misalignment will stand out like a sore thumb if your design features narrow or tightly packed borders close to the edge.

Fix: For better visual harmony, either do away with borders completely or make them thicker and spaced out.

Imagery

Printing in RGB Instead of CMYK

The mistake: Screens use RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color space. In printing, CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. You run the risk of your vivid colors printing out seeming flat or unnatural if you choose RGB for your design.

Tip: If you want to export your files to a print format like PDF or TIFF, you must first convert them to CMYK mode.

Using Low-Resolution Images

Big no-no: Although 72 dpi works well on screens, it looks terrible when printed. The final product is pixelated and fuzzy.

Do this instead: Dots per inch (dpi) graphics should be used for all print designs. Particularly for banners and other large-format printing, it guarantees sharpness and quality.

High Ink Coverage

The issue: Ink smudges and drying problems can occur if the paper is oversaturated with very dark pictures or areas of layered blackness.

Fix: Even in the darkest areas, don’t go over 300% coverage with ink. To monitor the ink level, you can use design tools such as Adobe InDesign or Acrobat.

Text Trouble

Going Too Small with Text

Problem: Although little text looks classy on screen, it becomes illegible when printed, particularly in thin or ornate fonts.

Rule of thumb: Confirm that the body text is 8 points or bigger. Experiment with larger sizes to achieve better clarity when printing on textured materials.

Missing Fonts at Print Time

What happens: Printing without embedding or converting your typeface to outlines is one of the  common print design mistakes that puts your layout and logo at risk of being replaced.

Best practice: Use Illustrator’s outline to font conversion or embed fonts in PDF settings.

Poor Spacing & Layout Issues

If your text’s kerning and leading are incorrect, the white space between lines and letters will appear cramped and unprofessional.

How to fix it: For more readability and alignment, manually alter line height and letter spacing. Make sure to always view your design at 100% zoom.

Spelling & Grammar Errors

The classic mistake: A single error can ruin even the most exquisitely made print.

Avoid it by: Performing grammar checks, carefully editing your work, and getting a second opinion before printing.

Vorson.pk | Your Trusted Print Partner in Pakistan

Failure to provide a bleed line or font file can happen to even the most skilled designers. Vorson.pk is here to help with both common print design mistakes and perfecting them.

With our expertise in both digital and offset printing, Vorson helps businesses achieve their visions with vibrant colors, precise details, and error-free production. Our products range from packaging to business cards:

• Expert pre-press file checks
• Professional advice on design improvements
• Quick processing times for urgent work.
• High-quality materials and eco-conscious printing options

And the best part? We treat every print as a reflection of your brand – and ours.

Conclusion

You put your heart and soul into your brand; don’t let careless printing damage the presentation. Print materials have a chance to establish credibility and make a difference with the correct configuration, high-resolution files, and careful attention to detail.

Want peace of mind on your next print job? Let Vorson.pk handle the heavy lifting. Contact us now for expert advice or a free design consultation.