Canva, meet press.
Canva makes a file the press prints well once three things are right: the size, the bleed and one checkbox on the download. Here is each of them. Or share the design with us and we export it for print.
Start at the finished size.
Make the design the size of the piece in your hand, in inches. Canva adds the bleed around it when you download, so do not add it yourself.
- On Canva's home page, choose Custom size.
- Change the units to in.
- Type the finished size, width first: 3.5 and 2 for a business card.
- Choose Create new design.
| Piece | Width x height |
|---|---|
| Business card | 3.5 x 2 in |
| Vertical card | 2 x 3.5 in |
| Postcard | 6 x 4 in |
| Invitation | 5 x 7 in |
| Flyer | 8.5 x 11 in |
| Poster | 18 x 24 in |
Two sides? Add a page: page 1 is the front and page 2 the back, in the same design. And start a new design at the real size rather than resizing one made for something else; a letter page shrunk to a card takes its margins and its type down with it.
Turn on the bleed.
A cut can land a hair either side of the line. Bleed is the color that runs past it, so no white sliver shows at the edge.
Show print bleed
In the File menu, open Settings and choose Show print bleed (in some versions it is under Rulers and guides). A dashed line appears just inside the edge of the page: that is where the piece is cut. Stretch every background, photo and color bar past it, all the way to the edge of the page.
Show margins
In the same menu, choose Show margins. Keep type, logos and QR codes inside the margin lines, and the cut never comes near them.
Canva's bleed is about 1/8 in (3 mm) on every side, and it cannot be changed. That is enough on a Canva file. The artwork guide asks for 1/4 in, which gives the cut more room in programs that let you choose.
Download it for print.
Choose Share, then Download. Four settings, and the one that matters most is a checkbox.
PDF Print
File type
Print quality, 300 dpi, and the only file type that carries the bleed. Choose all pages, so the front and the back come in one file, the front first.
Ticked
Crop marks and bleed
Canva puts the bleed in the file only with this box ticked. The crop marks come with it, and that is fine.
Off
Flatten PDF
Flattening turns the type into a picture of type, which is softer at small sizes. Turn it on only if something looks wrong in the download.
CMYK
Color profile
Choose CMYK if your Canva plan offers it; it is on the paid plans. Canva then writes a PDF/X-4, the print standard the artwork guide asks for. RGB is accepted too, and we convert it to CMYK here.
What comes out
A 3.5 x 2 in card comes out at about 4 x 2.5 in: the card, the bleed, and a white border with the crop marks in it. That is what a print file looks like.
Photos
Canva downloads at 300 dpi, so a photo prints as sharp as the file you put in. Zoom to 200% in Canva: a photo that looks soft or blocky there prints soft. The artwork guide has the numbers.
In newer versions of Canva the file type is PDF with the Print preset, and the checkboxes sit under Advanced settings.
Before you download.
Seven things, a minute in Canva. Then send it over and we take it from there.
- The design is the finished size, in inches.
- Show print bleed is on, and every background runs past the dashed line to the edge of the page.
- Type, logos and QR codes sit inside the margins.
- Photos still look sharp zoomed to 200%.
- PDF Print, with Crop marks and bleed ticked, Flatten PDF off, and CMYK if your plan has it.
- The front is page 1 and the back is page 2, and the download has all pages.
- The proofreading is done. We check the file, not the spelling.
Not sure? Share it anyway.
Share the design and we export it, or send the PDF and we look it over. Either way, you see a proof before anything is printed.