Free delivery throughout Switzerland · Signs from Graubünden

Preparing print files

Prefer to design in your own program? Fine by us. Upload your finished PDF at Print your own PDF: we check it right away and show you how it looks on the sign. For everything to fit, mind these five points.

The essentials

  1. Page size is final size. Make the page exactly as large as your sign, for example 297 × 210 mm.
  2. 3 mm bleed. Backgrounds and images that run to the edge go 3 mm beyond the page. This strip is cut off, so no white line remains at the edge.
  3. 5 mm safe zone. Keep texts, logos and anything important at least 5 mm from the edge. If you choose drill holes, allow 15 mm.
  4. Embed fonts. PDF export usually embeds fonts. If not, convert the texts to outlines.
  5. Images sharp at final size. From about 220 ppi at the finished size a photo is sharp even up close. Large signs read from a few metres need less. Our check report works it out for you.

Colours: our printer works with extra inks such as red and orange and prints more shades than classic CMYK. So don't convert photos and graphics to CMYK; RGB in sRGB is in good hands with us. If you work in CMYK, use Coated FOGRA39. Export as PDF/X-4 without colour conversion, one page per sign; we convert for material and ink. Crop marks don't hurt, but we don't need them.

Templates for every size

Everything is set up: page size, 3 mm bleed, the 5 mm safe zone as margins, the colour profiles sRGB and Coated FOGRA39 and a guide layer that doesn't print. Open the IDML in InDesign and Affinity, the PDF in Canva, Illustrator and almost any other program.

Landscape

Portrait

Square

Adobe InDesign

  1. Open the IDML template in your size. Or create a new document: width and height in millimetres as your sign, 3 mm everywhere under "Bleed and Slug", margins 5 mm.
  2. Design on the "Design" layer. The guide layer below is locked and doesn't print.
  3. Pull backgrounds and images that run off the edge up to the red bleed line.
  4. File › Export › Adobe PDF (Print), preset PDF/X-4:2008. Under "Marks and Bleeds" tick "Use Document Bleed Settings", under "Output" set colour conversion to "No Color Conversion".

Affinity

This applies to Affinity Publisher and Designer 2 as well as the new Affinity app.

  1. Open the IDML template (Publisher and the new Affinity app read IDML) or the template's PDF. Starting fresh works too: under File › New enter the size in millimetres and 3 mm bleed.
  2. Pull backgrounds up to the bleed line. The margins show you the safe zone.
  3. File › Export › PDF, preset PDF/X-4. Under "More" tick "Include bleed" and leave the colour space "As document".

Canva

  1. Create a design › Custom size, set the unit to millimetres and enter your sign's size. Or upload the template's PDF to Canva and design on it.
  2. Under File › Settings switch on "Show print bleed". Canva then shows the edge that is cut off. Pull backgrounds all the way out.
  3. Keep texts and logos inside the dashed safety line.
  4. Share › Download › PDF Print and tick "Crop marks and bleed". There's no need to choose CMYK; we print Canva's RGB even more vividly.

Upload and check

At Print your own PDF drop your PDF into the field. After a few seconds you see:

  • which size we detected and which sign size suits it,
  • whether there is bleed,
  • how sharp your images will be at the chosen size,
  • whether all fonts are embedded,
  • and a preview with the cut line, bleed and safe zone.

If your PDF's shape doesn't match the sign exactly, choose "Fit" (the whole PDF is visible, the rest in a colour of your choice) or "Fill" (edge to edge, whatever sticks out is cut off). Drill holes, laminate and accessories are chosen as for any other sign.

Not sure your file works? Write to us and we'll gladly have a look.