How to prepare design files for print in Japan
Most print problems are file problems. The design looked right on screen, the PDF was exported, the printer came back with questions, and suddenly there is a delay and an extra cost. Getting files right before they go to the printer is not complicated, but it requires knowing what to check and in what order.
Bleed and crop marks
Bleed is the area of the design that extends beyond the trim edge of the finished piece. Printers in Japan typically ask for 3mm of bleed (塗り足し) on all sides, though some ask for more on larger format work. The bleed exists because cutting is not perfectly precise: a small amount of movement during the cut means that without bleed, you can end up with a thin white edge on a design that was supposed to run to the edge of the page.
Crop marks show the printer where to cut. They should be set outside the bleed area, not inside it. Most design applications export these automatically when you choose the correct PDF preset, but it is worth checking the exported PDF before sending it.
Colour: CMYK, not RGB
Screen colours are RGB. Print colours are CMYK. The two colour models do not map perfectly onto each other, which means a colour that looks a certain way on screen will look different in print unless the file has been converted to CMYK before export. Bright blues and vivid greens are the most common problem areas: they tend to look duller in CMYK than they do on screen.
If the brand uses a Pantone or DIC colour, the CMYK equivalent should be specified in the brand book. Spot-to-CMYK conversion is not exact, and different printers will produce slightly different results. For colour-critical work, a physical proof is worth the extra cost.
Fonts: embed or outline
If a font is not embedded in the PDF or converted to outlines, the printer's system may substitute a different font, which will change the layout. The safest approach is to export a PDF with fonts embedded, or to convert all text to outlines before export. Converting to outlines means the text is no longer editable, so keep a working version of the file with live text.
At Hexalo, all print-ready PDFs are exported with fonts embedded and checked against the printer's specification sheet before delivery. The client receives both the print-ready PDF and the working source file.
If you are working with a printer for the first time, ask for their file specification sheet before you start designing. It is much easier to set up the document correctly at the beginning than to reformat it at the end.