10 practical rules for better print design
A production-minded checklist for designing print that is clear, deliberate and ready for the press.
Read guidePrinternational library
Everything you need
to make it print.
Evergreen production knowledge, organised to be found in the moment you need it.
Colour management
CMYK, RGB, Pantone, rich black and everything between.
Paper sizes & standards
ISO, American, architectural and historical formats.
Prepress & production
Bleed, preflight, file preparation and press-ready work.
Adobe workflows
Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign for printed work.
Print design
Typography, layout, formats and physical design decisions.
The archive
US envelope sizes
A practical reference to common US announcement, commercial and catalogue envelope sizes in inches and millimetres.
Read guideUS paper sizes
A reference to common US, ANSI and larger-format sheet sizes in inches, millimetres and PostScript points.
Read guideArchitectural paper sizes
ARCH drawing-sheet sizes in inches and millimetres, with their common alternative names.
Read guideBusiness card design: the complete guide
A practical guide to business card design—from the information hierarchy and typography to size, colour, stock, finishing and a print-ready handoff.
Read guideBusiness card sizes around the world
A practical reference to common business-card formats, including regional standards, dimensions and aspect ratios.
Read guideDensitometer
A practical introduction to using densitometers to control ink density, tone value increase and trapping on press.
Read guideConverting RGB to CMYK
A current, profile-aware workflow for preparing RGB photography and artwork for commercial print.
Read guideTraditional British paper sizes
A historical reference to traditional British sheet names and their approximate dimensions.
Read guidePantone to CMYK and RGB: reference values
Why Pantone-to-CMYK and RGB values are only approximations, how to use this historic reference safely, and how to specify a colour for real print.
Read guideGraphic file formats for print
Choose the right raster and vector format for editing, placement, PDF export and press-ready delivery.
Read guideHow CMYK printing works
How cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks create a printed image—and why paper, screening, profiles and total ink coverage all matter.
Read guideISO envelope sizes
ISO 269 envelope formats, their dimensions and the A-series sheets they are designed to contain.
Read guideISO paper sizes: A, B and C series
The ISO 216 A-series system explained, with A, B and C format dimensions in millimetres, inches and points.
Read guideHow to outline text in Illustrator
When outlining is appropriate, how to create outlines safely, and why a press-ready PDF is usually better for routine font handoff.
Read guideISO press-sheet sizes: RA and SRA
RA and SRA press-sheet dimensions, and how raw formats provide room for bleed, trim, gripper and finishing.
Read guideHistorical Belgian paper sizes
A historical reference to traditional Belgian sheet names and their approximate dimensions.
Read guideHistorical French paper sizes
A historical reference to traditional French sheet names and their approximate dimensions.
Read guideHalftones and line screens
How printed dots create continuous-looking tone, what LPI means, and how to choose enough image resolution for the final printing process.
Read guidePage layout files and print delivery
Understand the difference between native layout files, packages and press-ready PDFs—and send the right one to print.
Read guidePreflight checking in InDesign
Use InDesign preflight, package reports and PDF output preview to catch preventable print errors before handoff.
Read guideRich black vs plain black
When to use 100K, when a rich black helps, and how to avoid registration, trapping and total-ink-coverage problems in print.
Read guidePhotoshop colour management for print
A practical Photoshop workflow for preparing images for print: profiles, soft proofing, gamut checks, retouching, sharpening and final export.
Read guideWhat is duotone?
How monotones, duotones, tritones and quadtones use spot inks and curves to create distinctive printed images.
Read guideRGB vs CMYK: what changes for print
The practical difference between RGB light and CMYK ink, why colours shift, and how to choose the right workflow for a print job.
Read guideWhat is Pantone / PMS?
A practical guide to Pantone Matching System colours, spot inks, CMYK simulations and choosing the right guide for print.
Read guideWhat is bleed in print?
Bleed, trim and safe area explained—plus how to set up edge-to-edge artwork without introducing avoidable crop-mark errors.
Read guideInDesign keyboard shortcuts for faster print work
A current, practical reference for navigation, type, objects, panels and prepress in Adobe InDesign.
Read guide