The Complete Artwork Preparation Guide for Print and Branding

Published by GiftSuppliers.ae | Knowledge Hub | Artwork & File Preparation Reading time: approximately 16 minutes

Every year, in production facilities across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, the same scenario plays out thousands of times. A marketing coordinator submits a file for a corporate print job — branded polo shirts for an upcoming conference, gift boxes for a Ramadan programme, business cards for a newly appointed executive team. The file looks perfect on screen. The design is beautiful. The colours are right. The logo is clear.

And then the production team comes back with a problem.

The logo is a low-resolution JPEG. The colours are in RGB, not CMYK. There is no bleed on the business card design. The font has not been embedded and the supplier does not have the typeface. The artwork is at 72 DPI, not 300. The screen colour is bright blue, but the CMYK conversion will print as a dull, slightly purple approximation.

None of these problems are visible on screen. They are only visible when the job hits production — and at that point, fixing them costs time, sometimes money, and occasionally the goodwill of a supplier who has to delay their press schedule to wait for corrected artwork.

The GiftSuppliers.ae Artwork & File Preparation Knowledge Hub exists to prevent these problems entirely — to give marketing coordinators, brand managers, designers, and procurement professionals the knowledge to supply print-ready artwork the first time, every time. This guide is the cornerstone of that hub: the complete, consolidated reference covering every major artwork preparation requirement for print and branding across the UAE and GCC commercial print and promotional products market.

Read it once. Apply it every time you brief a print or branding job. Share it with every member of your team who submits artwork to suppliers. The hours it saves — in revision cycles, production delays, and reprints — will repay the reading time many times over.

CTA — Artwork not ready? Our prepress team can help. GiftSuppliers.ae provides prepress artwork assessment and correction for corporate print and branding jobs — identifying and resolving file issues before they reach production. Submit your artwork for review

Why Artwork Preparation Matters

The single most common cause of production delays, quality failures, and reprint costs in commercial print and promotional products decoration is not equipment failure, supplier error, or material defect.

It is artwork that was not prepared correctly.

This is not a criticism of marketing teams or designers — it is a structural reality of the print production ecosystem. Most marketing artwork is created for screen display: websites, social media, digital presentations, email communications. Screen-optimised artwork is created in RGB colour mode, saved at 72 DPI, and often exists only as a JPEG or PNG without the underlying source file. When this artwork is submitted for print — where the technical requirements are fundamentally different — it fails to meet production standards in ways that are not visible until the job is on press or the product is being decorated.

Understanding why these differences exist between screen and print standards — not just what they are, but why they matter — is the knowledge that allows a non-designer to make better artwork decisions. This guide provides both: the what and the why, in enough depth to be genuinely useful across the range of print and branding applications that a UAE corporate procurement or marketing team encounters.

The five fundamental areas of print artwork preparation are:

1. File format — What file type does the production process require, and why?
2. Colour mode — How should colours be defined for physical printing?
3. Resolution — How much image detail does the production process require?
4. Document setup — Bleed, trim, safe zones, and document dimensions
5. Typography — Fonts, embedding, and text-to-path conversion

Each area is covered in full in this guide, with specific guidance for different print and branding applications relevant to the UAE and GCC market.

How Print Production Works: The Technical Foundation

Before addressing artwork requirements, it is valuable to understand the fundamental difference between how colour appears on screen and how it appears in print — because this difference explains most of the artwork preparation requirements that follow.

Screen colour is additive. A screen display creates colour by combining red, green, and blue (RGB) light at different intensities. Where red, green, and blue light are combined at full intensity, the result is white. Where none of them are present, the result is black. The screen can display millions of colour variations by modulating the intensity of these three light channels.

Print colour is subtractive. Physical printing creates colour by depositing pigments — inks or toners — onto a reflective surface. Each pigment absorbs (subtracts) certain wavelengths of light from the white light reflecting off the paper or substrate, and reflects the remaining wavelengths as the perceived colour. The standard four-colour printing system uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) inks — each absorbing a different part of the light spectrum.

The consequence of this fundamental difference is that the full colour range (gamut) of a screen display is larger than the colour range reproducible in CMYK printing. There are colours visible on screen — particularly vivid oranges, electric blues, and bright greens — that simply cannot be reproduced in standard CMYK printing. When these out-of-gamut colours are converted to CMYK, they shift to the nearest printable equivalent — which is often noticeably duller or different in hue from the screen version.

This is why working in CMYK from the start of the design process — rather than converting from RGB at the end — produces more predictable and accurate print results. And this is why submitting RGB artwork to a CMYK print process produces colour shifts that are invisible on screen but clearly apparent in the printed output.

Understanding this structural difference between screen and print colour is the foundation for understanding every colour-related artwork preparation requirement.

File Formats: What Your Printer Actually Needs

The file format of your artwork determines how much information the production process has access to, and how accurately and reliably that information can be interpreted. Not all file formats are equal for print production.

Vector Formats — the preferred standard for logos and line artwork

Vector formats — Adobe Illustrator (.ai), Encapsulated PostScript (.eps), Scalable Vector Graphics (.svg), and Print-Quality PDF (.pdf) — store artwork as mathematical descriptions of lines, curves, shapes, and colour fills rather than as a grid of pixels.

The critical advantage of vector format for print is resolution independence: a vector graphic contains no pixel grid and can therefore be scaled to any size — from a 5mm business card logo to a 5-metre exhibition banner — without any loss of sharpness or quality. The edges of vector shapes remain perfectly crisp at any size because they are defined mathematically, not by a grid of pixels.

For logos, wordmarks, brand marks, and any artwork composed primarily of clean geometric shapes and type, vector format is the correct and expected submission format for virtually all commercial print and branding applications. Suppliers who receive non-vector logo files for screen printing, embroidery, laser engraving, or pad printing will typically request the vector file before proceeding.

Vector format submission guidelines:

• Adobe Illustrator (.ai): Ideal — the industry standard for commercial print artwork in the UAE and GCC market. Include all linked images embedded in the file. Ensure all text is outlined (converted to paths).
• EPS (.eps): Widely accepted — particularly useful for cross-application compatibility. Ensure text is outlined.
• PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4: The PDF print standard — all fonts embedded, all colours correctly defined, all links embedded. The preferred format for offset and digital print submission across the UAE commercial print market.
• SVG (.svg): Appropriate for certain applications but not universally accepted in commercial print prepress workflows — confirm with your supplier before submitting SVG for print.

Raster Formats — when and how they are appropriate

Raster formats — JPEG (.jpg), PNG (.png), TIFF (.tif), and PSD (.psd) — store artwork as a grid of pixels. The quality of raster artwork at print is therefore fixed at the resolution at which it was created or saved — scaling a raster image above its original size degrades quality, producing the characteristic blurry or pixelated result of low-resolution files printed at large size.

Raster formats are appropriate for:

• Photographic imagery — photography is inherently raster and must be submitted as high-resolution raster files
• Complex illustrated artwork with texture, shading, or effects that cannot be expressed as clean vector paths
• Artwork for processes that accept raster input: DTF printing, UV printing, dye sublimation, digital offset printing

Raster format submission guidelines:

• Minimum 300 DPI at the final print size for most applications
• TIFF is preferred over JPEG for print — TIFF is lossless (no compression artefacts), JPEG is lossy (compression introduces visible artefacts at print quality)
• PNG with transparency is preferred for DTF and UV printing artwork where transparent background is required
• PSD (Photoshop) files are acceptable from many suppliers when they include all layers and linked files at full resolution

The PDF as the universal submission standard

For paper and card printing — business cards, brochures, letterheads, packaging — PDF/X-1a (for simpler jobs) or PDF/X-4 (for jobs with transparency) is the definitive submission format across the UAE commercial print market. The PDF/X standard guarantees that:

• All fonts are embedded (eliminating font substitution errors)
• All colour modes are correctly defined (CMYK and spot colours are separated; RGB is flagged)
• All linked images are embedded at full resolution
• Document bleed, trim marks, and colour bars are correctly positioned
• Overprint settings are correctly applied

Submitting print jobs as PDF/X eliminates the majority of prepress file error categories — it is the most reliable single step a marketing team can take to reduce production delays caused by artwork problems.

Colour Modes: CMYK, RGB, Pantone and When to Use Each

CMYK — the standard for all commercial printing

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) is the four-colour printing system used in offset printing, digital printing, screen printing (CMYK halftone), UV printing, dye sublimation, and DTF printing. All artwork intended for these processes must be prepared in CMYK colour mode.

If your artwork was designed in RGB (as is common for designs created primarily for screen use), you must convert it to CMYK before submission — and you must check carefully for colour shifts after conversion, because some RGB colours do not have exact CMYK equivalents.

To convert from RGB to CMYK in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop: Edit → Color Mode → CMYK. After conversion, inspect the design for any colours that have shifted noticeably and adjust the CMYK values manually to achieve the closest acceptable match to the intended design colour.

CMYK values for brand colours: Most corporate brand guidelines specify Pantone references as the primary colour standard, with CMYK breakdowns as the secondary specification for process colour printing. When your artwork brief specifies “Pantone 286 C”, confirm the CMYK breakdown from the Pantone colour guide (Pantone 286C = C:100 M:75 Y:0 K:0 approximately) and apply these values in your CMYK document, rather than relying on Illustrator’s automatic Pantone-to-CMYK conversion, which may not match your brand guidelines’ specified breakdown.

RGB — for screen use only, never for print submission

RGB is the colour mode of screens, digital displays, and web graphics. It is not the colour mode of printing. Artwork submitted in RGB mode to a CMYK printing process will be converted automatically by the prepress software — but this automatic conversion is not guaranteed to match the colour your design team intended. Bright RGB blues, vivid greens, and saturated oranges are the colours most likely to shift noticeably in automatic RGB-to-CMYK conversion.

Never submit RGB artwork for any print application where colour accuracy matters. Convert to CMYK, check the result, and submit the CMYK version.

Pantone — the universal standard for spot colour accuracy

Pantone (PMS — Pantone Matching System) references are the global standard for specifying exact ink colours in print production. A Pantone reference — such as Pantone 485 C (a specific vivid red) or Pantone 2747 C (a specific deep navy) — tells the ink mixer or the digital press operator exactly which colour to reproduce, with a precision that neither CMYK nor RGB can guarantee.

Pantone spot colour printing (where a specific Pantone ink is mixed and applied as a dedicated ink channel, separate from CMYK) is available in offset printing and screen printing. It is not available in digital printing (which is exclusively CMYK) or in UV printing (which is CMYK + White).

When to use Pantone references:

• In all artwork files for screen printing and pad printing — provide Pantone Coated references for every colour
• In all artwork files for offset printing where exact colour accuracy is required
• As the reference standard in your brand guidelines — even if the output process is CMYK, the Pantone reference allows the press operator to evaluate and adjust the CMYK output against a known standard

Pantone Coated vs Uncoated: Pantone produces separate reference guides for coated (C) and uncoated (U) paper stocks — Pantone 286 C and Pantone 286 U are the same theoretical hue, but appear different on coated and uncoated paper due to the different light reflection characteristics of the stock. Always specify the appropriate Pantone variant for your substrate: Coated (C) for glossy or coated papers, Uncoated (U) for uncoated papers and natural stocks.

For a complete guide to colour modes and colour management, visit Pantone, CMYK and RGB: The Colour Mode Guide for Print

Resolution: DPI, PPI and Why It Matters

Resolution is the measure of image detail in a raster (pixel-based) image — expressed as DPI (dots per inch) for print output or PPI (pixels per inch) for digital display.

The 300 DPI standard for commercial print

Commercial print production requires a minimum of 300 DPI at the final print size. At this resolution, individual dots are too small for the human eye to resolve at normal viewing distance — the image appears continuous-tone and photographic. Below 200 DPI, the pixel grid begins to become visible as a slight softness or, at very low resolution, as visible pixel stepping (jagged edges on diagonal lines and curves).

The 300 DPI requirement applies to:

• All photographic content in print documents
• All raster logo files submitted for digital printing
• All artwork submitted for UV printing, DTF, DTG, and dye sublimation

Why screen resolution (72 DPI) is inadequate for print

Screen displays typically operate at 72–96 PPI for standard displays, or 144–220 PPI for high-resolution (Retina) displays. A JPEG saved from a website, a screenshot, or an image exported from a presentation application is typically 72–96 DPI — which appears perfectly clear on screen but is far below the 300 DPI requirement for print.

At 300 DPI print output, a 72 DPI image appears approximately 4x too small, or — if scaled to the required print size — it appears blurred and pixelated. This is why low-resolution logos and images submitted for print produce such dramatically poor results: the image that appeared crisp on screen simply does not contain enough pixel information to produce a crisp printed result.

How to check resolution in your artwork: In Adobe Photoshop: Image → Image Size. Confirm the resolution (DPI) and the document dimensions at that resolution. In Adobe Illustrator: When embedding a raster image, select it and check the resolution shown in the Control bar or the Document Info panel.

Resolution for large-format applications: For large-format printing — exhibition banners, flags, outdoor signage — the minimum resolution requirement decreases as the viewing distance increases. At a viewing distance of 2–3 metres (typical for an exhibition banner), 100–150 DPI at the final print size is adequate. At very large scale (building wraps, large outdoor signage viewed from 10+ metres), 25–75 DPI at the final print size is sufficient.

Resolution for promotional product decoration: For UV printing and DTF printing on promotional products, 300 DPI at the final print size is the standard requirement for small and medium print areas (up to approximately 200mm x 200mm). For small print areas (below 50mm x 50mm), 600 DPI at the final print size provides additional sharpness for fine text and detail elements.

For complete resolution guidance, visit Print Resolution: DPI and PPI Explained

Document Setup: Bleed, Trim, and Safe Zone

For printed pieces that are trimmed after printing — business cards, brochures, flyers, packaging, labels — three spatial zones must be correctly set up in the artwork:

The Bleed Zone Bleed is an extension of the artwork beyond the intended trim edge of the document. It exists to ensure that when the trimmed piece is cut, any design elements that extend to the edge of the page (background colours, photographs, borders) appear to run right to the physical edge — with no unprinted white strip visible.

Without bleed, the small mechanical variation in the cutting position (typically ±0.5–1.5mm) may result in a thin white edge appearing along one or more sides of the document where the background colour did not quite reach the cut edge.

Standard bleed: 3mm on all sides for most commercial print applications. For packaging and specialty applications, confirm bleed requirements with your supplier — some die-cutting equipment requires 5mm bleed.

Implementing bleed: Extend all background colours, photographs, and design elements that touch the document edge by at least 3mm beyond the trim line. Do not extend text or important design elements into the bleed zone.

The Trim Line The trim line (also called the cut line or trim edge) defines the finished size of the document — the actual physical dimensions of the final printed piece. For a standard 90mm x 54mm business card, the trim line defines exactly those dimensions.

Trim marks (small registration marks at the document corners) help the press operator and the guillotine or cutter operator identify the trim position precisely. In a correctly prepared PDF/X submission, trim marks are automatically positioned at the trim line.

The Safe Zone (Live Area) The safe zone (also called the live area or keep-clear zone) defines the area within which all critical content — text, logos, important design elements — must be contained. It is positioned inward from the trim line by a margin of 3mm on all sides.

The purpose of the safe zone is to protect critical content from the mechanical variation in cutting position. A text element positioned exactly at the trim line will occasionally be clipped in production — moved to within the 3mm safe zone prevents this.

Important: Nothing critical should appear in the bleed zone or between the bleed boundary and the safe zone. Only background design elements that intentionally extend to the edge should be present in this outer zone.

Summary of the three zones:

• Bleed (outer zone): 3mm beyond trim line — background elements only
• Trim line (middle boundary): The finished document edge
• Safe zone (inner zone): 3mm inside trim line — all critical content contained within

For a complete guide to bleed and document setup, visit Bleed, Trim and Safe Zone: Print Setup for Beginners

Typography: Fonts, Embedding and Outlining

Typography in print artwork fails in one specific and common way: font substitution. This occurs when the production computer does not have the font used in the artwork installed — the print application substitutes an available alternative, which is almost never the same font, producing text that reflows, repositions, or changes character entirely.

Font substitution is entirely preventable through one of two approaches:

Approach 1 — Outline (Convert Text to Paths) The most reliable and universally recommended approach for print artwork submission is to convert all text in the document to paths (outlines) before saving the final submission file. Outlining converts each text character from a live, editable text element dependent on the font file — into a vector path shape that is fully self-contained in the file and requires no external font to render correctly.

After outlining, text cannot be edited. Always keep a separate editable version of the file with live text — save the outlined version specifically for print submission.

To outline text in Adobe Illustrator: Select all text → Type → Create Outlines (Command/Ctrl + Shift + O) To outline text in Adobe InDesign when exporting PDF: Export PDF → Advanced → Subset fonts below 0% (forces all fonts to embed as outlines)

Approach 2 — Embed Fonts in PDF When exporting to PDF, include all fonts as embedded subsets. PDF/X-1a and PDF/X-4 export settings both embed all fonts automatically. When fonts are embedded in a PDF, the production system can render the text correctly without having the font installed locally.

Font embedding in PDF is reliable for most standard commercial fonts. Some fonts have licensing restrictions that prevent embedding — these fonts cannot be included in a PDF for print submission and should be outlined instead.

Arabic typography — additional considerations

Arabic text in print artwork requires specific attention:

Arabic is rendered right-to-left, with letters connecting differently depending on their position in a word. Standard font management for Arabic text requires an Arabic-capable design application (Adobe Illustrator with Middle East & North Africa edition, Adobe InDesign with ME&NA edition, or QuarkXPress with Arabic support) to correctly compose Arabic text with proper character shaping, letter connection, and diacritical mark positioning.

For Arabic text submitted to suppliers as part of a print file, always outline the Arabic text before submission — this is the only reliable method to ensure that the complex glyph shaping of Arabic letterforms is preserved exactly as designed, without the risk of font substitution or incorrect character rendering by a production system that may not have the same Arabic font version or MENA application settings.

Always have Arabic text in print artwork verified by a native Arabic speaker before submitting for production — OCR errors, font substitution issues, and incorrect right-to-left composition all produce Arabic text that is either incorrect or unreadable in ways that are not visible to a non-Arabic reader reviewing the file.

Artwork Preparation for Specific Branding Methods

Different branding methods have specific artwork preparation requirements that go beyond the general print standards. The following provides a consolidated quick-reference for the most common branding method artwork requirements in the UAE and GCC promotional products market.

Screen Printing: Vector artwork (AI, EPS, or PDF). CMYK or Pantone Coated colour references — one colour per layer, fully separated. No gradients, no transparency, no photographic content. Minimum line weight 0.5pt at final print size. Minimum text height 6pt at final print size. All text outlined. Confirm maximum colour count with supplier (typically 1–6 colours).

Embroidery: Vector artwork preferred (AI, EPS) for clean path conversion. Provide Pantone Coated references for each thread colour. Simplify complex logos — remove elements below 6mm height and 0.5mm line weight at final embroidery size. All text outlined. Specify embroidery size in mm (width x height at final stitched size). The digitiser will convert vector artwork to a stitch file — artwork accuracy directly determines digitising accuracy.

Laser Engraving: Single-colour black-and-white vector artwork (AI, EPS). Black areas = areas to be engraved. All paths closed and clean. Text outlined. Minimum stroke width 0.3mm at final engraving size (confirm with supplier for specific material). No gradients or grey tones in standard laser engraving — the laser reads binary (mark or no mark). For Arabic calligraphy, provide as outlined vector paths and confirm minimum stroke width compatibility.

UV Printing: CMYK artwork at 300 DPI minimum at final print size, or vector. Transparent background PNG for designs applied to coloured surfaces (so no visible rectangular ink border appears). White ink layer specified separately as a spot colour named “White” where white areas or underbase are required. Confirm colour profile with supplier for the specific substrate — colour rendering varies between materials.

Dye Sublimation: RGB colour mode (not CMYK — sublimation workflows are calibrated for RGB input). 150–300 DPI at final print size. Mirror image is handled by the production team — submit in correct, non-mirrored orientation. All text outlined. For garment sublimation, provide artwork on a garment template showing panel dimensions and construction seam positions.

DTF Printing: CMYK at 300 DPI minimum. PNG with fully transparent background (not white background — transparent areas receive no ink or adhesive). White ink layer generated automatically by the production RIP from the design’s opacity map. All text outlined. Transparent background is the most critical requirement — always verify transparency before submitting.

Pad Printing: Vector artwork (AI, EPS) with Pantone Coated references — one colour layer per ink colour. Maximum 4 colour layers. No gradients. Minimum line weight 0.25mm at final print size on smooth substrates. Text outlined. Print size specified in mm.

Foil Stamping and Debossing: Vector artwork only (AI, EPS). Single colour per die — specify which elements receive foil and which receive blind deboss/emboss in separate layers. No gradients, no raster elements. Minimum line weight 0.5mm at final die size. Text outlined. Die size specified in mm.

Offset Printing: PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4. CMYK colour mode. Pantone spot colours defined as named spot colour channels (not as CMYK). 3mm bleed on all edges. 3mm safe zone inside trim. All text embedded or outlined. 300 DPI minimum for all raster imagery. Overprint and knockout settings confirmed with supplier.

Digital Printing: PDF/X-1a preferred. CMYK colour mode. 300 DPI minimum for all raster elements. 3mm bleed where required. All fonts embedded or outlined. RGB photographs should be converted to CMYK and colour-checked before submission.

For method-specific artwork guides:

• Artwork for Screen Printing
• Artwork for Embroidery
• File Setup for Laser Engraving

Production Considerations

The artwork submission workflow for UAE corporate print buyers:

Most UAE corporate buyers interact with print suppliers through an account manager or production coordinator who acts as the intermediary between the client and the production team. Understanding the workflow that the submitted file goes through helps set expectations for timeline and feedback:

Stage 1 — Artwork receipt and prepress check (Day 1–2): The production team receives the submitted file and runs a prepress check — verifying file format, colour mode, resolution, bleed, fonts, and colour profile against the production requirements. Issues identified at this stage generate an artwork query to the client. Turnaround for prepress queries is typically 24–48 hours.

Stage 2 — Proof (Day 2–3): Once the file passes prepress, a proof is generated — either a digital PDF soft proof (for layout and content review) or a printed hard proof (for colour review). The proof requires client approval before production proceeds.

Stage 3 — Production (Day 3–7+ depending on method): After proof approval, the job enters the production queue.

Understanding this workflow means that artwork quality directly determines timeline: a correctly prepared file that passes prepress immediately moves to proof stage; a file with multiple prepress issues may cycle through two or three revision rounds before reaching proof, adding 3–7 days to the overall timeline.

Lead time impact of artwork quality in UAE peak seasons: During UAE peak production seasons — Ramadan (typically March–April), UAE National Day (November–December), GITEX (October) — production capacity is constrained and supplier queues are long. A job that fails prepress and requires artwork revisions during these periods may lose its production slot and be pushed to a later batch, potentially missing the event or occasion deadline. Submitting print-ready artwork the first time, during peak season, is not merely a quality consideration — it is a deadline-critical operational requirement.

The role of physical proofs: For any job where colour accuracy is critical — brand-identity colours on business cards, Pantone-matched corporate stationery, premium gift packaging — a physical printed proof on the actual production stock is the only reliable colour verification tool. Screen-based PDF proofs show the layout and content accurately but cannot show how the CMYK values will render on the specific paper, how the ink density will appear under ambient office lighting, or how the colour relationships between different design elements will read when printed.

Requesting a physical printed proof adds 1–3 working days to the production timeline. For colour-critical jobs, this investment is always worthwhile — the alternative is discovering a colour problem on the delivered bulk production run.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Submitting logos as JPEG files: JPEG is a compressed, lossy raster format designed for digital photography and web use. It is not appropriate for logo submission for any print or branding application. JPEG logos exhibit compression artefacts (visible colour banding and edge distortion at print quality), cannot be scaled without quality loss, and cannot be colour-separated for screen printing or pad printing. Always obtain and use the original vector source file (AI, EPS, or SVG) for any print or branding application. If the vector source is not available, request it from the brand’s design team — no reputable organisation should be unable to supply the vector format of their own corporate logo.

Designing in RGB and converting at the end: The conversion from RGB to CMYK at the end of the design process frequently produces colour shifts that require significant rework to correct. Designing in CMYK from the beginning — or designing in RGB with regular CMYK soft-proof checking throughout — produces final artwork that more accurately predicts the printed result. For any design project that includes both print and digital deliverables, maintain separate CMYK and RGB versions of the artwork.

Omitting bleed on designs with edge-to-edge elements: Designers who are accustomed to designing for screen outputs (which have no trim margin) frequently omit bleed from print-destined designs with edge-to-edge backgrounds or photography. The result, after cutting, is a thin white border along one or more edges of the printed piece. Always add 3mm bleed to any design element that is intended to reach the trim edge of the document.

Using Pantone references from memory or screen: Brand managers who specify “our Pantone blue” without checking the brand guidelines document, and designers who select Pantone colours from their screen display rather than from a physical Pantone fan guide, both produce specifications that are unreliable. Pantone colours on screen are approximations — they are shown using RGB light, which cannot reproduce the exact hue of a physical Pantone ink. Always confirm Pantone references from the brand guidelines document and always specify the exact Pantone reference (including the C/U suffix for coated/uncoated) in the artwork file.

Not checking the file after outlining text: Outlining text eliminates font substitution errors, but it also permanently fixes any typographic errors in the text. A misspelling, an incorrect character, or an Arabic text error that is present in the file when text is outlined becomes a permanent part of the artwork. Always have a final content review and proofreading check completed before outlining text and saving the final print submission file.

Supplying artwork in the wrong size: A common and easily preventable error is submitting artwork at a different size from the specified print dimensions — a business card designed at 85mm x 55mm (European standard) when the supplier is working to 90mm x 54mm (UAE standard), or a promotional item logo at 50mm when the print area is 35mm. Always confirm the exact print dimensions with your supplier before finalising artwork dimensions, and always specify the intended print size in the artwork brief accompanying the file submission.

Regional Insights — UAE, GCC and Africa

UAE: The UAE commercial print market operates at a high technical standard — Dubai and Abu Dhabi-based print facilities are well-equipped for premium production and expect professionally prepared print-ready artwork from corporate clients. UAE corporate buyers increasingly work with regional and international design agencies whose artwork quality is generally good, but whose familiarity with UAE-specific requirements — Arabic care label compliance, Arabic bilingual layout standards, UAE National Day brand guidelines — requires supplier guidance.

The most common artwork issues reported by UAE print suppliers are, in order of frequency: low-resolution logos (JPEG at screen resolution), RGB colour mode artwork, missing or insufficient bleed, Arabic text errors (misspelling, incorrect character shaping), and missing Pantone references for brand-critical colour applications.

UAE-specific artwork considerations include: Arabic text must be laid out in an Arabic-capable application for correct right-to-left text direction and character shaping. UAE National Day branded materials must incorporate official UAE National Day visual identity elements (available from the UAE Government Media Office) correctly. Documents intended for bilingual Arabic-English use must be laid out for dual reading direction — Arabic right-to-left, English left-to-right — which typically requires separate design decisions about layout orientation.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia’s commercial print market has strong demand for Arabic-first bilingual documents, with a formal calligraphic aesthetic in government and institutional communications. The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 communications standards specify modern, contemporary Arabic typography that differs significantly from the traditional calligraphic styles previously dominant in official Saudi print communications. Artwork teams producing for Saudi government and semi-government clients should confirm which Arabic typographic standard applies to their specific brief.

Africa: South Africa’s commercial print market follows international print standards closely, with offset and digital production quality comparable to European benchmarks. For other African markets, print production standards vary significantly by supplier and location — verifying artwork requirements with the specific supplier before submission is more important in some African markets than in the UAE or GCC, where production standards are more consistent.

CTA — Submit Your Artwork for Prepress Review Before your next print production run, let our prepress team review your artwork files — checking file format, colour mode, resolution, bleed, and fonts — and advising on any corrections needed before production. Free for GiftSuppliers.ae orders. Submit artwork for review →

Frequently Asked Questions about Artwork Preparation Guide for Printing

Q: What is the most common artwork mistake that causes print quality problems? 

The single most common cause of print quality problems is submitting logo files as low-resolution JPEG images. JPEGs taken from websites, presentations, or email signatures are typically 72 DPI — far below the 300 DPI minimum for print. They cannot be scaled to print size without visible blurring or pixelation. Always obtain the original vector source file (AI, EPS, or high-quality PDF) from your design team or brand guidelines repository for any print application.

Q: Should I submit artwork in CMYK or RGB? 

CMYK for all physical print applications — offset printing, digital printing, screen printing, UV printing, and pad printing. RGB for screen-only outputs — websites, digital presentations, social media. The exception is dye sublimation printing, which is calibrated for RGB input — submit sublimation artwork in sRGB colour mode. When in doubt, submit in CMYK with Pantone references noted, and your supplier’s prepress team will advise if a different colour mode is required.

Q: What does “outline your fonts” mean and why is it required? 

Outlining fonts converts all text characters from live, editable font-dependent text into fixed vector path shapes. Once outlined, the text no longer requires the original font file to be installed on the production computer — it is rendered from the embedded vector shape. This prevents font substitution, which occurs when the production system substitutes a different (available) font for the one in your file, causing text to reflow, change appearance, or render incorrectly. After outlining, always retain a live-text version of the file for future editing.

Q: What is bleed and do I always need it?

Bleed is an extension of the design beyond the intended trim edge — typically 3mm — that ensures no white edge appears after cutting if the trim position varies slightly. You need bleed whenever any design element — background colour, photograph, border, pattern — is intended to extend to the physical edge of the printed piece. You do not need bleed for designs that have a white border or margin inside the trim edge — in these cases, the white border itself provides sufficient buffer.

Q: Can I submit a Word or PowerPoint file for print production? 

Word and PowerPoint files are not accepted as print-ready artwork by commercial print suppliers. These applications produce files with variable font rendering, RGB colour definitions, screen-resolution embedded graphics, and no print-standard layout controls (bleed, trim marks, colour profiles). For formal print production, artwork must be supplied as a print-standard file — PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 for paper printing, or native application files (AI, EPS) for branding method applications. If your design originated in Word or PowerPoint, a graphic designer must recreate it in a professional design application before print submission.

Q: How do I know if my artwork file is print-ready? 

Run through the Pre-Press Artwork Checklist available at The Pre-Press Artwork Checklist . In brief: confirm the file is in the correct format (vector for logos and line art, 300 DPI TIFF/PDF for photography), colour mode is CMYK (or Pantone where specified), resolution is 300 DPI or above at final size, bleed is 3mm on trimmed edges, all fonts are outlined or embedded, all text has been proofread in its final form, and the file dimensions match the confirmed print size. If all these criteria are confirmed, the file is print-ready.