PDF, AI or PSD: which file format to send for print

Most print problems start with a file that was fine on the designer’s screen and different on the press. The usual cause isn’t the artwork, it’s the format. A layered file with a missing font, a logo saved as a 400-pixel PNG, a Photoshop document with live text: each one prints, and each one can print wrong.

Here’s the working frame for choosing a format. Short version: send a print-ready PDF unless you have a specific reason not to.

The short version

• PDF is the default. It bundles fonts, images, color and layout into one file that opens the same way everywhere.
• AI and PSD are working files, not delivery files. They’re built for editing, so they depend on things that live outside the file: fonts, linked images, effects.
• TIFF and high-resolution JPG are for photography. Fine for a photo-only design, risky for anything with text or a logo.
• Rule of thumb: if you can export a PDF, export a PDF. Keep the native file as your editable master.

Why PDF wins for most print jobs

A PDF is a container. When you export one, your fonts are embedded (or converted to shapes), images are placed at a set resolution, color is tagged, and the whole page is frozen at a specific size. Nobody downstream can accidentally swap a typeface or lose a linked image, because there’s nothing to link.

That’s why “send a PDF” is the standard advice. It’s the format with the fewest ways to fail.

What a good print PDF looks like:

• Page size equals trim size plus bleed. For a 3.5” × 2” card, that’s 3.75” × 2.25” with 0.125” of bleed on every side.
• Color mode is CMYK, not RGB, so the colors you approve are close to what prints.
• Fonts are embedded or outlined.
• Images are 300 DPI at final size, except large-format work like banners, where lower is normal.
• Crop marks are optional. If your product page lists a dieline, follow that instead.

If you’re not sure which PDF preset to pick, PDF/X-1a is the conservative choice: it forces CMYK and embeds everything. Our print file checklist walks through bleed, safe area and resolution in more detail.

AI files: great masters, riskier deliveries

An Adobe Illustrator file keeps everything as editable vectors, which is exactly why it’s a good master copy. It’s also why it’s riskier to send. A native AI file can reference fonts that aren’t embedded, images that are linked rather than placed, and effects like drop shadows or transparency that render differently on different setups.

If you do send an AI file:

• Convert all text to outlines (Type → Create Outlines).
• Embed every linked image (Window → Links, then Embed).
• Convert spot colors to CMYK unless you’re deliberately printing with a specific ink.
• Expand strokes and effects that need to scale.

At that point you’ve done most of what a PDF export does for you in one step. Which is the point: export the PDF and check it.

PSD files: keep for photography

Photoshop is built for pixels, so a PSD is a natural fit for photo-heavy work. The risk is live text. A text layer in a PSD depends on the font, and a PSD can also hide problems: low-resolution smart objects, RGB mode, adjustment layers that change how colors render.

If your design is a photo with little or no text, a flattened TIFF or a high-quality JPG at 300 DPI is perfectly reasonable. If it includes type, either rasterize it at final resolution (and accept that edges are pixel-based), or build the layout in Illustrator or InDesign and place the photo, then export a PDF.

For photography on metal prints, the opposite logic applies. You’re printing the image, not a layout, so the highest-resolution original, saved as TIFF or maximum-quality JPG at the correct aspect ratio, is the right file.

JPG, PNG and TIFF: when raster is fine

Raster files are grids of pixels. They print well when two things are true: the resolution is high enough at the final size, and there’s no fine vector detail to preserve.

• TIFF: lossless, large, ideal for photography.
• JPG: compressed, small, fine at high quality for photos. Repeated saves degrade it.
• PNG: lossless with transparency, but built for screens. It’s usually RGB, so expect a color shift when it’s converted to CMYK.

The classic failure is a logo pulled from a website. At 72 DPI it looks fine on screen and soft on paper. If you have the original vector logo, use it.

Quick recommendation matrix

Your artwork	Best file to send	Watch out for
Text, logo and shapes (cards, flyers, letterhead)	Print-ready PDF	Bleed, CMYK, embedded fonts
Photo-only design	Flattened TIFF or high-quality JPG	300 DPI at final size
Photo plus text	PDF exported from your layout app	Text rasterized at low resolution
Large-format banner	PDF, scaled to size or at 1:10	Don’t build at 300 DPI full size
Layered file you must edit later	PDF for printing, native file for you	Missing fonts and links
Only have a PNG logo	Rebuild as vector if possible	Soft edges at larger sizes

What this looks like by product

Standard business cards are small and unforgiving. A 3.5” × 2” card puts a logo within a sixteenth of an inch of the edge, so embedded fonts, tight bleed and a vector logo matter more than the software. Send a PDF.

Tri-fold brochures add folds and panel alignment, so a layered file is more likely to shift something. Export a single PDF with the panels in order and follow the product’s template. Browse the full range under marketing products.

Premium vinyl banners are large, so the file can be lower resolution at full size. Scale the artwork to size or 1:10, keep text large, and send a PDF to keep fonts safe. More in signs and banners.

A pre-flight routine that takes two minutes

1. Open the exported PDF, not the original. Zoom in on small text and logo edges.
2. Check that the page size matches trim plus bleed.
3. Confirm the color mode and that no RGB images slipped in.
4. Look for missing images or substituted fonts.
5. Compare it against the product’s dieline.

If you’d like a second set of eyes, every order gets a free file review before it goes to press. We open your artwork, check it against the same list, and email you if something needs fixing.

The bottom line

Send a print-ready PDF. Keep the AI or PSD as your editable master. Use TIFF or high-quality JPG for photography, and don’t rely on a web PNG for anything that needs to look sharp in print.

Ready to upload? Start with business cards or any product page, and see the rest of our guides on the blog.