3 Common Reasons Why Printers Reject Your Files.

One of the most common frustrations when sending your file to print is having your printer send it back with a list of technical issues that you don’t understand and have no idea how to correct.

Or worse, your printer doesn’t tell you there’s an issue and prints your file anyway. Then you receive delivery of your printed product and it’s not what you expected.

Your file may look amazing on your screen, but that doesn’t mean it will print correctly. These days, printers, many printers only run basic checks, and some online printers place most of the responsibility on you to supply print-ready artwork.

Let’s look at the top three most common reasons why your artwork gets rejected or prints incorrectly.

1)    Low Resolution Quality – The blurry Image Trap

An image that looks sharp on the phone screen may become soft, pixelated or blurry when enlarged for a flyer, banner or a sign. Online, we have a world of images at our fingertips and most of those images are not of high enough resolution for printing. That’s why I place resolution quality at the top of this list.

How can you tell whether your artwork will print correctly before you print it? The best way is to check your artwork in the context of how it will be printed.  This includes:

• Comparing the actual physical size of the artwork when printed to your digital asset size including images, graphics, text

• Checking the resolution of that image against the print process requirement.

Depending on what you’re printing, whether it’s a business card, a t-shirt, or a banner, your file needs to be set up to the specific requirements of the print process. That’s why it’s good practice to get the specifications directly from your printer.

In an upcoming post, I’ll walk you through exactly how to check your file’s resolution step-by-step.

2)    Incorrect colour systems  – RGB vs CMYK

Colours can look very different on screen compared with how they print. This is because screens use RGB colour, while most commercial printing uses CMYK.

If your artwork is supplied in RGB, HSL or another screen-based colour system, the colours may shift when converted for print. Bright blues, greens, oranges and neon-style colours are especially likely to change.

For the best result, your artwork should be checked and converted to the correct colour setup before it goes to print. If your brand uses specific colours, such as Pantone colours, those need to be supplied and set up correctly too.

3)    Wrong Artwork Size – The Trim and Bleed Trap

If you send your artwork to a printer and the size is incorrect, they will reject your file. Or, in some cases, they will print it and you will find your design isn’t trimmed correctly, part of your design is cut off, or you may have white paper that hasn’t been trimmed off. This is where bleed, trim size and safe margins become important.

Printers don’t automatically alter your artwork to suit the required size. You must supply your artwork at the exact size required. If you require different sizes of the same artwork, then you will need to provide each version in the specific size required.

There are many reasons why your file can be rejected by a printer or print incorrectly. Other common print file issues include:

• Incorrect file formats

• Logo supplied as low-resolution image rather than vector artwork

• Poor colour conversions

• Incorrect black setup

The list continues for specialised printing, such as large format, screen printing and other print processes. To avoid your file being rejected, your best step is to check your file before you press send or, for peace of mind, have your files checked by a prepress professional.

Why Printers Reject Your Files and Why a Prepress Check Matters

A proper prepress check is about reducing risk before production begins. It helps identify technical issues early, before they get to the printer and become delays, costly reprints, missed deadlines or rushed redesigns.

A good design is only part of the process. It also needs to reproduce consistently across your brand, output correctly, and meet the technical requirements of the printer or production supplier.

Before you send your next file to print, it’s worth having it checked properly. A quick prepress review can catch the issues that are easy to miss on screen but expensive to fix after printing.