What is a print-ready file?
A print-ready file is one a printer can put straight onto press without further fixes. Cut, fold and glue lines are separate from the artwork, text is converted to outlines or embedded, images have enough resolution, and the color mode is what the printer asks for.
“Print-ready” is not a single universal definition; every printer has its own specification. Still, nearly all of them ask for common items: the correct size, bleed and safe zone, cut and fold lines on separate layers, and the color mode and file format the printer requires.
Text must be converted to outlines or embedded; otherwise the font is missing on the printer's computer and the text changes. Images must have enough resolution for print, and spot colors must be defined as separate channels. The dieline stays on its own layer, apart from the artwork, as a reference that is not printed.
Even when a file is ready, the printer runs it through its own pre-press check (preflight). The best way to avoid problems caught at that stage is to review the file against a checklist before sending it. The material, the exact die and the color approval are always settled with the printer.
Whether the format should be SVG or PDF is also answered by your printer. In both cases layers and separations must be clear. In short, a print-ready file is one that leaves no open questions for the printer.
How you do this in Grapxo
Grapxo delivers cut, fold and glue lines on separate layers as editable vector; the final printer check, the material and the color approval stay with the printer.
Before sending your file, see the Layered vector output checklist and Print-ready dieline.
Start producing in the studio
Write your brief and let Grapxo produce a print-ready vector surface.