Artwork Guide

How to get your files print-ready — and what we check before anything runs.

Campaign Direct checks every file before it goes to press. This page tells you what we’re checking for, so your job doesn’t lose a day to a fixable problem.

Quick prep checklist

Six things. Get these right and your file goes straight through.

PDF, print quality. Press-ready PDF is what we want. Other formats below.
CMYK, not RGB. Screen color is RGB. Print is CMYK. Sending RGB isn’t fatal — we convert — but colors shift, and you should know that before you see the proof.
300 DPI at final size. A 300 DPI image blown up to twice its size is a 150 DPI image. Check resolution at the size it will actually print.
1/8″ bleed on all sides. Any color or image that runs to the edge has to extend 1/8″ past the trim line, or you get a white sliver.
1/8″ safe margin inside the trim. Keep text, logos, and anything you can’t afford to lose at least 1/8″ in from the edge. Cutting has tolerance.
Fonts outlined or embedded. Otherwise we get a substitution and you get a different piece than you designed.

And one that isn’t a print issue. Your “Paid for by” disclaimer has to be on the piece, correct, and legible. We check that it’s there and we’ll flag it if it isn’t — but we will never write it or place it for you. That’s your committee’s legal call, not ours.

Sizes and bleed

Build your file at the finished size of the product you ordered, plus 1/8″ bleed on every side.

A 6 × 11 postcard is an 11.25 × 6.25 document with the artwork running into the bleed and nothing critical inside 1/8″ of the trim.

Large-format pieces — yard signs, banners, foam core — run at lower resolution and wider bleed because they’re viewed from ten feet, not ten inches. Setup specs for those are on each product page.

File formats we accept

Format	Use it for
PDF	Preferred, always. Export as press or print quality.
AI, EPS	Vector files. Outline your fonts before sending.
JPG, PNG	Accepted for simple pieces. No vector text, no transparency control.

Working in InDesign, or in something not listed? Get in touch before you order and we’ll tell you what we need. Don’t guess and don’t flatten something you’ll want back.

If your file is large, don’t fight the upload — send it by email instead, using the address in your order confirmation.

Software instructions

Canva

Share → Download → PDF Print, and turn on crop marks and bleed. Canva’s free plan exports in RGB — send it anyway, we convert. If you’d rather not download anything, set your design link to “Anyone with the link can view” and paste it into the artwork field on the product page. If we can’t open the link, we have to email you, and that costs a day.

Adobe Illustrator

Set the document to your finished size, bleed 0.125″ on all sides. Outline your type (Type → Create Outlines) or embed the fonts on export. Save as PDF, preset PDF/X-1a:2001, marks and bleeds on.

Adobe InDesign

Document setup with 0.125″ bleed. Export → Adobe PDF (Print), preset PDF/X-1a:2001, Marks and Bleeds → crop marks on, use document bleed. Send us the PDF — if you need to send the native file instead, ask us first.

Adobe Photoshop

Build at final size plus 0.25″ total (1/8″ bleed on each side), 300 DPI, CMYK color mode. Photoshop is a raster tool — type set in Photoshop won’t be as crisp as type set in Illustrator or InDesign. For a text-heavy mail piece, use one of those instead.

Layouts

Correctly-sized layouts for every product are coming with the Campaign Direct Design Studio. Until then, build to the finished size and bleed above, or ask us and we’ll send you a starting file.

Not sure? Send it before you order.

Every file gets checked before it prints. But if you want to know your art is right before you place the order, send it to us and we’ll look at it and tell you what — if anything — needs fixing. No charge, no obligation.

Twenty-five years of political print means we’ve seen the mistake you’re about to make. We’d rather catch it now than at proof.

How to send your files

You have four options at order time:

Upload it on the product page.
Paste a Canva link — set to “Anyone with the link can view.”
Email it — your order confirmation has the address. Put your order number in the subject line.
Have us design it. Design work is quoted per piece — tell us what the piece needs to say and we’ll come back with a price and a schedule.

Nothing goes to proof and nothing goes to press until your art is in. The sooner it lands, the sooner your date locks.

Print glossary

Bleed: Artwork extended past the trim line, usually 1/8″, so the color runs off the edge cleanly after cutting.
Trim: The finished cut line. Where the piece actually ends.
Safe area: The margin inside the trim where nothing important should sit. Cutting isn’t perfect; this is your buffer.
Crop marks: Thin lines outside the bleed that tell the cutter where to trim.
CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow, black. The four inks used in full-color printing.
RGB: Red, green, blue. Screen color. Has to be converted for print, and some bright colors can’t be reproduced in CMYK.
PMS / spot color: Pantone Matching System. A pre-mixed ink for exact color matching, printed as its own unit rather than built from CMYK. Most Campaign Direct products print full-color CMYK, which is the right choice for nearly every campaign piece. If you need an exact PMS match, ask us and we’ll quote it.
4/4 and 4/0: Full color both sides, and full color one side with a blank back.
DPI / resolution: Dots per inch, measured at final print size. 300 DPI for anything held in the hand.
Vector vs raster: Vector art (Illustrator, most logos) scales to any size without losing quality. Raster art (photos, Photoshop) is a fixed grid of pixels and degrades when enlarged.
Outlining fonts: Converting live type to shapes so it prints exactly as designed regardless of what fonts the printer has.
Rich black: Black built from all four inks rather than black alone. Deeper on large solid areas; not for small text.
Coating: The finish applied after printing. Gloss, matte, or uncoated. Uncoated takes a pen; gloss doesn’t.
Flat size vs folded size: An 11 × 17 brochure that folds to 8.5 × 11 is 11 × 17 flat. Build at the flat size.
Die cut: Cut to a custom shape rather than a rectangle. Door hangers are die cut.
Proof: The file we send you to approve before printing. Approving it is the point of no return.
Indicia: The printed postage marking that replaces a stamp on presorted mail.
Address block: The clear area on a mail piece reserved for the recipient address and barcode. Keep your design out of it.
Letter vs flat: USPS size classes that determine postage rates. Determined by dimensions, not weight.
Presort: Sorting mail by destination before it enters the postal stream, which lowers the rate.
Coroplast: Corrugated plastic. What yard signs are made of.