Technical Questions

Use this page when you are preparing a PDF for print and want to understand what NowToPrint checks, what stays under your control, and when PDF Tools will route the job for review instead of changing the file.

File Formats

Which file formats can I upload?

The public PDF Tools intake accepts PDF. A declared PDF/X-4 label is useful context, but does not prove conformance or print readiness. PNG, JPEG, SVG and TIFF are source artwork formats, not a universal PDF Tools upload contract. Export an appropriate PDF from the application that owns your artwork. Office documents also need a PDF export.

What is the maximum file size?

Flow	Document limit	Separate queue or access condition
Public single PDF / browser / Studio	200 MB and 500 pages	Registration does not increase this ceiling
Local batch	200 MB and 500 pages per PDF	Up to 20 PDFs, 200 MB total input
Public batch intake	200 MB and 500 pages per PDF	Up to 10 PDFs, 500 MB total input
Explicit server preview	500 MB and 2,000 pages	Preview is not a certified proof or release
Extended server processing	500 MB and 2,000 pages	Explicit authenticated paid-plan lane

MB follows the product's binary convention (1,048,576 bytes). File admission does not waive decoded-content, memory, complexity or deadline limits and is not a speed guarantee. A failed browser operation does not authorize an automatic server upload. Keep your original PDF and source settings for any correction.

The table describes general product intake policies; an operation or interface can apply a narrower ceiling. For example, the server workflow upload screen applies 200 MiB to both a single file and the combined files, including paid accounts. An extended-policy label does not remove that interface limit.

Which PDF standard should I use?

For most professional jobs, choose PDF/X-4. It preserves live transparency and late-binding color intent so the supplier or RIP can make the final production decision with the right device profile.

Full PDF requirements guide ->

Resolution And DPI

What DPI do I need for print?

Use effective PPI at final print size, together with the selected product, print profile and viewing distance. A typical close-view commercial image may target 300 PPI, while distant-view large-format work can use another agreed target. There is no universal 300 DPI acceptance rule for every PDF, and vector text does not have an image PPI.

Do not reinterpret an unknown measurement as zero or as a pass. Ask the supplier for the target when the job has no authoritative matching profile.

How can I check image resolution?

Upload the PDF to NowToPrint and run a PDF Tools check. The report flags low-resolution or suspicious raster content with page references and recommended next actions.

You can also inspect the source file in Acrobat, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, or the design application that produced the PDF.

Can NowToPrint improve a low-resolution image?

PDF Tools does not recover original detail by increasing a pixel count. Any explicitly offered upscale operation is a transformed output to inspect, not proof that missing source detail was recovered. It does not silently repair the original PDF. If an image is too low resolution, the best fix is to replace it in the source design file, reduce its print size, export a new PDF, and reupload.

DPI and resolution guide ->

Color Intent

Should I use CMYK or RGB?

PDF/X-4 can carry late-binding color intent. That means RGB, CMYK, spot colors, OutputIntent, and ICC profile evidence must be interpreted together for the target production workflow.

PDF Tools reports color risks and routes uncertain jobs for supplier or RIP review. It does not automatically force RGB or spot colors into CMYK inside the uploaded PDF. A separately selected small-black-text operation is a narrow named exception: selected eligible black text below 8 pt can become K-only; it is not general color conversion.

My PDF contains RGB content. What should I do?

Define print intent in the source application and export PDF/X-4 when possible.
Run a PDF Tools report and review the OutputIntent, color inventory, and workflow compatibility.
If the report asks for review, route the job to the supplier/RIP or reupload a corrected source PDF.

Can I use Pantone or other spot colors?

Spot colors can be valid production intent. PDF Tools reports spot and technical separations, but it does not merge, rename, or convert separations. The supplier must confirm a production route that supports those channels. An unresolved or unsupported named color is not made acceptable merely by forwarding it to a RIP.

Bleed, Trim, And Safe Zones

What is bleed?

Bleed is artwork that extends beyond the trim edge so tiny cutting movement does not leave a white edge. A common value is 3 mm on each side.

What should I do when the report says bleed is missing?

Open the source design file, extend the artwork beyond the trim edge, export a new PDF with bleed included, and reupload. PDF Tools can detect and report the risk; it does not synthesize new artwork for you.

Bleed guide ->

What is a safe zone?

Keep important text, logos, and barcodes inside the safe zone so trimming does not cut them off. Many products use at least 5 mm inside the trim edge, but the exact value depends on the product and supplier.

Fonts

How do I embed fonts?

Enable "embed all fonts" or "subset fonts" when exporting the PDF from your design application.

Should I outline fonts?

Usually no. Embedding the font is the safer first choice because it preserves text semantics. PDF Tools reports missing fonts and glyph risks; it does not outline, substitute, convert, or silently embed fonts inside the uploaded PDF.

Transparency And RIP Review

Are transparent objects a problem?

Modern PDF/X-4 workflows support live transparency. Older RIP workflows may need review. PDF Tools reports transparency and overprint risk and can route the job for proof or supplier/RIP review.

Does NowToPrint flatten transparency?

No. NowToPrint does not flatten transparency, generate trapping, mutate overprint, or rewrite separations. Those decisions remain explicit supplier/RIP or source-file actions.

PDF Tools Report

How do I know whether my file is ready?

Open the PDF and select the appropriate check/profile.
Read the actual analysis scope, evidence and findings.
Follow the next action: continue, proof, review or reupload.

A workflow can be clean when the analysis is complete, the foundation is trusted, at least one rule was evaluated, no rule is undecided and no warning/error remains. Informational notes alone do not force review. Browser commercial and book workflows use their full mapped profiles; packaging uses a baseline and names the checks not run. Large-format and legacy-RIP workflows without a browser mapping are refused rather than silently passed.

A diagnostic preview or a clean selected workflow does not itself release an order into production. Payment, current files, approval and production handoff remain separate gates.

What does PDF Tools do with issues?

Finding type	Typical next action
Low-resolution image	Replace source image or reduce print size
Missing font evidence	Re-export with embedded fonts
Missing bleed artwork	Fix in the source design file and reupload
Color/RIP uncertainty	Supplier/RIP review or measured proof
Unsupported evidence	Treat as not production-ready until reviewed

PDF Tools is intentionally preserve-first: it detects, reports, routes, proofs, and asks for reupload when the right fix belongs in the source document or external production workflow.

What is the job intent comparison in the Passport?

The canonical preflight report describes evidence found in the PDF. The optional job intent comparison separately checks that evidence against the declared order, RFQ, or quote requirements. It can compare measured page count, finished size, orientation, and bleed. OutputIntent uncertainty is routed for review; finishing and substrate are marked as not evaluated because a PDF cannot prove press setup or material availability.

The result is categorical, not a match or readiness score. The same PDF can therefore be a measured match for one order and require customer revision for another, with each discrepancy, affected page, evidence level, owner, and next action shown. This comparison never silently changes the PDF or overrides the canonical preflight decision.

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