Here at PufferPrint, we love supporting first time authors! And while the industry standard for print layout and formatting is Adobe InDesign, we ae seeing more and more authors turning to Canva as a extremely user-friendly and affordable option.
Even though Canva has made graphic design accessible to the masses there are still a few nuances to formatting print files than can trip you up if it’s your first time preparing your files for an offset printer.
We put together this handy list of Canva formatting tips to help you jump start your journey to publishing your first book.
Tip #1: Work in spreads rather than pages
When it comes to laying out your artwork and formatting your book we always recommend working with spreads rather than individual pages. This makes it easier to see how your book will appear to the reader. It also makes it easier to keep track of the bleed areas that you’ll need around the outer edges of your spreads. Plus if you have artwork that crosses the gutter (the center fold of your book) it will ensure that everything lines up correctly when the book is printed.
Tip #2: Create your Canva project in millimeters (or inches) rather than pixels
When you create the file in Canva make sure you are creating it in millimeters or inches – not in pixels. Here at PufferPrint we always use millimeters so that’s what we recommend. Make sure you add 3mm or 1/8″ of bleed on all outer edges of your spreads.
If you have already gotten a free quote from us then just reach out to your PufferPrint Print Specialist and request dielines. We’ll create a custom set of dielines for you based on the exact specifications (binding, trim size, paper stock, and page count) of your book.
Haven’t gotten a free quote yet? Just head over to our quote form or email us at business@pufferprint.com and we’ll take care of you!
Tip #3: Add Rulers and Guides
Once you have created your new project in Canva, the first thing we recommend doing it turning on the rulers and setting up custom guides. You’ll find both of these options under the File >> Settings menu. First click “Show rulers and guides” or use the keyboard shortcut “Shift + R” (‘R’ for ‘Rulers’).
Now you’ll want to set up some guides to match your dielines. For an interior spread we just like to show the bleed area (3mm on each outside edge) and the gutter (the center of the spread where the book will fold).
Here is how you would set things up for the interior spread of your book:
- Select File >> Settings >> Add guides
- Choose “Custom”
- Set 2 columns with a gap of 0mm and a margin of 3mm (or 0.125″ if you’re working in inches)
- Set 1 row with a gap of 0mm and a margin of 3mm (or 0.125″ if you’re working in inches)
A book’s cover can be a little trickier to configure and will depend on the binding you have chosen for your book (board book, hardcover, softcover, wire binding, etc.
A softcover or board book will be similar to the above example except you’ll need to include the spine with the back cover on the left hand side and the front cover on the right hand side. Refer to your dielines to make sure you have all the dimensions correct based on the specs of your book.
Here is how we would set things up for a board book of softcover book with a 15mm spine:
- Select File >> Settings >> Add guides
- Choose “Custom”
- Set 2 columns with a gap of 15mm and a margin of 3mm (or 0.125″ if you’re working in inches)
- Set 1 row with a gap of 0mm and a margin of 3mm (or 0.125″ if you’re working in inches)
The cover files for hardcover books need to be set up a little bit different. That’s because you won’t have bleed around the outside edges, but you will need to include enough artwork to wrap around the edge and glued to the back of the grey board. That’s how hardcovers are constructed.
For PufferPrint’s standard hardcovers you’ll need 2.5mm to wrap around the edge plus an additional 15mm to be glued to the back of the cover (for a total of 17.5mm). But make sure you refer to your custom dielines for the exact measurement on your book.
Here is how we would set up the guides for one of a hardcover that had a 17.5mm cover wrap and a 9mm spine:
- Select File >> Settings >> Add guides
- Choose “Custom”
- Set 2 columns with a gap of 9mm and a margin of 17.5mm
- Set 1 row with a gap of 0mm and a margin of 17.5mm
What about the ‘Show Margin’ and ‘Show Print Bleed’ options?
While Canva does have the option to show margins and print bleed we recommend using your own custom guides. Canva’s default margin is 21mm (.823″) from the edge of the document which is more than is really needed for most styles of book binding.
Our recommended margins are to keep all text and important elements a minimum of 6mm (0.25″) away from all trim lines. If you’re printing a hardcover or softcover book that will be smyth sewn you should keep a margin of 8mm (0.3″) from the gutter. And if you printing a perfect bound softcover book you should keep keep a margin of 15mm (0.6mm) from the gutter.
Canva’s default print bleed is 3mm (~1/8″) which is the industry standard but Canva adds the print bleed onto the dimensions you have already chosen for your project. So if you are using the dimensions provided by PufferPrint and also turn on Canva’s print bleed option you’ll actually double the bleed area.
Tip #4: Export Your File as “PDF Print”
One you have finished designing and laying out your book, you’ll need to export your files so you can send them to your printer (hopefully us!)
When you export (share) the file, make sure you’re exporting it as “PDF Print”. This will ensure your document gets exported as 300 DPI which is what we need to print your book.
The “PDF Standard” option exports the file as 96 DPI which is much too low a resolution for printing.
Tip #5: Set Your Color Profile to CMYK
If you have a Canva Pro account we also recommend changing the color profile to CMYK.
Your print files will have to be in CMYK for us to print them. You can send us files in an RGB color profile, but we will still need to convert them before printing.
Converting the color profile can cause some colors to shift so you’ll want to review the files after the color profile conversion to make sure you’re still happy with all of the colors.
By handling the color conversion yourself you can adjust any colors before sending us the print files which gives you more control and will ultimately save you time during the pre-print process.
Canva Design Tip: For any black text use Hex #000000
Offset printing using CMYK which means we’ll be using a combination of 4 inks to print your book: Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y), and Black which is called ‘Key’ (K).
To make your blacks appear as dark and sharp as possible, we recommend setting any blacks to Hex Code #000000. This is especially important with small text.
When converting to CMYK color profile, Canva exports all blacks as Rich Black (also called 4 color black or 4c black because the black will actually be printed with a combination of all 4 colors – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black/Key).
To further improve the contrast and clarity of your text you can convert Rich Black to Standard Black (also called 1c black or 100%K because it will be printed using only black ink (Key or K). Unfortunately, does not have an option to convert Rich Black to Standard Black but I can be done in Adobe Acrobat Pro by following this guide.
Hopefully this articles gives you the confidence to prepare your books files for printing in Canva. We love working with first time authors and we’re always happy to answer questions. If we can help you out at all with your book project, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at business@pufferprint.com!
If you’re ready to start printing, then grab your free quote!
