Printing Ideas
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Creating a Print-Ready PDF

Step-by-step export instructions with bleed and crop marks for Canva, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop.

Not sure what bleed and crop marks are first? Read our bleeds & crop marks guide → Otherwise, jump to your design program below.

CanvaAdobe InDesignAdobe IllustratorAdobe Photoshop

Canva

  1. 1

    Open your design and click Share in the top right corner.

  2. 2

    Select Download.

  3. 3

    Set File type to PDF Print.

  4. 4

    If available on your plan, check "Crop marks and bleed" before downloading.

  5. 5

    If bleed isn't available, manually extend background colors/images about 0.125" past each edge before exporting, and let us know your intended finished size when you send the file.

Adobe InDesign

  1. 1

    Go to File > Export, and choose Adobe PDF (Print) as the format.

  2. 2

    In the export dialog, click Marks and Bleeds on the left.

  3. 3

    Check All Printer's Marks (this includes crop marks).

  4. 4

    Under Bleed and Slug, set Top, Bottom, Left, and Right to 0.125" (use 0.25" for large-format items like banners).

  5. 5

    Click Export to generate your print-ready PDF.

Adobe Illustrator

  1. 1

    Set up your artboard at the finished size, and extend any background elements past the edge to cover the bleed area.

  2. 2

    Go to File > Save As (or File > Export > Export As) and choose Adobe PDF.

  3. 3

    In the Save Adobe PDF dialog, click Marks and Bleeds on the left.

  4. 4

    Check Trim Marks, and set Bleed values to 0.125"–0.25" on all sides.

  5. 5

    Click Save PDF.

Adobe Photoshop

  1. 1

    Photoshop doesn't have a built-in bleed/crop-mark export, so set this up manually: create your document at the finished size plus 0.25" on each side (e.g., a 3.5"x2" business card becomes a 3.75"x2.25" canvas).

  2. 2

    Use View > New Guide to place guides 0.125" inside each edge, marking the trim line.

  3. 3

    Keep all important text and logos inside the guides (the safe zone).

  4. 4

    Flatten the image (Layer > Flatten Image) before exporting to avoid layer or transparency issues.

  5. 5

    Go to File > Save As and choose Photoshop PDF, or use File > Print and save as PDF.

Every program handles this a little differently — if you get stuck, send us your working file and we'll either fix the export settings or walk you through it.

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