Proof your designs for print

Ready to print your design? Don’t forget to proof and check your design to make sure it’s ready to be printed.

Here are the things you can do when proofing.

Canva automatically detects issues in your design to ensure that it’ll print accurately.

Detected issues are presented per page so you can review them each. Switch a toggle on to fix a detected issue and switch it off to undo.

Toggle on fix all issues to apply all recommended fixes. The changes will automatically reflect on your design.

If you’d like to fix an issue manually, select Learn more. You’ll be prompted to a brief description of the issue and details on how to fix them.

Note that we’re still improving this feature and we might not be able to detect other possible issues. Hence, we recommend that you still check on the suggestions below.

Check if the elements on your design are within margins (or safe zone). Avoid unintended white edges by turning on bleed. Learn more about using margins and bleed.

Just because it looks big on screen doesn’t mean it’ll be as readable when printed. Different print products have different recommended font sizes. We generally recommend not going lower than font size 7.

Canva’s automated proofing flags texts that are below the recommended minimum font size. To fix, simply go to the flagged text and increase the font size.

Viewing your design at 100% zoom will also give you an idea of how small or big the font size is.

Double-check your text content for correct spelling, grammar, and other details (e.g. dates, names, location, etc.). And don’t forget to check all e-mail addresses and social media handles.

When designing t-shirts, we recommend setting the background colour to transparent for the best print quality. Make sure to check your design background colour and manually delete it, or it will be printed.

You can also preview your design by following these steps:

1. Go to File.
2. Select
   Settings.
3. Select Show Backdrop.

Using high-quality images is important in ensuring clear and crisp prints. If possible, upload only images in 300 dpi—the recommended image resolution for print. You can also use images and elements from our media library as they are in high resolution.

Quickly check for image quality by zooming in at 200% on your design. If the images look blurry or pixelated, they most likely won’t print well. Learn about zooming in.

A better way to check for image resolution is from your computer’s files. Learn how to check for image resolution.

If you have a home or office printer, we recommend printing the PDF proof of your design. This is one of the best ways to check for font size and image quality.

For Canva Print orders, you can download a PDF proof as part of the order process. Otherwise, you can download a Print PDF separately. Learn more about printing designs using a personal printer.

Make sure to print the design in its actual dimensions (100% scale). Check your printer’s scale settings for this.

For Canva Print orders, if your design has multiple pages, make sure to select the correct pages to print. For products with prints on both sides, you’ll also select which page on your design goes on the front and back.

You can do this on the first step of the order process. Don’t forget to preview your design to double-check if you selected the correct pages. Learn more about placing a Canva Print order.