Free Shipping Over $200 to Canada's Biggest CitiesAll Prices in Canadian Dollars ($CDN) 
Customer Service Hotline : 877-503-2679
Free Shipping Over $200 to Canada's Biggest CitiesAll Prices in Canadian Dollars ($CDN) Customer Service Hotline : 877-503-2679
New to printing? That's okay. We've answered the questions we hear most often, in plain language.
Not sure where to begin? Start here.
For most products, you need three things:
If you aren't sure what specifications to choose, start with the product you're trying to make. The available options will help narrow down what is appropriate.
Don't worry. The most important thing is to understand the difference between the finished size and the file size.
The finished size is the size of the product after it has been cut. Your artwork may need to extend beyond that edge to provide bleed.
For most products where bleed is required, the typical bleed is 0.125" (3.175 mm).
Important text and other content should generally stay at least 0.25" (6.35 mm) inside the finished edge.
That's exactly what our guides are for. You don't need to be a printing expert to order from CanadaCopy.com.
The most important terms to understand are:
This is where most printing problems begin. Here's what you actually need to know.
For most products, PDF is the preferred file format. A properly exported PDF preserves your page size, fonts, images, layout, and vector artwork.
Other file formats may be accepted for specific products, but if you are creating a print-ready file yourself, PDF is generally the safest choice.
Your file should be built around the finished size of the product you ordered.
For example, if you are ordering an 8.5" × 11" (215.9 × 279.4 mm) finished product, your finished artwork is 8.5" × 11" (215.9 × 279.4 mm).
If bleed is required, the artwork extends beyond that finished size.
With 0.125" (3.175 mm) bleed on all four sides, an 8.5" × 11" (215.9 × 279.4 mm) page would have an artwork area of 8.75" × 11.25" (222.25 × 285.75 mm).
Bleed is extra artwork that extends past the edge of the finished product.
It gives the cutting equipment some room for variation. Without bleed, a small movement during trimming can leave a thin white line along the edge of your finished piece.
Whether you need bleed depends on the product, how it is printed, and how it is finished. Always follow the specifications for the specific product you are ordering.
The margin, sometimes called the safe area, is the space between important content and the finished edge of your product.
We generally recommend keeping important text, logos, faces, and other critical information at least 0.25" (6.35 mm) away from the finished edge.
This does not mean your background has to stop there. Background colours and images that are intended to reach the edge should extend into the bleed when bleed is required.
Printed products are trimmed after printing. The cutting process has a small amount of normal variation.
If your text is only a few millimetres from the edge, even a small amount of movement can make it appear uneven or partially cut off.
Keeping important content approximately 0.25" (6.35 mm) from the finished edge provides a much safer layout.
For most products, we recommend images around 300 DPI at their final printed size.
For example, if an image will actually print at 4" wide, a 300 DPI image would ideally be approximately 1200 pixels wide.
A low-resolution image cannot always be fixed simply by changing its DPI number. If the original image does not contain enough information, increasing the DPI setting does not create additional detail.
CanadaCopy.com is a printing company, not a general graphic design service. Our production process is based on receiving artwork that has already been prepared for printing.
We do not routinely redesign files, fix layouts, rewrite text, rebuild poor-quality artwork, or correct design mistakes.
If a file has an obvious technical problem that prevents it from being produced, we may contact you before printing.
Please check spelling, page order, images, colours, margins, bleed, dimensions, and all other design elements before submitting your artwork.
A Word document can be printed, but it is not the ideal format for professional printing.
Word documents can reflow when opened on another computer because of differences in fonts, software versions, printer settings, and document settings.
We recommend exporting your Word document as a PDF before submitting it.
Screen colours and printed colours are not exactly the same thing.
Your monitor creates colour using light. Printed material creates colour using ink or toner on paper.
Because they use completely different methods to create colour, a colour that looks one way on your screen may look somewhat different when printed.
Your monitor's brightness, colour settings, and display technology also affect what you see.
CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. These are the four basic process colours used to reproduce full-colour printed images.
RGB, by comparison, stands for Red, Green, and Blue and is the colour system used by computer monitors, phones, and televisions.
If your software allows it, preparing your artwork in the appropriate CMYK colour space gives you more control over how colours are converted for printing.
No. A monitor is not a proof of the final printed colour.
If exact colour reproduction is important, colour management, appropriate profiles, calibrated equipment, and physical printed samples are much more reliable than judging colour from a monitor alone.
Different papers and finishes can also affect how a colour appears.
There are several ways black can be constructed in a digital file. A simple black made from the K channel is different from a rich black made using multiple CMYK inks.
The appropriate black depends on the product and printing process. For small text, simple black is generally preferable because using multiple inks can make very small text less crisp.
Your proof is your opportunity to make sure your file is correct before it goes into production.
A proof is a representation of the file that will be used for production. It allows you to check things such as page order, orientation, layout, text, images, and overall appearance before printing.
A digital proof should be reviewed on a computer rather than judged solely by comparing its colour to your monitor.
Before approving a proof, check all of the following:
Once you approve a proof, you are telling us that the file is ready to print.
Approval means you have confirmed that the file is correct and ready for production.
No changes, corrections, or adjustments can be made after approval.
If you discover a mistake after approval, contact us immediately. If production has not started, we can determine whether anything can still be done, but approval should always be treated as the final sign-off.
If the mistake was present in the approved artwork, the approved file is considered the file you authorized us to print.
For this reason, we strongly recommend reviewing the proof carefully before clicking the approval button.
Book printing has a few extra rules because the pages have to be assembled and bound.
Your interior PDF should normally be the finished page size of your book.
For example, an 8.5" × 11" (215.9 × 279.4 mm) book should have individual interior pages that are 8.5" × 11" (215.9 × 279.4 mm).
Do not make the interior pages larger to account for the cover or spine. The cover is a separate file and has different dimensions.
The spine is the narrow section of the cover that connects the front and back covers on a perfect-bound book.
The thickness of the spine is determined primarily by the number of pages and the thickness of the paper.
A thicker book has a wider spine. A thinner book has a narrower spine.
Spine width is calculated from the number of pages multiplied by the appropriate paper thickness.
| Paper | Spine factor |
|---|---|
| 20lb / 50lb | 0.004" (0.102 mm) |
| 24lb / 60lb | 0.0045" (0.114 mm) |
| 28lb / 70lb | 0.005" (0.127 mm) |
| 32lb / 80lb | 0.006" (0.152 mm) |
| 80lb Gloss | 0.004" (0.102 mm) |
| 100lb Gloss | 0.0055" (0.140 mm) |
For example, if your book contains 200 pages on 80lb Gloss, the calculated spine width would be:
Remember that the exact cover specifications should always be based on the specifications provided for the product you are ordering.
A perfect-bound cover is one continuous piece consisting of:
The spine goes between the back and front covers.
Your cover file therefore needs to be wider than a single finished page.
If bleed is required, add 0.125" (3.175 mm) to all four outside edges.
For normal page layouts, keep important content at least 0.25" (6.35 mm) from the finished edge.
On the binding side of a book, additional inside margin may be needed depending on the binding method and thickness of the book.
If you place text extremely close to the binding edge, part of the text may become difficult to read once the book is assembled.
Perfect binding is a method of producing a paperback-style book. The individual pages are gathered together and attached to a wraparound cover.
The cover includes a front, back, and spine.
Perfect binding is commonly used for novels, manuals, catalogues, magazines, workbooks, and other longer publications.
Saddle stitching uses staples through the folded centre of a booklet.
It works particularly well for thinner publications such as booklets, programs, brochures, comic books, and magazines.
Because the pages are folded, the final page count must follow the requirements of saddle-stitch production.
Yes. You can prepare the interior and cover yourself and submit the finished files for printing.
You do not need to be a professional publisher to have a book printed.
The important part is that your files meet the production requirements for the product you are ordering.
You don't need a traditional publisher to turn your manuscript into a physical book.
Self-publishing means that you, rather than a traditional publishing company, are responsible for producing and distributing your book.
That can include writing the book, editing it, designing the interior, creating the cover, obtaining an ISBN when appropriate, having copies printed, and selling or distributing the finished book.
No. You do not need an ISBN simply to have a book printed.
An ISBN is an identifier used for books and other publications. Whether you need one depends on how and where you intend to distribute or sell your book.
If you plan to sell through bookstores, distributors, libraries, or online retailers, check their specific requirements before printing.
Canadian publishers and self-publishers can find information about ISBN registration through Library and Archives Canada.
Yes. CanadaCopy.com is a commercial printing service. Once your book is printed, you can distribute or sell it yourself, subject to any applicable laws, rights, licensing, copyright, and requirements of the sales channel you choose.
CanadaCopy.com does not act as your publisher or distributor.
You can create a book using many different programs.
Regardless of the software used, export the finished project to a properly prepared PDF whenever possible.
What happens after you place your order?
Contact us as soon as possible if you need to change something.
Whether a change is possible depends on where the order is in the production process. Once a job has been approved and/or entered production, changes may no longer be possible.
The sooner you contact us, the better.
Contact us immediately if you need to cancel an order.
Cancellation options depend on the current status of the order. An order that has already been produced cannot simply be cancelled because you have changed your mind.
Approval gives you the opportunity to confirm that the artwork being printed is correct.
It also provides a clear point where responsibility for the final artwork passes to production.
When you approve a file, you are confirming that you have reviewed it and want it printed as shown.
Contact us immediately and tell us that the wrong file was uploaded.
Do not assume that we will automatically know which file you intended to use.
If the job has not entered production, we may be able to replace the file. Once production has started, replacement may no longer be possible.
A few things to know once your printing is finished.
Production time depends on the product, quantity, paper, finishing, binding, and current production schedule.
Production time and shipping time are two separate things.
For example, if a product takes two business days to produce, shipping time is added after production is complete.
Always use the production and delivery estimates shown for the specific product and order.
CanadaCopy.com serves customers throughout Canada.
Shipping costs and delivery times depend on the destination, package size, weight, and shipping service selected.
Pickup availability depends on the product and production location. Check the available delivery or pickup options when placing your order.
If you're not sure whether your file is ready, run through this list.
Make sure the document is the same size as the finished product you ordered.
Check whether your particular product requires bleed. When required, the typical amount is 0.125" (3.175 mm).
Keep important text and graphics at least 0.25" (6.35 mm) from the finished edge.
Use sufficiently high-resolution images. Approximately 300 DPI at final size is a good general target.
Open your final PDF and check every page in order before uploading it.
Check spelling, phone numbers, URLs, dates, names, prices, and anything else that cannot be changed after printing.
That's okay. If you have a question that isn't answered here, contact CanadaCopy.com and we'll help you figure out what you need.
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