Print Your Canva Design: Export a Print-Ready PDF With Bleed

To print a Canva design, create it at the full size with bleed as a custom size in millimetres (91 x 61mm for an 85 x 55mm business card), leave Show print bleed off, and download it as PDF Print with Crop marks and bleed unticked. Keep text the bleed plus the safe area in from the page edge, 8mm on a business card. Then upload the PDF in your basket: our free automatic check runs straight away and you see a proof before you pay.

This guide gives the Canva size for every product we print, the download settings, and what to do on Canva Free, which has no CMYK option.

The Canva size for each product

Enter the Canva custom size from this table, in mm. It is the finished size plus the bleed on every side. "Keep text in" is measured from the edge of your Canva page: the bleed plus the safe area.

Leaflets, posters, correx, foamex and aluminium work in landscape too: swap the width and height. Our artwork guidelines list the same figures, and our free templates have them drawn in.

Set up and download in Canva

This method works for every product we print.

1. Create the design at the custom size with bleed. Choose Custom size, set the units to mm and enter the size from the table above, for example 91 x 61mm for a business card or 604 x 851mm for an A1 correx board (Canva: design from scratch).
2. Leave Show print bleed turned off. The bleed is already part of your page. (It is under File, then Settings, or File, then Rulers and guides: Canva: margins, bleed and crop marks.)
3. Run backgrounds to the edge of the page. Stretch background colours and photos right out to the edge. The outer 3mm or 5mm is cut off.
4. Keep text well in from the edge. Use the "keep text in" figure from the table: the bleed and the safe area added together. On a business card that is 8mm (3mm plus 5mm); on a correx board 15mm (5mm plus 10mm). Canva's rulers help: File, then Rulers and guides, then Show rulers and guides.
5. Download as PDF Print. Select Share, then Download, and choose PDF Print as the file type (Canva: download file types).
6. Leave Crop marks and bleed unticked. Your page already includes the bleed, so the PDF comes out at exactly the size in the table.
7. Upload the PDF in your basket. The automatic check runs straight away and checks the size and bleed against the product you chose.

If Canva turns the size boxes red, the size is outside its limits (Canva: resize and size limits). This can happen with large items such as roller banners and PVC banners. If Canva will not accept the size, contact us before you order.

The alternative: finished size with Show print bleed

For products with 3mm bleed (business cards, leaflets, folded leaflets, booklets, letterheads, compliment slips and posters), Canva offers another route: create the design at the finished size, such as 85 x 55mm, turn on File, Settings, Show print bleed, and download PDF Print with Crop marks and bleed ticked. Canva adds a fixed bleed of 0.125in, about 3.2mm, and crop marks.

We recommend the full-size method above instead, because it gives a PDF at exactly the size our check expects. If you do use this route, the automatic check runs as soon as you upload and tells you if the size or bleed is wrong, before you pay. It cannot give you 5mm of bleed, so do not use it for stickers, sticker sheets, correx, foamex, aluminium signs, roller banners or PVC banners.

Using our template as a guide

Each of our templates is a page at the full size with bleed, with the bleed edge, trim line and safe area drawn on it, and folds, cut lines and page labels where your product has them. In Canva you can use the SVG version as a tracing guide:

1. Set up your design at the custom size with bleed, as above.
2. Download the SVG template for your product and size, and upload it to Canva.
3. Place it on the page and stretch it so its red edge sits exactly on the edge of the page.
4. Lower its transparency so you can see your design, or lock it.
5. Design to the guides: backgrounds to the outer edge, text inside the blue dashed safe area.
6. Delete the template from the page before you download. In Canva an uploaded SVG prints like any other picture, so the guide lines would print.

Our guide to using our print templates explains the colours and line styles, and covers other programs.

Colour: CMYK and Canva Free

Printers use four inks (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), known as CMYK. Screens use red, green and blue light, known as RGB. Canva says very bright screen colours, such as electric blues and hot pinks, cannot be matched exactly in ink and can print softer or more muted (Canva: design with print colours).

• On Canva Pro, Teams, Education or Nonprofits, PDF Print lets you choose a CMYK colour profile. Choose CMYK (Canva: download file types).
• On Canva Free, there is no CMYK option, so your PDF will be RGB. We accept RGB files. The automatic check shows a warning that colours may shift slightly when we convert them to CMYK, and you can accept it and carry on. For the closest match, choose slightly softer shades than neon-bright ones, and check them on the proof.

Our guide to CMYK and RGB explains why colours change and what to do about it.

Flattening the PDF

Canva can flatten a PDF, which merges the layers of your design into one. To turn it on, go to Share, then Download, choose PDF with the print setting, open Advanced settings and turn on Flatten PDF (Canva: download flattened PDFs).

Canva says flattening helps every element and font display as designed. It also turns the file into a static image that cannot be edited later, and it can make the file larger. You do not need it as a matter of course. Try it if the proof shows a font, a shadow or a transparent effect looking wrong.

Folded leaflets, booklets and stickers in Canva

Folded leaflets. Make a two-page design at 303 x 216mm (A4 laid landscape, plus bleed): page 1 is the outside, page 2 the inside. Our folded leaflet templates mark where each fold falls, name every panel and give its width; a roll fold has a narrower 97mm tuck-in flap, so the panels are not equal thirds. Keep text 5mm clear of each fold.

Booklets. Make one Canva page for each booklet page, at the page size with bleed (154 x 216mm for A5, 216 x 303mm for A4), in reading order: page 1 is the front cover and the last page is the back cover. The total must be 8, 12, 16, 20 or 24 pages. Download all pages as one PDF, as single pages, not side-by-side spreads. Our booklet templates label every page and mark the stapled spine edge, and our guide to booklet page counts explains how to fill spare pages.

Circle stickers. Make a 60 x 60mm design. The cut is a 50mm circle in the middle. Run the background to the edge of the square, and keep text and detail at least 3mm inside the circle. Our sticker templates show the cut line. For sticker sheets, supply one sticker: we lay them out on the sheet.

Signs and banners. Correx, foamex and aluminium signs come without holes, so leave room around anywhere you plan to fix them; our correx board templates show the 10mm safe area. On a roller banner, fill the bottom 160mm with background only, because the base can cover it; the roller banner templates mark that strip.

Before you upload: a quick checklist

• The Canva page size matches the table, and Show print bleed is off.
• Backgrounds reach the edge of the page.
• Text is inside the safe area, and clear of folds.
• Any template has been deleted from the page.
• You downloaded PDF Print (300dpi), not PDF Standard (96dpi), with Crop marks and bleed unticked.
• Names, phone numbers, dates and web addresses are right. No check can do this for you: see what our file check covers.

Questions

Can I print straight from Canva? Yes. Create the design at the full size with bleed as a custom size in millimetres, such as 91 x 61mm for a business card, then download it as a PDF Print file with Crop marks and bleed unticked and upload it in your basket. Our automatic check runs straight away and shows you a proof before you pay.

What size should my Canva business card be? Enter 91 x 61mm as a custom size, with Show print bleed turned off. That is the 85 x 55mm card plus 3mm of bleed on every edge. Run the background to the edge of the page, and keep text and logos at least 8mm in from the page edge, which is 5mm inside the trim.

What size should my Canva poster be? Enter the size with 3mm bleed: A3 is 303 x 426mm, A2 is 426 x 600mm, A1 is 600 x 847mm and A0 is 847 x 1195mm. Keep text at least 13mm in from the page edge, which is 10mm inside the trim. Images at 150dpi at full size look sharp at viewing distance; use 300dpi for fine detail.

Should I tick Crop marks and bleed? Not if you entered the full size with bleed as the custom size, which is the method we recommend: the bleed is already part of the page, so leave it unticked. Ticking it is part of Canva's other method, finished size with Show print bleed. Whichever you use, the automatic check tells you on upload if the size or bleed is wrong.

Why do stickers, signs and banners need the full size entered? They need 5mm of bleed, and Canva's own bleed is fixed at 0.125in, about 3.2mm, which is not enough. Enter the custom size with bleed from the table, such as 604 x 851mm for an A1 correx board or 60 x 60mm for a 50mm sticker, and leave Show print bleed turned off.

I'm on Canva Free with no CMYK option. Is RGB acceptable? Yes. We accept RGB PDFs. The automatic check shows a warning that colours may shift slightly when converted to CMYK, and you can accept it and carry on. Very bright, neon-like colours change most, so choose slightly softer shades if exact colour matters. Canva's paid plans let you choose CMYK in the PDF Print settings.

Should I flatten my Canva PDF? Only if you need to. Flattening merges your design into one layer, which Canva says helps fonts and effects display as designed, but the file can get larger and can no longer be edited. If your proof looks right without it, leave it off. If a font, shadow or transparent effect looks wrong, download again with Flatten PDF on.

Can I use your template in Canva? Yes. Set your design to the custom size with bleed, upload our SVG template, stretch it so its red edge sits on the edge of the page, lower its transparency or lock it, and design to the guides. Delete the template from the page before you download, or the guide lines will print.

What if Canva will not accept my banner size? Canva has size limits for custom designs, and its size boxes turn red when a size is outside them. This can happen with roller banners and PVC banners. If Canva will not accept the size with bleed from our table, contact us before you order and we will help you find a way to supply the file.

Can I upload a PNG or JPG from Canva instead of a PDF? We accept JPG and PNG for simple designs, but a PDF Print file is better: it keeps text sharp and holds every page in one file. Double-sided items and booklets should always be one PDF, so every page arrives in the right order. Make any image the full size with bleed.