A great presentation folder design concept can fail in print if the planning, setup, and design are executed poorly. Don’t make that mistake! Read these 5 important folder design preparation tips to make sure your presentation folder designs are set up right and ready to do their magic in print:

Color Presentation Folder Designs – Setup and Preparation Tips

1. Decide on your folders’ printing details

At Digital Room, you can choose to have your 9″ x 12″ folders printed with a glossy or a matte finish, printed just on the outside or also on the inside, and with a card slot on the left pocket, right pocket or neither. Select these options right on the Pocket Folders product page so you can get an instant price quote for your specifications, as well as for the quantity of prints you want to order.

2. Create a paper mock-up of your folders’ layout design

This will help you focus on fully conceptualizing your folder design before you dive straight into the finer details. When unfolded and laid flat, your pocket folder’s canvas dimensions will look like this:

When you choose to have your pocket folders printed only on the outside, that includes the outer side of the pockets inside. If you’re planning to place designs on these areas that must show right side up, you’ll need to reverse your design file to edit the pocket areas properly.

3. Prepare your blank design canvas with the appropriate settings

• Appropriate file resolution and design file dimensions: We recommend that your image and design files have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi for the best printing quality. Image files for the Web or similar usually have a resolution of 75 dpi; when printed, these images tend to be blurry or pixellated. The size dimensions of your design file should correspond to the right resolution as well as to your folder’s final printed size, so 300 dpi (resolution) x 9″ x 12″ (print size) = 2700 x 3300 pixels (your folder’s combined front and back designs’ correct image dimensions).
• CMYK color space: Your presentation folder design’s colors will look different when you switch from RGB mode to CMYK. For you to make sure the color change doesn’t detract from your design’s impact, we highly recommend that you make the necessary adjustments yourself.
• Bleeds and trim lines: The pocket folder layout example we have above is what you’ll get when you download one of our free file setup templates right at the Folders product page. They come with markers for safe zones, bleeds and trim lines so you know the boundary where your important design elements should stay in, as well as how far you should extend elements you want to go past the edge of your folder design.

4. Make sure your photos have the best quality possible

Aside from having the correct resolution, any photos in your folder design should be checked for brightness, contrast, and color balance, subtly corrected from any unwanted elements like background clutter or red-eye, and sharpened if the photos are fuzzy. You’d also want to make sure your photos are significant to the overall design’s impact and can establish a strong personal connection with your color presentation folders’ recipients.

5. Proof your design personally

Though our pre-press team can and will help you when they spot errors in your design, it’s you who knows what you want out of your design best. Please make sure every detail checks out in your design files before you submit them for proofing. Aside from borrowing fresh eyes to give your design a last once-over, printing a sample on your home or office printer can also help give you a better perspective of your final prints’ colors, layout, and design.

We hope this post gave you a better idea on how to prepare your custom printed presentation folders‘ designs. If you have any questions, reactions, or additional input on the topic, go ahead and leave a comment on this post or connect to our 24-hour live operator service at Digital Room.com today!