how to print your canva files

Canva has become a popular tool for small businesses wishing to create their own designs. It’s a great tool for making quick and easy graphics for social media, but there are some limitations of the tool that you should know about.

Canva’s design tool is built for printing with Canva’s services, so it can be difficult to get your designs out of Canva in a print-ready format. We don’t use Canva, and can’t provide support for their website, but we’ve put together some information for Canva users to export their files for printing.

These instructions will help you create a design to the right specifications, and make sure it is sent to us in the correct format for printing, saving you time and money.

Set your size first

When you come to start a new file, the size should be set first. This is the size of your finished item, so if you’re wanting a bunch of labels or cards printed, the size you set should be the dimensions of one item, not several on the same page.

In the top right corner of Canva, select Create New Design and from the drop down box, select Custom Size.

Use the custom size tool to create your desired size. See standard sizes here.

If you’re using a template, check the size in mm to make sure it matches what you expect. Templates that are titled “A4” or “Business Card” aren’t guaranteed to be the size you need.

Margins and bleed 

In the File drop down menu (top left of screen), select View Settings. Select/tick both Show margins and Show print bleed.

Bleed allows a buffer when trimming, so you don’t lose information or detail on the edge of your print.

The margin shows you the “safe zone”. If you have information or detail outside this line, you risk it being chopped off by the guillotine. Keep all your important details and text within this box.

Downloading your design

When you are ready to send your file to print, select the Share button in the top right hand corner.

From the drop down menu, select Download.

Within the download settings select PDF Print as your file type, select/tick Crop marks and bleed, and change the Colour Profile to CMYK.

Congrats, your file is now ready to send! Email it to us, or upload it for a quote.