Regular vs. Commercial Printing: 9 Key Differences You Should Know

To prepare a file for commercial printing, you need to adhere to specific standards. These standards differ substantially from at-home or in-office printing in many key ways..  

1. Color Mode: CMYK vs. RGB

Using the right color mode for your file is critical for ensuring color accuracy.

• Regular Printing: Home and office printing is often done with RGB (Red, Green, Blue) images. However, RGB is only optimized for digital screens, and leads to inaccurate colors once printed.
• Commercial Printing: Printing presses require CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) to ensure the most accurate color reproduction possible. If your file is in RGB, it should be converted to CMYK before submission.

2. Resolution & DPI Requirements

Dots Per Inch (DPI) controls the resolution of your printed image. The lower the number, the more likely the final print will be blurry or pixelated.

• Regular Printing: The typical range is 72-150 DPI. This is often okay for printing standard documents at home or in the office on a laser or inkjet printer, but can often appear pixelated.
• Commercial Printing: Professional printers require a minimum of 300 DPI. This helps guarantee crisp, high-resolution prints with clear text and images.

3. File Formats & Compatibility

A file’s format impacts the maximum quality of the final print.

• Regular Printing: Uses a variety of common file types like JPEG, PNG, and Word documents.
• Commercial Printing: Prefers print-ready PDFs, AI, EPS, or InDesign files. These types of files contain more detailed data, making them better suited for high-quality professional printing

4. Bleeds, Margins & Trim Areas

Bleeds and margins are elements of print design, while trim refers to the final size of a print.

• Regular Printing: Most home printers do not allow for bleeds and cannot accommodate designs meant to extend to the edge of the page. Margins are often limited to standard widths, and trimming must be done manually.
• Commercial Printing: Uses a standard  0.125” bleed to ensure complete print coverage after trimming. Margins and final trim sizes can be adjusted freely according to design needs and the tolerances of your print providers finishing equipment.

5. Fonts & Text Handling

Font data needs to be embedded in your commercial print files to ensure accuracy.

• Regular Printing: Typically sent from the same device or system you designed your print on, making font embedding less important.
• Commercial Printing: Requires fonts to be embedded or outlined to avoid text reflow or substitution issues.

6. Paper Stock & Print Finishing Options

Unique papers and finishes can elevate a print’s visual and emotional impact.

• Regular Printing: Limited to basic office paper sizes with limited finishing options.
• Commercial Printing: Uses a wide range of materials (including recycled options), textures (silk, gloss, uncoated, etc.), and premium finishes (UV, embossing, foil stamping). This allows for exceptional customization and more professional results.

7. Cost & Efficiency Considerations

Many factors impact print costs, including materials, ink, print size, total copies, and more.

• Regular Printing: Typically more cost-effective for small, personal projects. It can become prohibitively expensive and time-consuming for high-volume printing, though.
• Commercial Printing: Typically becomes increasingly cost-effective as total copies increase. This is because bulk printing with offset lithography reduces material and time costs per unit, making it a more affordable and efficient solution for large-scale projects.

8. Proofing & Quality Control

The proofing process is essential to ensuring an error-free final product.

• Regular Printing: Typically limited to basic on-screen proofing or test prints. Home and office settings lack access to sophisticated quality-control equipment.
• Commercial Printing: Checks are done on both digital and hard-copy proofs using a variety of tools to ensure accuracy and quality before beginning production.

9. Printing Speed & Volume

Speed is critical for cost-effective, efficient printing.

• Regular Printing: Slower processing and restricted ink and paper capacity only work for low-quantity print runs.
• Commercial Printing: Designed for high-speed, high-volume output without sacrificing quality.

Are you curious how professional printing might improve your results? Get in touch with our team today to learn more about how we can help you with your unique print needs!