Preflight for large-format printing
At large sizes, resolution and dimensions matter more than anything else. Prepta measures effective DPI at final output size, checks the artwork dimensions against the ordered size, generates the bleed your profile requires, and blocks files that cannot carry the finished size.
Customer file not ready for production?
Typical profile
- Colour
- CMYK, RGB
- Minimum resolution
- 120 ppi
- Bleed
- 5 mm
- Cut contour
- Not required
- Transparency
- No rule
What goes wrong
Artwork that cannot carry the size
A 2000 px image placed on a 3 metre banner is 17 dpi at final size, whatever it looked like on screen.
Scale factors hidden in the file
Artwork supplied at 10% with an instruction in the email body rather than in the file.
Missing bleed for hem and eyelets
Finishing needs material beyond the visible area, and the design ends exactly at the edge.
Wrong dimensions entirely
The file is A0 because that was the nearest preset, not because the job is A0.
What Prepta does
Effective DPI measured at final size
Every placed image measured at 1:1 output, not at document scale.
Dimensions checked against the order
Artwork size compared to the ordered size, with the scale factor stated explicitly.
Bleed generated for finishing
Edge extension to the amount your profile requires for hems, eyelets or mounting, once you confirm, and checked again.
Unusable resolution stays blocked
Prepta states the measurement and what an upscale could reach, and requests the original artwork when that is not enough.
Common questions — large format
What DPI do I need for large-format print?
It depends on viewing distance. A banner read from metres away tolerates lower effective DPI than close-viewed work. Your production profile sets the minimum; Prepta measures at final output size.
How does Prepta check banner dimensions?
Artwork size is compared to the ordered size with the scale factor stated explicitly, so a file built at the wrong preset is caught before it reaches the printer.
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