Preflight

Definition

Preflight is the check a print-ready file passes before plates are made: are the images at the required resolution, are the fonts embedded, does the file carry bleed, is the color in the expected space, is there transparency the print process cannot handle. Each requirement is a physical constraint of printing, not a stylistic preference, and a file that fails one of them produces a visibly wrong printed result — blurred images, substituted fonts, white edges where bleed was missing.

Example

A brochure sent to a print shop whose specification requires images at 300 DPI and a 3 mm bleed. The file’s photographs are 150 DPI and the pages are trimmed exactly to content. Preflight reports both, the brochure is fixed before plates are made, and the shop does not discover the problem on paper.

In the PDFLean tools

• run a PDF preflight check — scores a file against resolution, font, bleed, and color requirements

Related reading

• Imposition and N-Up — the step that follows a passing preflight
• PDF/UA (Accessible PDF) — the accessibility-side compliance check
• Merge and Split PDFs — the family hub where imposition and print preparation live