Packaging PDF Preflight Checker
Check a packaging PDF before it goes to the printer. Drop in your file to see bleed, dieline set-up, fonts, image resolution, and text that sits too close to a cut line or across a fold, each one located on a preview of the page. The check runs in your browser, so your artwork stays on your device.
What the Checker Looks For
Trim & bleed
Reads the trim and bleed boxes and measures the bleed on every side (3 mm is the usual minimum).
Dieline
Finds cut, crease and perforation lines in named spot colours such as CutContour and checks that they overprint. Also recognises dielines drawn in plain colours, as in most free templates.
Fonts
Flags fonts that are not embedded, which a printer’s system could swap for a different typeface.
Image resolution
Works out each image’s effective DPI at the size it is placed, and flags anything under 300 DPI.
Safe zone & folds
Measures every text run against the dieline: too close to a cut, across a cut, or bent over a fold.
Text size & line weights
Finds text under 6 pt and lines thinner than 0.25 pt that may not print cleanly.
Colour
Lists spot colours and notes RGB images or colours that the printer will convert to CMYK.
Output intent & layers
Shows whether the file is PDF/X and lists its layers, so you can confirm the dieline is separate.
How to Fix the Most Common Problems
- No bleed: extend background artwork 3 mm past the cut line and export with bleed turned on. Our bleed and safe zone guide explains the numbers.
- No dieline found: put cut lines in a spot colour named CutContour (or what your printer asks for), on its own layer, set to overprint. A DielineKit dieline is already set up this way.
- Fonts not embedded: choose “embed all fonts” in your PDF export settings, or convert text to outlines.
- Low-resolution images: replace them with originals that are at least 300 DPI at the size they print. Scaling a small image up does not add detail.
- Text near cuts or folds: move it at least 3 mm inside the cut line and keep each line of text on a single panel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my PDF uploaded?+
No. The file is opened and checked inside your browser, and nothing is sent to our servers. You can disconnect from the internet after the page loads and the checker still works.
What is preflight?+
Preflight is the check printers run before production to catch problems that would ruin a print run: missing bleed, unembedded fonts, low-resolution images, text that will be trimmed, and dielines that are not set up correctly.
How does it find my dieline?+
Printers expect cut and crease lines in their own spot colours, so the checker first looks for strokes in spot colours with names like CutContour, Dieline, Die, Cut, Crease, Score or Perforation. Templates from other sites often draw the dieline in ordinary RGB or CMYK colours instead. The checker then finds it on a layer named like “Dieline”, or from its shape (the outline is the cut, the lines inside it are folds), and warns you to change it to spot colours before printing.
Why is text near the cut line a problem?+
The die can land a little off target, typically by up to a millimetre. Keeping text and logos at least 3 mm inside the cut makes sure nothing important is trimmed, and keeping text off folds stops it bending around an edge.
My text is outlined. Can it still be checked?+
Outlined text has no font and no live text, so font, text-size and safe-zone checks are skipped. Bleed, dieline, image resolution, colour and line-weight checks still run.
Does a clean report mean my file is ready?+
It means the most common packaging problems were not found. Every printer has its own requirements, such as ink limits, PDF/X version or colour profile, so always ask for their specifications and a proof.
Start from a print-ready dieline
Generate an exact dieline with spot-colour cut and crease lines, preflight your artwork live, and export PDF, SVG and DXF.