The Ultimate Guide to Printing Foam Boards, Roll-Up Banners, Flyers, Business Cards & More.
Designing in Canva is quick and easy — but exporting your artwork correctly is the crucial final step before sending it to PrintBuddy for professional printing. Whether you’re creating business cards, flyers, stickers, brochures, or large-format signs, using the right Canva export settings ensures your colours stay accurate, your text stays sharp, and your file prints exactly the way you expect.
This guide will show you how to save your Canva design as a true print-ready PDF with the ideal settings for PrintBuddy’s production workflow.
✅ Step 1: Set Your Document to the Correct Print Size
Before you export anything, make sure your Canva design is created at the exact final size of your printed product.
Common PrintBuddy sizes include:
Business Cards
- 3.5" × 2" plus 0.125" bleed on each side
- Total canvas size: 3.75" × 2.25"
Flyers & Sell Sheets
- 8.5" × 11"
- 5.5" × 8.5"
- 4" × 6"
Postcards
- 4" × 6"
- 5" × 7"
Large Format & Wide-Format
- 18" × 24"
- 24" × 36"
- 33" × 80" roll-up banners
- 36" wide posters
Bleed Requirement
PrintBuddy recommends 0.125" (⅛ inch) bleed on all sides, which adds 0.25" to the width and height of your file.
This ensures your background colours or images extend fully to the trimmed edge with zero white borders.
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✅ Step 2: Export Your File as a Print-Ready PDF
Once your design is sized properly:
1. Click “Share” (top-right corner) in Canva
2. Select “Download”
3. Choose “PDF Print” as the file type
This is Canva’s highest-quality export option and preserves vector shapes, crisp text, and colour accuracy.
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✅ Step 3: Turn On the Required Print Settings
For your file to be accepted for production, make sure these settings are enabled:
✔ Crop Marks & Bleed — TURN ON
This shows the printer where to trim your design and ensures full bleed coverage.
✔ Flatten PDF — TURN ON
Helps avoid transparency issues and ensures special fonts or effects display correctly across all systems.
✔ CMYK Colour Profile (if available)
Some Canva accounts include CMYK export.
Use it whenever possible for the most accurate print colours.
✔ High-Resolution Images (300 DPI)
Make sure any photos or graphics you upload into Canva are 300 DPI or better.
Low-resolution images may appear pixelated when printed.
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✅ Step 4: Upload Your Print-Ready PDF to PrintBuddy.ca
After downloading your PDF:
- Go to PrintBuddy.ca
- Choose your product (business cards, flyers, labels, signs, etc.)
- Upload your PDF in the Product Options section
- Select your quantity, paper type, finishing, and turnaround
- Complete checkout
Our team will review your file for quality, trim accuracy, and bleed before production.
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🧠 Pro Tips for Perfect Print Results
Keep text at least 0.25" inside the safe zone
Avoid placing important text too close to the trim edge.
Use solid blacks for small text
Small text prints best using rich black or 100% black depending on the product.
Avoid RGB-only colours
RGB may look bright on screen but often prints duller.
CMYK is the correct format for commercial printing.
Double-check spelling before exporting
Once printed, it’s permanent!
⭐ Why Using the Correct PDF Settings Matters
Saving your Canva artwork as a proper print-ready PDF ensures:
- Cleaner, sharper text
- Accurate colours
- No unexpected white edges
- Faster production times
- Fewer prepress adjustments
- Higher-quality final prints
When you export correctly, we print quickly — and your finished product looks exactly how you imagined.
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We have a tool for you to check to see whether your design is meet the criteria for print or not, click here