Common Print File Mistakes That Cause Order Delays

Print order delays are rarely caused by unusual, unpredictable problems — they're overwhelmingly caused by a small, repeating list of avoidable file issues, most of which take only a few minutes to check for before submitting. Here's the full list, and how to catch each one yourself first.

Missing or insufficient bleed

Covered in detail in our guide to what bleed is and why every file needs it, this remains one of the single most common reasons a file gets flagged before production — either delaying the order while it's corrected, or in the worst case, proceeding without it and producing a visibly flawed result. Checking for correct bleed before submission is a quick, worthwhile habit.

Low-resolution images

An image that looks fine at a small size on screen can be well below the resolution needed for a larger printed piece, and this is often only caught once a printer reviews the file — triggering a delay while a higher-resolution replacement is sourced. Checking resolution against your actual final print size before submitting, as covered in our guide to preparing artwork for print, avoids this entirely.

Incorrect colour mode

Submitting a file in RGB rather than CMYK doesn't always cause an outright delay, since conversion can happen automatically, but it does mean the colours you see on screen may not match what's actually printed — see our guide to RGB vs CMYK. For colour-critical work specifically, converting to CMYK yourself before submission avoids an unwanted surprise, even if it doesn't technically block production.

Wrong document size or orientation

A file set up at the wrong physical dimensions, or in the wrong orientation (portrait submitted for a landscape product, for instance), needs correcting before production can proceed, causing a delay while the issue is identified and a corrected file is resubmitted. Double-checking your document setup against the exact specification of the product you're ordering, before you start designing, avoids discovering this mismatch only once you've submitted a finished file.

Unembedded or missing fonts

If fonts aren't embedded or outlined within your submitted file, text can shift, substitute to a different font, or in some cases fail to display correctly once opened on a different system than the one it was designed on — a genuinely common, avoidable cause of a file needing to be flagged and resubmitted. Outlining text (converting it to vector shapes) before export removes this risk entirely.

Missing crop marks or incorrect trim setup

For products needing precise trimming, a file without correctly positioned crop marks, or with crop marks that don't match the actual intended trim size, can cause confusion or delay while the correct dimensions are confirmed. Using a supplied, correctly configured template avoids this issue by ensuring crop marks and trim setup are already accurate from the start.

Overlooked spelling and content errors

Not a technical file issue, but a genuinely common cause of a costly reprint after the fact — a spelling mistake, an outdated phone number, or an incorrect date that slipped through despite several rounds of design revisions. A final, deliberate proofread by someone who hasn't been staring at the design for hours, done specifically as a last step before submission, catches errors that become invisible to someone who's reviewed the same file repeatedly.

Files that don't match the product specification

Submitting a file sized or formatted for a different product than what's actually been ordered — a flat flyer file for a folded leaflet order, for instance — causes an obvious mismatch that needs resolving before production. Double-checking that your file genuinely matches the specific product, size and format of your order, not just a similar or previous project, avoids this straightforward but surprisingly common mistake.

Oversized or corrupted files

A file that's unnecessarily large — often from including excessively high-resolution images beyond what's genuinely needed, or embedding unnecessary extra data — can slow down submission and processing, and in some cases, cause upload or transfer failures that aren't immediately obvious as the actual cause of a delay. Similarly, a file corrupted during export or transfer might open with visible errors or fail to open at all, requiring a fresh export and resubmission. Exporting cleanly from your original design software, checking the file opens correctly yourself before submission, and avoiding unnecessarily bloated file sizes all reduce the chance of this kind of avoidable technical hiccup.

Layered or non-flattened files

Some file formats retain editable layers, which can occasionally cause unexpected rendering issues if a layer is accidentally hidden, positioned incorrectly, or interacts unexpectedly with the print process. Flattening your artwork into its final, single-layer form before export (while keeping your original layered file safely for your own future edits) reduces this risk, ensuring what you see in your final proof genuinely matches what will be printed, without any hidden or misplaced layer causing a surprise.

A simple pre-submission checklist

Confirm bleed is correctly included, resolution supports your final print size, colour mode is CMYK for colour-critical work, document size and orientation match the product specification exactly, fonts are embedded or outlined, and a final proofread has been done by a fresh pair of eyes. Browse our full print range, or visit the Gloss Label homepage for everything else we print.