Overview

Pressify is a browser-based print preparation editor designed specifically for AI-generated graphics, logos, and illustrations. It bridges the gap between digital creation tools (Midjourney, DALL·E, Adobe Firefly, etc.) and professional printing by handling the technical requirements that printers demand: correct DPI, CMYK colour conversion, bleed areas, crop marks, and the right file format.

Everything runs in your browser — your images are never uploaded to any server. Pressify works on any modern browser without installation.

Core Workflow

The typical Pressify session follows four steps:

1. Set up your canvas — choose a print template or enter custom dimensions in the Setup panel on the right.
2. Add your artwork — drag an image onto the canvas or click the image tool in the left toolbar.
3. Add text (optional) — click the T tool to place text layers, then style them using the Object panel.
4. Export — switch to the Export tab, choose your format and options, and click Export Print File.

Uploading Images

Pressify accepts PNG, JPG, WebP, and SVG files. There are three ways to add an image:

• Drag and drop — drag an image file directly onto the canvas area. A blue drop indicator appears when you're in the right zone.
• Upload zone — in the Setup panel (right sidebar), scroll to "Add Image" and click the dashed upload area, or drag a file onto it.
• Toolbar button — click the image icon (third button) in the left toolbar, or press I.

Once added, the image is centred and scaled to fit the canvas. Use the selection handles to reposition or resize it. Hold Shift while resizing to maintain the aspect ratio, or enable "Lock aspect ratio" in the Object panel.

Print Templates & Sizes

The Setup panel contains a Template dropdown with 13 pre-configured sizes:

To use custom dimensions, select "Custom…" from the dropdown and enter width and height values. Use the unit toggle (in / mm / cm / px) to switch measurement systems — Pressify converts automatically.

Bleed & Safe Zone

Professional printing requires a bleed area — a small extension of your artwork beyond the trim edge that accounts for slight cutting inaccuracies. Without bleed, you risk thin white edges appearing on the finished piece.

Bleed (default: 0.125" / 3mm) — the red dashed line on the canvas marks the outer bleed boundary. Extend any background colours or images to this line.

Safe zone (default: 0.125" / 3mm) — the blue dashed line marks the inner safe area. Keep all important content (text, logos, faces) inside this line to avoid it being trimmed off.

Toggle guide visibility using the Guides button in the header toolbar. Guides only appear on screen — they are drawn as crop marks on your exported file, not as coloured lines.

Adding Text

Click the T button in the left toolbar (or press T) to add a text layer to the canvas. A default "Your Text Here" block appears at the centre — double-click it at any time to edit the content inline.

With a text layer selected, the Object tab in the right panel reveals full typographic controls:

• Font Family — search and select from 80+ Google Fonts (see below)
• Size — font size in points. Note: at high DPI exports the rendered size scales proportionally.
• Weight — Thin through Black (availability depends on the chosen font)
• Style — Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, Uppercase toggles
• Alignment — Left, Centre, Right, Justify
• Line Height — vertical spacing between lines (default 1.3)
• Tracking — letter spacing in thousandths of an em (negative tightens, positive loosens)
• Color — colour picker with live CMYK readout and out-of-gamut warning
• Opacity — 0–100%
• Text Shadow — toggle on to reveal colour, blur, and X/Y offset controls

Google Fonts

Pressify includes a searchable library of 80+ curated Google Fonts. To change a text layer's typeface:

1. Select the text layer on the canvas
2. In the Object panel, click the Font Family field
3. Type to search, or scroll through the dropdown — each option is displayed in its own typeface
4. Click a font to apply it instantly

Fonts load on demand — the first time you select a font there may be a brief download pause. Fonts loaded during a session are cached and switch instantly thereafter.

Layers

Every image and text block you add becomes a layer. The Layers panel at the bottom of the left toolbar shows all layers with the topmost layer at the top of the list.

Selecting: Click a layer in the panel to select it, or click directly on the canvas object.

Reordering: Use the ↑ / ↓ arrows at the bottom of the Layers panel, or the equivalent toolbar buttons, to move layers forward and backward in the stack. You can also use the keyboard shortcut buttons in the toolbar.

Deleting: Select a layer and press Delete or Backspace, click the trash icon in the Layers panel, or use the toolbar delete button.

CMYK & Color

Commercial printing uses the CMYK colour model (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) rather than the RGB model used by screens. Some vibrant RGB colours — particularly electric blues, vivid greens, and neon colours — cannot be exactly reproduced in CMYK.

CMYK Preview

Enable CMYK Preview in the Setup panel to see a simulation of how your design will look when converted to CMYK. The preview applies a pixel-level RGB→CMYK→RGB conversion so you can spot any significant colour shifts before exporting.

Colour Picker & Gamut Warning

When editing text colour, the Object panel shows a live CMYK readout (e.g., C:0 M:100 Y:90 K:0) next to the colour picker. If the selected colour will shift noticeably in print, a ⚠ Color shifts in CMYK warning appears — consider adjusting to a colour with lower chroma or a closer CMYK equivalent.

Export Colour Mode

In the Export tab, set the Color Mode to CMYK (recommended for print) or RGB (for digital/screen use). CMYK mode applies a full pixel conversion to the exported file.

Exporting

Open the Export tab in the right panel. Configure your options and click Export Print File.

Format

• PDF — best for sending to commercial printers. Embeds the image at the correct physical dimensions with crop marks. Preferred format for offset and digital press.
• JPG — smaller file size, adjustable quality. Good for online print services that request JPG files.
• PNG — lossless, supports transparency. Use when your artwork has a transparent background or you need pixel-perfect reproduction.

Resolution (DPI)

Set in the Setup panel. The DPI indicator shows a quality assessment:

• ● 300–1200 DPI — print standard, ready for commercial press
• ● 150 DPI — acceptable for home/desktop printing
• ● 72 DPI — screen only, not suitable for print

Print Marks

• Crop marks — thin lines at the corners indicating where to cut. Standard for commercial print.
• Registration marks — crosshair targets used to align colour plates in offset printing.
• Include bleed area — when enabled, the exported file includes the full bleed beyond the trim edge. Always enable this when sending to a printer.
• Color calibration bar — a strip of CMYK colour swatches for press calibration.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Tips & Best Practices

• Start with the highest-res image you have. AI generators often have an "upscale" option — use it before importing.
• Design to the bleed. Extend backgrounds all the way to the red bleed line, not just the canvas edge.
• Keep critical content inside the safe zone. Text, faces, and logos should all sit within the blue dashed line.
• Use 300 DPI for standard commercial printing and 600 DPI for fine detail work like stickers or business cards with small text.
• Enable CMYK Preview early. Neon and ultra-saturated colours are the biggest offenders — identify and adjust them before you're deep into the design.
• PDF is the safest export format for sending to a printer. If your printer requests JPG, use 90%+ quality.
• Check your print vendor's specs. Some printers have specific bleed requirements (3mm vs 1/8"), preferred colour profiles, or file size limits.
• Use undo liberally. Pressify stores 40 history states — experiment freely.
• Fit to screen (click the zoom percentage or press the Fit button) whenever you need to see the full canvas after zooming in.

Troubleshooting

My image looks blurry on the canvas

The canvas display is scaled to fit your screen — this doesn't affect export quality. The exported file is rendered at the full target DPI regardless of how the preview looks. If the exported file is also blurry, the source image may not have enough resolution for the chosen DPI and size combination.

The font I selected isn't showing

Google Fonts load on demand. If you're on a slow connection, allow a moment for the font to download. If it still doesn't appear, try selecting the font again from the dropdown — the font file may have timed out on first load.

My exported colours look different from the screen

This is expected when exporting in CMYK mode — screens display RGB and some colours simply cannot be reproduced in print inks. Enable CMYK Preview in the Setup panel before designing to preview the conversion. Adjust saturated colours toward more printable values.

The PDF opened in my printer's software at the wrong size

When printing a PDF, ensure your PDF viewer is set to print at 100% / Actual size, not "Fit to page" or "Scale to fit". Scaling in the PDF viewer will change the physical print size.

My text disappeared after export

All visible canvas objects are included in the export. Check that the text layer is not hidden (visible in the Layers panel) and that its opacity is greater than 0. Also verify the text colour is not the same as the background.

The app is slow on large files

Very large images (over 20MB) can slow down the canvas renderer. Try resizing your image to a more manageable size before importing, then use Pressify's DPI setting to control the output resolution on export.

I need help with something not covered here

Contact us at support@pressifyapp.com for assistance, to make feature requests, and we'll be happy to help.