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Export and print a design

Save a design as a PNG picture or a PDF, or as a print-ready PDF with bleed and crop marks for a print shop, and check it for accessibility first.

All plansUpdated

When a design is ready, export it. A PNG image suits screens: social posts, slides, websites and email. A PDF suits sharing a document of several pages or printing at home or in the office. A print PDF adds bleed and crop marks, which is what a print shop asks for.

Before you start

  • Exporting is on every plan.
  • Hide anything you do not want in the file: hidden layers are left out. See Pages, master pages, guides and layers.
  • Margins, columns, guides and other layout aids never appear in an export, whether they are showing or not.

Export a PNG or a PDF

  1. Click Export in the toolbar, then PNG image or PDF. Or choose File > Download > Image (.png) or PDF document (.pdf).
  2. In the save window, choose where to save the file. The design's name is filled in as the file name.
  3. Click Save.

A line above the page says Saved and where the file went.

Format What you get
PNG image The page you are on, at the design's exact size in pixels, such as 1080 × 1080 for an Instagram post.
PDF Every page of the design, each at the design's size, in one file. A single-page design gives a one-page PDF.

Both include everything you see on the page, including the content of its master page, such as headers and page numbers.

Export a print PDF with bleed and crop marks

Bleed is extra background beyond the edge of the page, so that when the printed sheet is cut there is no white sliver at the edge. Crop marks show the printer where to cut.

  1. Click Export in the toolbar.
  2. In Bleed (px), type how much bleed you need, from 0 to 100 pixels. Ask your print shop: on an A4 or US Letter design, where 96 pixels make an inch, 3 mm of bleed is about 11 pixels.
  3. Click Print PDF (crop marks). Or choose Tools > Print PDF (bleed + crop marks), which uses the same bleed setting.
  4. Save the file. Its name ends in "-print".

The print PDF holds the page you are on, centred on a larger sheet: the page's background runs out into the bleed, anything you placed over the edge of the page carries on into the bleed, and crop marks sit at the four corners.

Check accessibility before you share

Click Export > Check accessibility. A line above the page says Accessibility: no issues found. or tells you how many pictures on the page have no alt text. Select each picture and fill in Alt text in the inspector. See Stock photos, AI images and background removal.

PlexiiDesign prints through a PDF: export the design as a PDF or a print PDF, open the file, and print it from there. See Export to PDF and print.

Common questions

Why is my PNG only one page? A PNG is a single picture, so it holds the page you are on. Go to each page and export it, or export a PDF for all of them.

Something is missing from the export. It may be on a hidden layer. Show the layer in the Page layout panel and export again.

What size is the PNG? The design's own size in pixels, whatever your screen. Change the design's size before you export if you need a different one. See Start a design at the right size.

Where did my file go? To the folder you chose in the save window. The line above the page shows the full location.

How do I share a design that is on a desk? Export it, then send the file. See Design widget.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].