Most businesses get their first print order wrong. Here are the 5 mistakes I see constantly — and they're all easy to fix.

1. Using RGB instead of CMYK

Your screen shows RGB colors. Printers use CMYK. If you don't convert before sending to print, your vibrant blues come out muddy and your reds look dull. Always design in CMYK from the start.

2. No bleed area

If your design goes to the edge of the card/flyer, you need at least 3mm bleed on all sides. Without it, you get uneven white borders when the paper is cut. Looks cheap.

3. Low resolution images

That logo you pulled from your website? It's 72 DPI. Print needs 300 DPI minimum. Anything less and it prints blurry. Always work with vector files (.AI, .EPS, .SVG) for logos.

4. Too many fonts

Two fonts max. One for headings, one for body. Three or more fonts on a business card screams "I designed this in Word." Keep it clean.

5. Ignoring paper stock

A 250gsm matte card hits completely different than a thin glossy one. The paper IS part of your brand. Don't cheap out on stock — people literally feel the difference.

If you're about to order business cards, flyers, or any print materials and want to avoid these pitfalls — we handle design and printing end to end. Check out our services.