Print Design Basics

Designing for physical print involves technical requirements that differ from digital screen design. The fundamental principles are resolution (DPI), color spaces, and physical geometry (bleed, trim, and margins).

Resolution and DPI

DPI (Dots Per Inch) or PPI (Pixels Per Inch) measures the pixel density of an image at its physical print size.

A common standard for high-quality, close-viewed print materials (like business cards or brochures) is 300 DPI. This means an image needs 300 pixels of data for every physical inch it occupies on the paper.

DPI is calculated per-image, not per-document. Vector elements like Figma shapes and text are resolution-independent and will always print sharply. Only raster images (like photos) have a DPI.

Figma uses a 72 PPI canvas. 1 inch in Figma equals 72 pixels. The DPI of an image in Figma is determined by the ratio of the original source image size to the size it is displayed at on the canvas. Shrinking a high-resolution image on the Figma canvas packs its pixels into a smaller area, effectively raising its DPI for print.

Color Spaces: RGB vs CMYK

Figma operates strictly in the sRGB color space, which creates colors by emitting light (additive color).

Commercial printers operate using CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), which creates colors using physical ink to absorb light (subtractive color). The CMYK color gamut is smaller than the RGB gamut. Bright, highly saturated RGB colors—such as neon greens or electric blues—cannot be reproduced precisely with standard CMYK inks and will shift to a more muted tone when converted.

Because Figma does not natively support CMYK, you must convert the colors during the PDF export process to ensure accurate print results.

Bleed, Trim, and Safe Margins

Commercial printing presses print on sheets of paper larger than the final product, which are then trimmed down to the final size using a mechanical blade. Because paper can shift slightly during printing and cutting, specific setup is required:

• Trim Line: The physical dimensions where the paper will be cut.
• Bleed: Extra design area extending outside the trim line. If a design has a background color touching the edge, the color must extend into the bleed. This prevents thin white paper borders if the cutting blade shifts. A standard US bleed is 0.125 inches; a standard metric bleed is 3mm.
• Safe Margin: An inward buffer from the trim line where essential elements (like text and logos) should be placed to ensure they aren't accidentally trimmed off.