If you’ve been designing labels for your small business, you’ve probably run into the dilemma of which file format to use for printing. Is PNG good enough? Should you use JPEG or TIFF? Or is a Print-Ready PDF necessary?
Here’s the short answer - a Print-Ready PDF will always deliver superior print quality compared to PNG, JPEG, or TIFF. Especially when it comes to text clarity. But it’s not just about choosing the file type; how the content is handled within the file matters as well.
Let's break this down step by step so you can understand why Print-Ready PDFs are the best choice for printing your labels, and how to avoid common mistakes.
You're designing your product labels to make an impression. Whether it's a jar of homemade jam or a custom skin care product, every small detail counts. When you print with suboptimal file formats, some of those details - especially text - can end up looking blurry, pixelated, or just plain smudgy.
Here’s how each file type typically fares with print quality:
Perfect for web use but not for printing. Both store images as raster files, meaning they use pixels to create an image. When printed, raster images can lose sharpness, especially if they’re resized or scaled up. For text within PNG or JPEG files, this becomes an even bigger issue, as letters can look fuzzy or distorted.
Although TIFF files support higher resolution than JPEG and are often preferred over PNG, they're still raster files. While your images may look crisp, text inside a TIFF file can still suffer from the inherent limitations of a pixel-based format.
Now, enter the champion for high-quality printing...
Unlike PNG, JPEG, or TIFF, a Print-Ready PDF is designed specifically for professional printing. Here’s what sets it apart:
A Print-Ready PDF supports vector elements, which is where the magic happens. Instead of being confined to pixels, vector elements are made of mathematical paths, which means they can scale infinitely without losing quality.
Translation for your labels? Vectors = razor-sharp text and graphics, no matter how small or detailed.
When creating a Print-Ready PDF, so long as your text remains in a proper “font” or vectorised format (and not embedded as a PNG, JPEG, or TIFF), your text will print with absolute clarity. Even at small sizes, the letters will remain clean, without the pixelation you’d see in raster formats.
Here’s a quick comparison so you can see the difference:
Text in JPEG or PNG → The letters are saved as part of the image, rendering them as fuzzy, pixelated shapes.
Text in PDF format → Fonts are preserved in sharp detail, ensuring crisp printing.
Print-Ready PDFs can embed colour profiles like CMYK (the preferred format for professional printing), ensuring accurate colour reproduction. PNG, JPEG, and TIFF, on the other hand, may default to RGB colour. This often leads to unexpected or dull colours when moved to print.
Unlike JPEG, which sacrifices detail for a smaller file size, Print-Ready PDFs can compress data efficiently without compromising print quality. This means large design projects - like multi-colour, detailed labels - are still printable at the highest standard.
Before you hit "Save as PDF" and call it a day, there’s one important thing to note - just saving your design as a PDF doesn’t guarantee print perfection. If your text is embedded as an image within the PDF (e.g., as a PNG or JPEG file), you’ll lose all the font clarity and vector benefits we just talked about.
Here are a few tips to ensure you craft the right kind of PDF for your product labels:
Ensure that your text remains as proper fonts during the design phase. Avoid converting your text into raster formats (like PNG or JPEG) before exporting.
Export your PDF at a minimum resolution of 300 DPI (dots per inch). This ensures clear, high-quality printing for both images and text.
Tools like Adobe Illustrator or Canva are ideal for creating Print-Ready PDFs. They enable you to work with vectors and proper font handling from the start. Learn how to save your label design for print using Canva here.
If needed, convert your text to "outlines" within the PDF. This locks in the vector formatting, but make sure you double-check for typos before taking this step!
Ask your printer about their preferred colour profile settings. CMYK ensures that what you see on digital screens matches what will be printed on physical materials.
Your product labels are more than just stickers - they’re an extension of your brand.
Customers notice the details, whether it’s the clarity of your text, the sharpness of your graphics, or the vibrancy of your colours. By using a Print-Ready PDF, you ensure that your labels meet the highest standards of quality every time.
We hope this guide helps you make confident design decisions for your small business. Got questions or need custom advice? Leave us a comment or get in touch with our team of design experts.
Happy printing!
