Practical printing guides
Independent, sourced guides to help you prepare a print job in Paris: paper sizes, grammages, offset or digital, page count, spine width, file preparation, three calculators, and regulatory fact sheets (mandatory notices, legal deposit, election material, copyright, recycling, labels, GDPR).
Guides techniques
- Preparing your file for the printer: bleed, CMYK, PDF/XBleed, margins, CMYK or RGB, resolution, fonts and PDF/X: what to check before sending a file to the printer, product by product.
- Paper sizes: A4, A5, B1 and common print formatsExact dimensions of the A, B and C sizes (ISO 216), usual formats for business cards, flyers, posters and roll-up banners, and how to choose the right one.
- Paper grammage: which weight for which print job?Usual grammages by product (80 g, 135 g, 350 g…), the differences between matt coated, gloss coated and offset paper, and how bulk affects thickness.
- Offset or digital printing: which should you choose?Offset or digital: how they work, the quantities at which offset becomes worthwhile, turnaround times, quality, and the cases where each technique is the obvious choice.
- Booklet page count: multiples of 4, sheets and bindingWhy a stapled booklet has a page count that is a multiple of 4, how to calculate the number of sheets, and what changes with perfect binding.
- Calculating the spine width of a book or bookletThe formula for calculating a book's spine width (pages ÷ 2 × paper thickness), published paper thicknesses by grammage, and worked examples.
- Calculateurs d'impression : dos de livre, pagination, résolution (in French)Trois calculateurs gratuits : épaisseur du dos d'un livre, pagination et nombre de feuilles d'une brochure, conversion pixels, dpi et taille d'impression.
Réglementation
- Mandatory notices on printed matter distributed to the publicThe printer's name and address (1881 Act), penalties, flyers, posters, the “Ne pas jeter sur la voie publique” notice: what is and is not mandatory.
- Election posters and campaign materialMaximum poster size, white paper, colours, candidate statements and ballot papers, official notice boards and reimbursement of printing costs: the French Code électoral.
- Legal deposit of printed matterWho deposits, which documents (books, posters, leaflets), how many copies, when and where: printer's and publisher's legal deposit at the BnF, and its exclusions.
- Photocopies and reproductions of protected worksCopyright and reprographics: the role of the CFC, the “Copies-services” contract, the limits of private copying, sheet music and the SEAM, and what a copy shop may copy.
- Recycling of printed matter: paper EPR and sorting informationWho pays the eco-contribution on printed matter, approved producer responsibility organisations, the Triman logo and Info-tri, mineral oils in inks: the French paper EPR scheme explained.
- Environmental labels in the printing industryImprim'Vert, FSC, PEFC, EU Ecolabel: what each label guarantees (workshop, paper or printed product) and how to check that a printer holds it.
- Address files and direct mail: what the GDPR saysDirect mail and the GDPR: the roles of the client and of the printer or mailing house, the processor contract (article 28), legal basis, informing individuals, security.
Text version : Markdown