Summary:
- Canva is a great online graphic design tool that you can use to resize your designs before submitting them for printing.
- Simply sign up for a Canva Pro account, create a custom size template, upload your current file and resize it to fit your custom dimensions. Duplicate and add more photos to your project, if needed, and download your designs as a print-friendly PDF.
- When you’re finished with your design in Canva, submit your files to Little Rock for professional printing. We offer in-house printing services, custom order sizes with no minimums, and free proofs before you submit your full order.
Whether you’re just learning the ropes or a total pro, Canva is one of the best digital tools for graphic design. It’s easy to use and allows anyone to create and edit stunning designs in a few simple steps. You can also use Canva to resize your design to whatever dimensions you need before submitting your finished product to a professional printer like Little Rock!
Read more: Change Your Design Size in Canva
To customize your design to the fullest, you’ll want to sign up for Canva Pro. You’ll have access to many exclusive tools like the magic resize and switch tool, background remover and more. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to easily resize your design in Canva in just minutes.
Creating a Custom Size File
To get started in Canva, create your Canva Pro account by clicking the “Sign up” button in the upper-right corner. Once you’re set up with an account, you’ll create a new design.
For this example, we’re going to transform an art print that we printed in-house (currently 750×750 pixels) into a landscape 6×4-inch photo. To do this, click “Custom size” in the top right. You’ll enter width as 6 and height as 4, select inches as the unit, then click “Create new design”.
Uploading Your Current File
Once you click “create new design”, a new tab will open up with a blank 6×4-inch template. You’ll see that the toolbar on the left is automatically set to “design” and a list of templates are available, if you’re wanting to design something new.
For our purposes, we’re simply going to upload our image by selecting “File” in the top left, then “Import files”. From there, you can either choose your file from your desktop or simply drag and drop it into the upload box. Then you’ll double click your image and it will be added to your blank template on the right.
Resizing Your File
Once your file has been imported, you’ll notice the image is a lot smaller than the 6×4-inch template. To resize it to fit the template, you have two options:
- Drag the corners and sides of the image to fill the white space of the template background. This will allow you to have more control over your cropping. Simply move the image up and down to decide which section of the image you want to focus on.
- Alternatively, right click your image and select “set image as background” and it will automatically crop your image to fit. You won’t be able to move your image around but it will ensure the white template background is covered.
If you’re not happy with the orientation of your image and want to switch to new dimensions, simply:
- Click the “Resize & Magic Switch” button near the top left of the screen.
- Select your new dimensions (in this case you could change to a 4×6-inch portrait) and click “Continue”.
- You’ll get a preview of how your design will look resized, and if you’re happy with the resize you’ll select “Copy & resize” and then “Open 4×6 inch”.
If your image is still attached to the background but you want to have full control over the cropping, simply right click and select “Detach image from background”.
Duplicating and Adding More Files
Once you’re happy with your final resize and crop, you can either choose to save your project and prepare your design for printing or add more designs to be resized.
If you’re adding more designs to your project, click “Duplicate page” above the image to create a copy or “Add page” below the image to create a new blank template with the same dimensions.
Saving Your Design & Submitting to Little Rock
Once all of your designs are resized and cropped how you want them, rename your untitled project at the top right so that it saves to your Canva account.
To ensure high-quality prints, be sure to save and download your designs in a print-friendly format like PDF. There’s even an option in Canva to select “PDF Print” specifically for printing purposes.
Follow these easy steps to prep for printing:
- Go to “Share” in the upper right corner.
- Select “Download” from the dropdown menu.
- Choose “PDF print” under “File type.”
- Include “Crop marks and bleeds.”
- Choose “Flatten PDF.”
- Opt for “CMYK” under “Colour profile.”
- Click the “Download” button to export as a PDF.
Once your PDF has been saved to your desktop, send us your file here before placing your order for printing.
Trust Little Rock For All Your Printing Needs
It’s easy to print without limits when you partner with Little Rock. Design or resize your one-of-a-kind print product, then choose from our customization options like size, shape, paper type and more for the highest quality product possible.
We also offer custom order sizes with no minimums and free proofs before you submit your full order. Contact the Little Rock Printing experts if you have questions about your specific order.
