20 min read

New Document Settings

Set up an A3 or A4 print document at 300 ppi with bleed and margin guides, and a social media version in RGB.

Creating the Print Document

1 Choose File \to New (Ctrl + N). 2 In the New Document window, click the Print tab. You will see presets such as A4 and A3 . 3 On the right, in Preset Details, set the units to Millimetres . 4 Because the poster needs 3 mm bleed, change the size to Width 303 mm \times Height 426 mm (A3 plus 3 mm on every side). 5 Orientation: portrait. 6 Resolution: 300 Pixels/Inch. 7 Color Mode: CMYK Color, 8 bit for a professional printer (or RGB Color if the printer or brief asks for RGB). 8 Background Contents: White. 9 Type a name — science-fair-poster — and click Create .

Guides are non-printing lines that help you line things up. 1 Choose View \to Guides \to New Guide Layout\dots 2 Tick Margin and set Top, Left, Bottom and Right to 3 mm — these guides mark the trim line. 3 Click OK. Then repeat, this time with margins of 15 mm — these mark the safe area for text. 4 Show or hide guides with Ctrl + ; (semicolon). Turn on View \to Snap so objects snap to guides. Photopea: show the rulers (View \to Rulers, or Ctrl + R) and drag guides out from them onto the page.

Creating the Print Document

1 Choose File \to New (Ctrl + N). 2 In the New Document window, click the Print tab. You will see presets such as A4 and A3 . 3 On the right, in Preset Details, set the units to Millimetres . 4 Because the poster needs 3 mm bleed, change the size to Width 303 mm \times Height 426 mm (A3 plus 3 mm on every side). 5 Orientation: portrait. 6 Resolution: 300 Pixels/Inch. 7 Color Mode: CMYK Color, 8 bit for a professional printer (or RGB Color if the printer or brief asks for RGB). 8 Background Contents: White. 9 Type a name — science-fair-poster — and click Create .

Guides for Bleed and Margins

Guides are non-printing lines that help you line things up. 1 Choose View \to Guides \to New Guide Layout\dots 2 Tick Margin and set Top, Left, Bottom and Right to 3 mm — these guides mark the trim line. 3 Click OK. Then repeat, this time with margins of 15 mm — these mark the safe area for text. 4 Show or hide guides with Ctrl + ; (semicolon). Turn on View \to Snap so objects snap to guides. Photopea: show the rulers (View \to Rulers, or Ctrl + R) and drag guides out from them onto the page.