Printing: a layout for the print shop

How to use it

1. Open an order, the «Prepare for the workshop» stage and the «Printing» card: the «New layout» button (or «Open the layout» if there are layouts already) opens the tool marked «Beta». Click «New layout» in it.
2. Enter a name, for example «Photo zone backdrop», click «Choose a source» and choose a picture in the grid of thumbnails: project images are marked «Look», uploaded images «File», the freshest first. Or click «Upload the original»: JPG, PNG, WebP or TIFF up to 500 MB and 300 megapixels. An original from Yandex Disk or Google Drive can be taken by link in the «Original by link» block. The more pixels, the larger you can print.
3. Enter the order's width and height in millimeters, the bleed and the material. The material is typed as text, for example «Canvas 380 g», and the suggestions include ready ones: «Banner 440 g», «Banner mesh», «Laminated film» and others. Click «Create the layout».
4. On the right, the «Effective resolution» card shows right away whether there are enough pixels: «Enough», «Borderline» or «Too low». The scale marks the tolerance and the target in dpi.
5. In «Print settings», specify the safe zone, the print shop, the «Colour model» (RGB or CMYK) and the «File format» (TIFF or PDF). Click «Save settings».
6. Click «Prepare TIFF» or «Prepare PDF». The file is prepared on the server; a large banner takes up to a couple of minutes. The finished version appears in the «Files for the print shop» card, together with a download button.
7. Order a proof from the print shop and record it in the «Colour proofs» card: the file version, who looked at it («Designer» or «Printer»), what was decided («Colour matches» or «Changes needed») and a comment. Click «Record the proof».
8. When the printer has confirmed the proof of this version, tick «The printer confirmed the profile and the file settings», save the settings and click «Approve for print».

Size, bleed and safe zone

• Width and height from 10 to 20,000 mm. This is the size of the finished product after trimming.
• Bleed is added on each side and cannot be more than a quarter of the layout's short side or more than 200 mm: for a 1000 × 500 mm banner the bleed is at most 125 mm. The print shop will tell you how much is needed; usually it is a few millimeters for paper and film and more for a banner with grommets.
• The bleed is filled in by mirroring the edge of the picture, nothing is generated: a logo and text near the edge do not change.
• The safe zone on the preview shows where not to put important text and the logo: the edge may be cut off or folded.
• If the source's proportions differ from the order size, AURA warns you what percentage of the picture will be cut off: the picture is fitted to the center.

Material and resolution for the print shop

• The material is typed as text, the way the print shop names it: «Banner 440 g», «Canvas 380 g», «Laminated self-adhesive film». The suggestions under the field offer ready materials: «Banner 440 g», «Cast banner 510 g», «Banner mesh», «Laminated film», «Backlit film», «Canvas», «Paper poster», «PVC 3 mm» and «Foam board».
• If you choose a known material, AURA fills in the target and minimum itself: 100 dpi and 72 for a banner, 72 and 50 for banner mesh, 300 and 216 for laminated film, 150 and 100 for backlit film, canvas, PVC and foam board, 150 and 108 for a paper poster. For your own material the figures stay as they were, 100 and 72 for a new layout.
• The target and minimum sit in the folded «Resolution for the print shop» block, and its line shows them right away. Open the block to type the print shop's figures in the «Target, dpi» and «Minimum, dpi» fields: from 10 to 1200, the minimum not above the target.
• The resolution check only warns: if the source lacks pixels, AURA shows «Borderline» or «Too low», but you can still prepare a TIFF or PDF.

Effective resolution

• Effective resolution shows how many dots per inch you get if the source is stretched to the order size together with the bleed. It changes right away as you enter the sizes.
• Get the target and minimum from the print shop and check them in the «Resolution for the print shop» block under the «Material» field. The block's line shows them briefly, for example «Target 100 dpi, minimum 72».
• «Enough»: not below the target. «Borderline»: below the target but within tolerance; the grain will be visible up close, so agree it with the printer. «Too low»: below tolerance, a larger source is needed.
• The card tells you up to what size this source is enough and how many pixels the target needs. «Request the original» copies a ready request text for the designer, and «Upload a larger original» opens the source picker.
• Simply enlarging the pixels does not improve print quality: the dpi goes up, but no detail is added. When preparing the file, AURA only shrinks the picture and never stretches it.

Large files and cloud links

• «Upload the original» takes JPG, PNG, WebP or TIFF up to 500 MB and up to 300 megapixels: enough for a 6 × 3 m banner at 100 dpi. A file over 100 MB is sent in parts, the bar shows the percentage, and a broken part is sent again by itself.
• If the original is in Yandex Disk or Google Drive, share the file with anyone who has the link, paste the link into the «Original by link» field and click «Take by link». Links like https://disk.yandex.ru/i/… and https://drive.google.com/file/d/… work; a link to a folder does not.
• The file at the link is downloaded by the AURA server, not by your browser. While it is downloading and being checked, the layout shows «Downloading the original by link and checking its resolution. A large file takes a few minutes; meanwhile you can set up the layout», and «Prepare TIFF» waits. You can set the size, bleed and material meanwhile.
• The downloaded original is kept in the project files in the «Printing» section, and from then on it works like an uploaded one: the resolution check, the preview, TIFF and PDF.
• A large original uploaded from your computer is also checked on the server: for up to a couple of minutes the layout shows «Checking the large original and preparing the preview. This takes up to a couple of minutes».
• If the file at the link is closed, AURA says «No access by the link: share the file with anyone who has the link and paste it again». If the file is over 500 MB or is not an image, it says so too. Click «Replace the source» and choose the file again.
• A ready TIFF or PDF of any size also downloads in the AURA phone app: «Download TIFF» or «Download PDF» at a file version, «Downloading the file» with the percentage shows under the versions, then the «Share» menu opens, where the file can be saved to «Files» or sent to the print shop. The phone checks that the whole file came and that it really is a TIFF or a PDF.

Colour: RGB, CMYK and the ICC profile

• RGB: the file goes out in sRGB, the print shop converts it to CMYK itself, and the colours may shift. Check the profile with the printer.
• CMYK: AURA converts the colours only with your print shop's ICC profile. Ask the printer for the .icc file, click «Upload an .icc profile» and choose it in the «Print shop's ICC profile» list. Without a profile, a CMYK file is not prepared.
• Tick «The printer confirmed the profile and the file settings» when the printer has personally confirmed the profile, size and format. Without it the layout cannot be approved.

Colour proofs and approval for print

• Until the layout is approved, its status is «Draft for the print shop», and the file names start with these words.
• «Approve for print» is available when the version's file is ready and made with the current settings, the profile is confirmed, and the printer's latest proof for this version has the «Colour matches» decision. AURA lists what is missing above the button.
• After approval, the status is «Approved for print: version N», and the names of this version's files include «approved for print».
• Any change of the size, bleed, resolution, colour model, format, profile or source withdraws the approval: the file must be prepared and checked again. You can withdraw the approval by hand with the «Withdraw the approval» button.
• A designer's proof helps agree on colour, but approval needs a printer's proof.
• If the printer records a proof with the «Changes needed» decision for the approved version, the approval is withdrawn automatically.

Beta: open to everyone

• «Printing» is part of «Production» and since 4 October 2026 is open to every account, no invitation needed. In an order the tool is visible only to the owner and editors. An AURA administrator can close the module again to everyone except invited people on the «Beta access» tab: if you do not see the tool, write to support.
• The «Beta feedback» button in the tool header sends the AURA team short feedback.

Good to know

• A TIFF holds the picture's real resolution: the file's physical size is exactly the order size with bleed, with LZW compression. A PDF is a page the size of the product plus bleed, with the trim and bleed boxes set.
• «Replace the source» changes the picture of a finished layout; the sizes and settings stay.
• Deleting a layout deletes its versions, proofs and prepared TIFF and PDF files. The sources and the profile stay in the project files.
• A project can have up to 50 layouts, and a layout up to 100 file versions and up to 200 proofs.
• If a colleague changed the layout at the same time, «The layout has changed: refresh the page and try again» appears.

Frequently asked questions

• Why is «Prepare TIFF» inactive? Under the button it says what is missing: save the settings, choose a source or upload an ICC profile for CMYK.
• Why can't I approve the layout? You need a printer's proof with the «Colour matches» decision for exactly this file version and the tick for the confirmed profile. If the settings were changed after the file was prepared, prepare a new version.
• Is a visualization image enough for a 6 × 3 m banner? Look at «Effective resolution»: for a banner 72–100 dpi is often enough, and the card tells you how many pixels are needed. If it says «Too low», click «Request the original» and send the text to the designer.
• Can I enlarge the picture in AURA to get enough dpi? No: enlarging the pixels does not add detail, you need a larger source.

Preparing a print on the phone

In the mobile app, the «Printing» section opens from a project, a production order or an estimate. You need beta access and full editor rights. Create a layout, choose a finished visualization or upload the original through the system «Files» menu. TIFF and ICC are kept without downscaling.

Set the size in millimetres, the bleed, the safe zone and the target resolution. The grey margin marks the bleed; the mirrored fill is done by the server. A low DPI warns about quality. For CMYK you need the ICC profile of your print shop.

Save the parameters before preparing a TIFF or PDF. Each preparation creates a separate version. The finished file is passed on through the phone's system menu. The preview is not a colour proof.

For approval you need a finished current version, a confirmed profile and the latest positive proof from the printer for that version. The designer's proof is recorded separately. Changing the print parameters can withdraw the approval.

After a lost reply, first check the list of versions. A repeated export is not started automatically. Deleting a layout deletes its exports and proofs, keeping the originals and the ICC.

Related guides

• The ready visualization: checking, retouching, downloading and showing it to the client
• Structure drawings: arch, circle, backdrop, podium
• 3D parts: a part made to size and an STL for the printer
• Production: orders, calculator, price list and reference projects