When you receive an order for customized products, Zakeke generates the corresponding print files.
Summary
- Print-ready files
- Order summary
- Getting the print-ready files
- How to create automation with the print-ready files
1. Print-ready files
Overview
- Zakeke generates a separated print file for each print (customizable) area of your product. If you need a single print file for multiple areas, you can get it by activating this special option.
- The print file size is exactly the same size as the print area.
- Zakeke also provides you with the original images/files uploaded by the end-user, if any.
Print-ready files format
By default, Zakeke generates print files in four formats:
- PNG
- SVG
-
DXF
Zakeke generates two types of DXF files:DXF – This version provides connected paths (you can select the entire shape as one object), but the overall precision and curve quality are slightly lower.
-
DXF HQ – This version provides higher precision and smoother curves, but the paths are split into separate segments. For example, if you select a rectangle, you’ll be able to select each side individually rather than the whole shape.
In summary, you can choose between connected paths (DXF) or higher curve accuracy (DXF HQ), depending on your production needs.
Caution
Raster elements are ignored in DXF and DXF HQ outputs. These
formats only include vector data.
If a design contains raster elements (such as photos), they will not appear
in the exported DXF files.
To include them, enable the
AI Vectorizer:
it automatically converts raster elements into vector paths before export
so they become part of the DXF output.
Other than the four formats above, depending on certain settings, Zakeke could also generate the following files:
- BMP
The files in this format are only generated if the special feature for the Engraving is activated. Please read here how to generate engraving-ready files.
- PDF-Layers (OCG)
This is a layered PDF that gets generated if you use a layered PDF as a product template/print area for your customizable products. Please read more here.
Customizing your print-ready files
Formats and quality
By default, Zakeke generates the print-ready files in the four formats listed above (PDF, PNG, SVG and DXF) at 300 DPI. You can change those settings by creating your own Printing Method
Names
You can set your own rules to name the print-ready files and the zip package by following this guide.
2. Order summary
You're provided with an Order Summary along with print-ready files. The summary includes:
- order details
- details and preview of the design
-
details on every single element of the design, including coordinates where the design elements are placed in the print area, hex codes of the used colors, font name for the text, and name of the images used (see image below).
The order summary comes with a predefined template, but you can customize it.
3. Getting the print-ready files
The print-ready files are stored in the Orders section in your back-office. Depending on the eCommerce platform, you may have a direct link to them even inside the back-office of your store as well.
For each order, you see several important pieces of information and a preview of the designs.
As you can see in the image above, details include Product name, SKU, quantity, Design Doc ID, customized sides (in this case Front and Back) and previews of all customizations with all print-ready files available per side.
You have two download options:
-
Download the full zip package containing:
- The print-ready files.
- The original version of the files uploaded by the customer, if any.
- The order summary.
-
Download a single print file in the format you prefer.
With this second option, only the print file of the first side of your product will be downloaded. If you have a product with multiple sides, we suggest downloading the full zip package.
Please note
Normally, orders are generated within a few minutes. However, in exceptional cases, depending on the complexity of your product (dimensions and sides) and the files uploaded by the customer, the generation process may take several minutes.
In rare cases, there might be an issue during file generation. When this happens, the system displays a specific error code. You can find the explanation of these error codes in the Orders Error Guide.
4. How to create automation with the print-ready files
Zakeke offers you WebHooks to allow you to create your preferred workflow with the print-ready files. If you're looking for zero-code solutions, then you can use one of the third-party services that integrates with Zakeke:
- Connect Zakeke to other apps and services via Zapier
- Manage orders via Order Desk
Only for Shopify users: you can activate an option to download the print-ready files directly from your order details page in Shopify.