Pitfalls of using AI artwork and how we can help.

AI Artwork for Printing: What You Need to Know

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has changed the way people create artwork. Whether you’re designing a logo, creating social media graphics, or producing marketing materials, AI tools can generate impressive designs in seconds. For businesses, this offers exciting opportunities to create ideas quickly and reduce design costs.

However, while AI is excellent at creating images for screens, preparing artwork for professional printing is a very different challenge.

At Riverside Printers, we’re seeing more customers submitting AI-generated artwork. While the creativity is often outstanding, there are some common issues that can affect the final printed result. Understanding these can help you get the best possible outcome for your project.

Why AI is Great for Customers

AI design tools have made professional-looking artwork more accessible than ever before.

Some of the benefits include:

• Creating concepts and ideas quickly.

• Producing marketing graphics without specialist design software.

• Helping small businesses with limited design budgets.

• Experimenting with different styles before committing to a final design.

• Generating illustrations and imagery that would otherwise take hours to create.

For many customers, AI is an excellent starting point for creating brochures, flyers, business cards, banners and other printed materials.

The Difference Between Screen Graphics and Print Artwork

Most AI artwork is designed to look good on a computer monitor or mobile phone.

Professional printing has completely different requirements.

Printers need artwork that has:

• High enough resolution for sharp printing.

• Correct bleed and safe margins.

• CMYK colour rather than RGB.

• Embedded or outlined fonts.

• Vector graphics where appropriate.

• Properly prepared PDF files.

Unfortunately, AI software doesn’t always understand these printing requirements.

Common Problems We See with AI Artwork

Low Resolution Images

Many AI-generated images are created at relatively low resolutions.

An image that looks perfectly sharp on a screen may appear blurry or pixelated when enlarged for printing, especially on posters, banners or exhibition graphics.

Incorrect Colours

AI artwork is usually created using RGB colours, which are designed for digital displays.

Commercial printing uses CMYK inks.

Some bright colours generated by AI simply cannot be reproduced accurately in print, meaning colours may appear duller or different than expected.

Missing Bleed

Professional printing requires extra image area around the edge of the page, known as bleed.

Without bleed, tiny white edges can appear after trimming.

AI-generated files rarely include this automatically.

Text Issues

Although AI is improving rapidly, it still struggles with typography.

Common problems include:

• Misspelled words

• Distorted lettering

• Inconsistent spacing

• Text that isn’t properly editable

• Fonts that aren’t embedded correctly

These issues often need correcting before printing.

Strange Image Details

AI is famous for creating unusual details that aren’t immediately obvious.

You might notice:

• Extra fingers or limbs

• Distorted faces

• Objects that merge together

• Incorrect shadows

• Unrealistic reflections

These can become much more noticeable once printed at full size.

No Editable Artwork

Many AI platforms export flattened images rather than editable design files.

This can make it difficult to:

• Change text

• Adjust colours

• Resize individual elements

• Update contact information

• Prepare artwork for different print sizes

How Riverside Printers Can Help

Our pre-press team checks every file before it goes to print.

If we spot potential problems, we’ll let you know before production begins.

Depending on the artwork, we may recommend:

• Increasing image resolution.

• Converting colours for accurate printing.

• Adding bleed.

• Correcting layout issues.

• Fixing text problems.

• Recreating artwork in a print-ready format.

A small amount of preparation can make a huge difference to the finished product.

The Best of Both Worlds

We believe AI is an incredibly useful creative tool.

Rather than replacing designers or printers, it works best alongside experienced professionals.

Think of AI as your creative assistant—it helps generate ideas, create concepts and speed up the design process. Our job is to ensure those ideas become high-quality printed products that look every bit as good in your hands as they did on your screen.

Ready to Print Your AI Artwork?

If you’ve created artwork using ChatGPT, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Canva AI, Microsoft Designer, or any other AI platform, we’re here to help.

Simply send us your files and our experienced team will check everything is suitable for professional printing. If anything needs adjusting, we’ll explain what needs to be done and help you achieve the best possible result.

AI makes creating artwork easier than ever. Riverside Printers makes sure it prints beautifully.