How do I name my print files?

Naming your print files so they are organised and easy to find is an important part of managing your digital assets. 

We name our files using the following format: 

Artwork Title – Creative Name – Size – Paper – SKU.jpg

We use the SKU tag to uniquely identify each file when they’re being used as part of products for online print sales.

Here are our thoughts to help you manage your digital file collection for print.

Using a system that’s simple and easy to follow will help you create and maintain a system that works for you and is easy to understand for your printer.

Can I use spaces in my filenames?
Yes, there was a time when spaces in filenames could cause problems but modern operating systems don’t suffer from this same issue. Best practice still recommends that you don’t use spaces but this comes with a compromise in readability.

What about special characters?
The only two special characters you should use in filenames is “-” and “_”. All other characters can cause problems when working between different operating systems.

Filename length

We recommend 64 characters, modern operating systems support filenames up to 255 characters.

Using Paper Abbreviations
We use the following abbreviations for our papers, most fine art printers will use a similar system so whether you print with us, or with another printer, it’ll be easy to communicate your preferred paper choice.

Folder Structure

Folder Structure is also an important aspect of managing your files.

  • Digital Assets
    • Artwork Title
      • Artwork Documentation
        • Artwork Title – Description.doc
      • Original Files
        • Artwork Title – Creative Name – Original.tiff
        • Artwork Title – Creative Name – Promo.jpg
        • Artwork Title – Creative Name – Web.jpg
      • Print Files
        • Artwork Title – CreativeName – A4 – CEE.jpg
        • Artwork Title – CreativeName – A3 – CEE.jpg
        • Artwork Title – CreativeName – A2 – CEE.jpg
Updated on April 4, 2022

Need additional help?

We can help with professional print consulting, file setup and editing services. Get in touch with your requirements.

Did this article help?