How to Print from Canva: Tips for Small Businesses

Most of us didn't realize that, by going into business for ourselves, we all of a sudden needed to become a full marketing team on top of doing all of our other business tasks. Enter: Canva.

Learning how to print from Canva for all of my marketing needs as a business owner saves me so much time while still keeping my business materials looking branded and professional.

Designing marketing materials can feel like a daunting task, but Canva makes it simple. Whether you’re creating business cards, flyers, or social media posts, Canva is the go-to design platform for small businesses.

To put it simply, as a small business...Canva is your best friend when it comes to creating beautiful graphics easily.

Canva is an online platform that offers a wide range of design tools that can help you with a range of marketing materials. From business cards to promotional materials, Canva makes it easy for small business owners to design for various purposes.

Even the free version of Canva provides access to high-quality templates and design features. However, in my opinion, the Canva Pro account is worth the investment. A pro account gives you way more options, like custom color palettes to keep your branding consistent, the ability to resize easily, and tons of printing options for all of your printed marketing needs.

Canva makes it easy to not only create your marketing materials, but also to keep a consistent look and feel across your designs. Some of the things I've created using Canva include:

These are SO easy to create using their pre-made templates. While they may seem old-fashioned, business cards are so handy for when you meet people out and about or at networking events. Here are a couple of pointers to make sure your business cards look amazing:

Flyers and brochures are great for anything from upcoming events to pricing menus. Canva has some great tri-fold templates that you can print directly from them and have professional materials to display in your business. (Instructions on that below!)

Ah, social media...a small business owner's best friend and worst enemy. But Canva makes is SO easy to create things like announcement posts, reels, website graphics, and more.

With the brand kit feature in a paid account, it's also easy to make sure all your Canva designs are on brand and consistent across all of your marketing.

When I was in the salon, I LOVED sending postcards as an acknowledgment at the holidays. And, I came up with a trick to make the beautiful designs Canva offers feel more personalized!

Canva makes it super convenient to get all of your marketing materials by offering in-platform printing options. Once you finish your design, ordering prints is only a few steps away. Here’s the process to get the best results:

Ensure your design is in the appropriate size, and all important elements are within the safe area. You will see a dashed line around the edge of your design and a red blur around the edges warning about where the design could be cut off in the printing process.

Canva includes crop marks and bleed margins to ensure your design's edge prints correctly. The bleed size ensures nothing is cut off during printing.

Under the Share menu, choose Print with Canva and it will display the available formats and sizes.

Canva generates a print-ready file with crop marks, which is crucial to avoid cutting off any important design elements. I always like to download the PDF so I have proof that my design was within the parameters, just in case!

Choose your desired quantity and finish options, then hit the share button to confirm your order. Your final product will be delivered directly to your door.

If you prefer to print from your own printer, Canva allows you to download your designs in various file formats. Here's what you need to do to download and print at home:

After completing your design, click the download button and select the right file type.

For the best option, choose the pdf print format. This ensures high resolution and includes bleed and trim edges. (If you need a transparent background, you'll want to choose PNG and select the "transparent background" box instead!)

Make sure you’re using the correct size and color profile. For home printers, the RGB color mode works best. If you're using a professional printer, switch to the CMYK color profile.

Before printing, adjust the print settings on your home printer to ensure the correct size and orientation.

I always recommend choosing to print a single copy of the design before printing multiples, if you need more than one copy.

Once your settings are in place and your test print looks good, print the rest of your designs. Make sure the file size is appropriate for the type of paper you are using to avoid white borders or cropping issues.

Whether you use Canva for social media, print materials, or everything in between, it's a versatile and affordable platform that every small business owner should have at their disposal.

With the print options, getting professional printed materials for your small business is simple and straightforward. With Canva's user-friendly tools, you can create stunning marketing materials that meet professional printing standards.

Now that you understand the process, take the next step and start designing for your business. Whether it’s a simple business card or a full brochure, Canva has the range of tools you need to create, download, and print your designs with confidence.