🖨️ PDF Prepress Preflight Checker

Production-grade print-readiness validation for PDF files. Built by a prepress professional with 6 years of packaging expertise.

Drop a PDF → get a 9-point preflight report telling you exactly what's print-ready and what isn't.

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✅ Checks Performed

#	Check	What It Catches
1	Bleed	No bleed or bleed < 3mm beyond trim
2	Color Space	RGB content that will shift during RIP
3	Image Resolution	Images below 300dpi at placed size
4	Font Embedding	Missing fonts → font substitution at RIP
5	Ink Coverage (TAC)	Areas exceeding 300% TAC (drying/set-off risk)
6	Page Consistency	Mixed page sizes in one document
7	Trim Marks	Missing crop marks
8	Overprint	Accidental overprint causing surprises
9	PDF/X Compliance	PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4 output intent

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📊 Sample Output

{
  "filename": "brochure_a4_print.pdf",
  "total_pages": 16,
  "file_size_bytes": 4248832,
  "print_ready": false,
  "summary": {
    "passed": 5,
    "warnings": 2,
    "failed": 2,
    "total_checks": 9
  },
  "checks": [
    {
      "check": "Bleed",
      "severity": "fail",
      "message": "No bleed detected on 4/16 pages",
      "details": "MediaBox equals TrimBox — artwork extends to trim edge only. Add 3mm bleed on all sides.",
      "pages_affected": [3, 7, 12, 15]
    },
    {
      "check": "Image Resolution",
      "severity": "fail",
      "message": "3/12 images below 300dpi",
      "details": "Lowest: 72dpi (img: logo_rgb.png, page 1)",
      "pages_affected": [1, 8]
    },
    {
      "check": "Font Embedding",
      "severity": "pass",
      "message": "All 8 fonts embedded",
      "details": "No font substitution risk at RIP."
    }
  ]
}

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🎯 Preflight Profiles

Profile	TAC Limit	Use Case
sheetfed_offset	300%	Commercial print, packaging, brochures
web_offset	280%	Magazines, catalogs (heatset)
newspaper	240%	Newsprint (coldset)
digital	320%	Digital press, toner-based

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💰 Pricing (Apify Store)

$1.99 per preflight check — pay only when you validate a PDF.

Compare: Enfocus PitStop Pro — €1,400+/year license. pdfRest API — $99+/month.

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🏭 Who This Is For

• Print shops — validate customer files before they hit the RIP
• Graphic designers — self-check before sending to print
• Print buyers — verify supplier files meet spec
• Packaging prepress — catch bleed/overprint issues before plate-making
• Print-on-demand APIs — automated preflight in your upload pipeline

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🚀 Running Locally

pip install -r requirements.txt
python main.py https://example.com/my-file.pdf
python main.py my-local-file.pdf --profile web_offset --json

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🛠 Technical Stack

• pypdf — PDF structure, metadata, page boxes, font inspection
• pdfplumber — Advanced content extraction
• pikepdf — Low-level PDF content stream analysis (TAC, overprint)
• Pillow — Embedded image resolution checking
• Apify SDK — Platform integration + PPE billing

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⚠️ Limitations

• TAC is estimated — full ink coverage analysis requires a RIP (raster image processor). This Actor samples content streams for CMYK values as a heuristic. For production-critical TAC verification, confirm with a dedicated preflight tool (PitStop, Callas pdfToolbox).
• Overprint detection is structural — checks ExtGState OP/OPM flags in the PDF. Content-level overprint set via operators may not be fully detected.
• Spot colors are detected and reported but not validated against a Pantone library.

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👤 Author

Built by KONTENTA Agency — 6 years of prepress and packaging production experience, now available as an API.

"I've rejected enough customer PDFs to know exactly what goes wrong. This Actor automates that conversation."