Safe Area – Don't lose key text or graphics
No Bleed – Your card PDF must include bleed
Incorrect File Type – PDF must be PDF/X-1a:2003
To check if your file is PDF/X-1a:2003:
1) Open the PDF in Acrobat.
2) Click the PDF icon. This opens the conformance standards. (If you do not see that icon, your file is not PDF/X compliant. Proceed to Resolving PDF/X Compliance Issues below.)
3) Click Verify Conformance. If all goes well, the Status will change from “not yet verified” to “verification succeeded.” If it fails verification, proceed to Resolving PDF/X Compliance Issues below.

Resolving PDF/X Compliance Issues
Ideally, you'd output your print-ready PDF as PDF/X-1a:2003 directly from InDesign.
However, you can also use Acrobat. Steps and screenshots are from Adobe Acrobat Pro. If you are using a different version of the software, some of the instructions and screenshots may be slightly different.
There are two methods you can use to get your file to be PDF/X-1a:2003:
Method 1: Using Acrobat Preflight
1) Open the file in Acrobat.
2) Click Print Production.

3) Click Preflight. A window opens.
4) Click the Standards tab.
5) "Save as PDF/X" should be the default. Click Continue.

6) Be sure "Create PDF/X-1a according to the following PDF/X-1a conversion profile:" is checked.
7) Ensure "Convert to PDF/X-1a (SWOP) is chosen and the printing condition drop-down is set to "US Web Coated (SWOP) v2." Checkbox "Apply corrections."
8) Click "Save as..." Rename the file (perhaps just add an "x" at the end).

9) It'll do its thing. Might take seconds, might take a minute.
10) If all went well, a report will give you a green checkmark and state that no problems were found. You now have a PDF/X-compliant file ready for upload.
Method 2: Using Acrobat Distiller
Acrobat Distiller comes with Acrobat. Using it will also reduce a file’s size (without losing print quality).
1) Open the file in Acrobat.
2) File>Save As. Rename the file (perhaps just add an "x" at the end). Select Postscript as the Format. A series of status bars will roll through until the file's been converted to .ps.
3) Open Acrobat Distiller.
4) Set the "Default Settings" to PDF/X-1x:2003.
5) Drag and drop the .ps file into the window. It will go through a series of Status bar updates.
6) When it's done, it'll output a final PDF (along with a log). You can delete the log and the original .ps file.
7) You now have a PDF/X-compliant file ready for upload.
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