Print Double-Sided Cards (Illustrator/InDesign)

I'm pretty sure the printer will ask you for 1 file per card or 1 page per card because to print, their software will handle the imposition automatically. Moreover, there’s a good chance they won’t print on A4 format but much larger....

Illustrator is a false multipage; I think doing multi-planes is about the same, but it's much less practical for registration...

What the provider needs is for the PDF file to contain the page areas (crop marks, bleed, and trim).

Hello,

If you create a visual, no matter what software you use (they are chosen based on what you need to do). The important thing is that your document format is correct and that you include a minimum of 3 mm of bleed (Document format alt+cmd+p). Then you export your PDFs (including the bleed, of course). You can ask your printer if they prefer a PDF with multiple pages or several PDFs; generally, I send one single PDF unless told otherwise.

If you have an offset when you want to do double-sided printing with a desktop printer, that's normal and it doesn't mean anything for printing in a commercial press, as long as your files are correct.

Have a good day.

Exporting is in InDesign, my bad, old habit ;) As @contrariness said, you need to "save as" and under "guides and bleed" check "use document bleed settings" in the "Bleed" section. In the preset settings, you can choose "high quality," and the best thing, especially if you're a beginner, is to communicate with your printer.

We always prepare files for printing with bleed edges. During the cutting process at the printing house, there may be a shift, and we want to avoid a white edge. Imagine drawing a colored square exactly in the same spot on 5 sheets, and then cutting them all at once with a cutter. You will probably have at least one square cropped inside (it won't be visible) or outside. And there you’ll have a white edge. This is why we plan for a bleed, so if the cut is misaligned, we still have material that will prevent that white edge. I'm not sure if I'm being clear, but the concept of bleed edges is important to understand when preparing files for printing, so don't hesitate to research this topic! :)

Do a test by putting your gradient in front of all the other objects and recreate a PDF.
If the gradient is properly displayed, it means you have objects placed on top of it that are hiding it, and it's not the gradient that is the issue...

If that's the case, check the use of transparencies and the overprint mode of the objects.

Thank you for your response.
I will export the cards one by one.

However, I am quite inexperienced and I don't understand what I need to do when you say: "the PDF file must contain the page areas (crop, trim, and bleed)". Is it a process I need to do on the PDF files after exporting, or directly in Illustrator? And what does it exactly mean...?

Thank you very much for the time you take to answer me :)

Hello, thank you very much for your response.

I started creating an Illustrator document for each card, in the card format, with 3mm bleed as per your advice. When exporting, I realized that Illustrator doesn't offer "PDF" during the export... And when I export to other formats (JPEG, BMP...), I don't see a checkbox to include the bleeds... And how can I tell if they are present on the exported file? Do we see white edges around?

I want to clarify that I'm working on Windows and not on Mac.

My questions may seem silly, but I feel a bit lost... Thanks in advance!!

Thank you very much, yes it’s very clear.

I have also converted the colors of my document to CMYK.
But I have another problem with a document, the background consists of a color gradient and when I save it as a PDF, the gradient disappears, and the background is white...

I did the test as you told me, and it didn't change anything...
And the gradient is definitely the issue since I tested it with a solid color and that was present in the PDF...

In the possible causes.. Your gradient is not in the same color space.
For example, you are transitioning from a Pantone color to an RGB color...
You need to start from a hue in one color space to another hue in the same space.

Unfortunately, I checked and the gradient colors (made up of 4 colors) are all CMYK colors...
I'm trying to find information online but I can't find answers to my questions, do you know of any other causes?

I can't see it like this, without looking at the file...
Can you copy the gradient into another document, make a PDF, and zip both files to upload them on www.cjoint.com?
This will allow us to see what's going on...