PDF preparation · Reviewed 23 October 2026

Choose PDF settings for the way your certificates will be delivered.

For email or portal delivery, start by comparing a digital-quality PDF with the recipient system’s requirements. For professional printing, get the printer’s specification first. In either case, export one representative certificate, open the saved file and approve its appearance before exporting the batch.

This is general guidance for the current unified Affinity 3 desktop app. It does not require Kakulu. The proposed native exporter has a narrower target: Affinity 3.3.1.4940 on macOS, with the document requirements described in its setup guide.

Choose the destination before the preset.

A preset is a starting collection of settings. It does not establish that the file fits a portal’s upload limit or a printer’s production process. The options below are recommendations for a comparison, not a guarantee for every certificate design.

The current official preset comparison lists RGB/sRGB for both digital presets, with raster resolutions of 300 DPI for high quality and 72 DPI for small size. The ordinary print preset retains the document’s colour space. These are raster settings; they do not mean every text or vector object becomes an image.

Do not assume a preset labelled for printing adds every printer requirement. For example, the documented PDF/X presets do not automatically include bleed, while the press-ready preset does. Confirm the actual options against the job specification.

Export one representative certificate first.

Use a page with the kind of detail most likely to expose a problem: a long name, an accented character, a fine border, a logo or a signature. If those occur on different pages, check more than one. Fix name fit and missing characters in the document before judging the export.

1. With the generated certificate document active, choose File → Export → Export.
2. Select the PDF preset appropriate to the intended destination.
3. Choose All Pages and enter the one page number you want to check in Pages. This prevents a facing-page spread becoming the test unit.
4. Select Ask for Location and export to a clearly labelled test folder.
5. Open that saved PDF in a PDF reader. Check the contents there, not only in Affinity’s export preview.

The controls above come from Affinity’s current export-dialog documentation. Selecting one page controls that export’s contents; it does not automate the naming of all other certificates.

Check the digital copy against the real destination.

• Read the whole name and ID. Check accents and punctuation at a comfortable viewing size. Compare with the approved recipient source.
• Inspect the artwork. Compare the logo, signature, seal and border with the generated page. A smaller file is only useful if the required detail survives.
• Measure the actual file size. Use the receiving portal’s published maximum or your delivery system’s requirement. There is no single correct certificate file size.
• Keep necessary text usable. If the receiving system or a free naming tool extracts text, check that it can read the saved name and ID. Outlining text or flattening everything can change that workflow.
• Check the recipient’s view. Use a normal PDF reader at page-fit and readable zoom. A successful save is not evidence that the design looks right.

Inspect the original synthetic Zoë Ng certificate PDF↗. It shows a real saved certificate you can open and examine. It is not a side-by-side preset comparison or a print-approval proof.

For a print provider, collect the specification.

Ask for these details before treating the file as ready for production. Affinity’s colour-management guidance recommends consulting the print partner about the appropriate CMYK profile; there is no one profile that this guide can choose for every printer.

1. Finished page dimensions and orientation. Confirm A4, Letter or the provider’s specified size.
2. Accepted PDF standard. Ask whether a particular PDF/X variant or another PDF format is required.
3. Colour and ICC profile. Use the provider’s request rather than converting everything to an arbitrary profile.
4. Bleed and printer marks. Ask what is needed for this job; a certificate with a white border may have different requirements from artwork extending to the trimmed edge.
5. Image detail and fonts. Resolve missing fonts and inspect placed logos or signatures. Font substitution can change the document’s appearance.
6. A proof and acceptance check. Send or inspect a representative proof through the provider’s normal process before ordering a batch.

Run the document’s Preflight checks and resolve relevant warnings. Those checks complement inspection; they do not verify that the certificate belongs to the right recipient or replace a printer’s acceptance.

If you need both digital and print outputs, keep them in clearly labelled folders. Check both versions before delivery so a print copy with marks is not accidentally sent as the recipient’s ordinary download.

Reuse the settings, then finish the named files.

Once an export works for your intended destination, keep a note of the preset and any changes. Affinity lets you save adjusted settings as a reusable preset. Check again when the artwork, font, recipient system or print specification changes.

For the proposed Kakulu exporter, the PDF choice is an installed preset shown by the script. It has no separate controls for image compression, colour profiles or printer marks. Arbitrary custom-preset and professional-print workflows have not been independently verified for the reconstructed release. If you require settings outside its documented workflow, use Affinity’s normal export controls and the configured free splitting route.

When the PDF appearance is right, use the individual-certificate PDF guide to select a finishing route, then use the filename and delivery checklist. If the saved PDF differs from the document, start with export troubleshooting.

Sources and scope

By Kakulu. Official help is undated; sources checked 23 October 2026. Current indexed article text was used where a direct help-page open returned navigation only. The recommendations apply that documentation to certificate delivery; this article adds no native export test, printing test or compatibility claim.

1. Affinity — Compare PDF export presets — checked 23 October 2026. Current preset names, colour, raster resolution and bleed defaults.
2. Affinity — Export dialog — checked 23 October 2026. Preset selection, page ranges, saving files and reusable presets.
3. Affinity — Color management — checked 23 October 2026. Colour profiles and consulting the print provider.
4. Affinity — Preflight — checked 23 October 2026. Output checks, including missing fonts and overflowing frames.
5. Affinity — Managing fonts — checked 23 October 2026. Font availability, substitutions and unsupported characters.