To export a book from Affinity for print, confirm the receiving printer’s page, bleed, color and PDF requirements first, run Preflight on the book, then export the chapters as separate pages or spreads according to that specification. The most important book-specific choice is easy to miss: in a facing-page document, an “All Chapters” export can produce one PDF page for each two-page spread. If the printer wants single pages, Affinity provides an “All Chapters as Pages” option.
1. Get the printer’s file requirements
Before changing export settings, write down what the printer asked for:
- final page size and whether the PDF should contain single pages or reader spreads;
- bleed amount and whether crop marks are requested;
- color profile or PDF/X standard, if specified;
- image and font requirements;
- whether the interior and cover should be separate files.
Do not add crop marks or extra bleed just because an online preset includes them. Use the receiving service’s actual requirements. If no specification is available, ask before exporting the final file. Affinity presets make different assumptions; a “print” label does not guarantee that the file matches every print workflow.
2. Run Preflight on each chapter
If the book is assembled from chapters in Affinity’s Books panel, select the chapters to check, open the panel preferences and choose Preflight. Review warnings and errors rather than treating a green status as proof that the design is correct. Open affected chapters and check the actual item: a missing image, overset text or a font issue may have a straightforward fix, while some warnings may be intentional.
For a single long document, run its Preflight check before export as well. Save the native Affinity file and make sure linked images are available. If another designer may need to reopen the project, use Affinity’s packaging workflow to gather the document and linked resources; the PDF alone does not preserve editable layout structure.
3. Choose pages or spreads deliberately
For a multi-chapter book, open the Books panel preferences and select Export. Check the Area options:
- All Chapters / Selected Chapters: in a facing-page publication, each two-page spread becomes one PDF page.
- All Chapters as Pages / Selected Chapters as Pages: a two-page spread becomes two consecutive PDF pages.
Choose the second option when the print specification requests individual pages in reading order. Choose spreads only when the receiving workflow explicitly asks for them. Do not impose the pages into printer sheets yourself unless the provider requests imposition—that is normally a separate production step.
For a regular single Affinity document rather than a multi-chapter Books project, inspect the Export dialog’s Area setting and select all pages or spreads as required. If the PDF has fewer pages than expected, check that the export range includes the whole document and that no chapter was omitted.
4. Select and review the PDF preset
In the Export dialog, select a starting preset only after you know the printer’s requirements. Affinity provides presets for digital use, print, and professional printing; their defaults differ in resolution, downsampling, color conversion, bleed and marks. Compare the preset with the printer’s profile or job sheet, then adjust only the settings needed.
Pay particular attention to:
- Fonts: check the option to embed fonts when the specification permits and verify any font restrictions.
- Images: confirm they are not being downsampled below the requested output quality. Check effective resolution at their placed size rather than relying only on the original pixel count.
- Color: preserve or convert to the exact profile the printer requests. Do not convert to a guessed CMYK profile or assume the screen preview predicts the final printed color.
- Bleed and marks: include only the specified bleed and marks. A bleed area is not a substitute for a correctly sized page.
- PDF compatibility: use the requested PDF or PDF/X version; do not select a PDF/X preset solely because it sounds more professional.
5. Export, open, and inspect the file
Give the file a clear name and save it separately from the editable Affinity document, for example title-interior-print-review-2026-10-10.pdf. Open that exact PDF in a viewer after export. Confirm:
- the page count and page size match the job plan;
- the order begins and ends correctly, with only intentional blank pages;
- the export did not turn facing pages into unintended wide pages or omit chapters;
- text, accents, symbols, images, and transparent effects render as expected;
- nothing important is clipped at the trim edge or lost near the binding side;
- the cover is separated if the printer asks for an independent cover file.
Check the PDF page by page at normal reading size, then zoom into representative detailed pages. If the book has many chapters, also compare the first and last page of each chapter with the source file. An export that completes without an error can still have the wrong page range or an unwanted spread layout.
Final Affinity export checklist
- Printer requirements confirmed before choosing a preset.
- Preflight warnings reviewed and intentional exceptions recorded.
- Book export set to pages or spreads exactly as required.
- Fonts, image handling, color, bleed, marks and PDF version checked.
- Exported PDF opened and verified for page count, size, order and visual errors.
- Editable source, linked resources and approved PDF saved as separate files.
If the layout is finished but you are unsure whether the resulting PDF is ready for a hardcover, read the accepted file guide or submit the file for a free human file check. YourBookBound’s current $99 service scope is described on the pricing page.
Official Affinity references
Affinity menu options vary by app version and document setup. Always use the print provider’s current specification for the job in front of you.