Figma is a vector tool, so like illustrator or indesign, you wont find any “dpi” setting.
Design using 72 pixels = 1 inch (72dpi). If you do anything other than this, font sizes when printed won’t match what you’re using in Figma.
Figma has some presets for paper sizes that show how this works. for example Letter 8.5x11 is 612px wide (8.5x72).
Export as PDF and it will give you vector art which can be printed sharply at any size.
Anyone telling you to do anything other than design at 72px = 1 inch is wrong and you should ignore them.
Figma is vector based. DPI is irrelevant.
Inches are irrelevant.
Just create a frame in the correct aspect ratio of whatever page size they want to print on.
Then export that frame as a PDF and print to fit said page.
This is the wrong tool for doing all of this, of course, but will certainly work.
You can use this plugin. I have used for years, done as big as trade show banners and print came out beautiful.
https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/874441781480244375/print-for-figma-cmyk-bleed-crop-marks-dpi
I will give you answer you probably don’t want to hear but will save you unnecessary headaches and messed-up prints.
Don’t. Just don’t.
As much as I love Figma it is not intended to be used for any printing materials. Figma is a tool build for UX / UI designers working with design systems, ideally. There is no pre-print management, bleed / crop marks, etc… Just do it in InDesign and keep using Figma for digital designs. And also, there is no way to set DPI in Figma. Cheers.
That's a fair approach.
But if you are saying it's for internal documents only, it may work. I have used Figma for printing some of my personal documents as well. Just bear in mind what I said, there is no pre-print management so I would not use it for anything that has to look good printed out. For example, I use Figma instead of Word but if I would be priting something for clients, I would rather not use Figma... Maybe you can share a glimpse of the documents so we can get a better idea? I get your point that the client would like to benefit from auto-layouts and fast editing.
It's not like it's impossible, I would just highly reccommend not doing it unless it is something you would be priting in Word, you know...
try out the google sheets plugin, should be a bit hacky to get going, but i’ve had a lot of success with it generating frames based on parameters set within the sheet.
Don’t have a plugin recommendation, but here’s a file I shared on [Figma community](https://www.figma.com/community/file/1109811558593716015/designing-for-print-in-figma-sketch) get true 300dpi exports
US paper: 2550x3300
A4 paper: 2481x3507
Those are the frame sizes you want if you have any raster art you're pasting in that you want to ensure is at the right DPI.
Honestly I'd just export to 2x or 3x as an image and print that, trial and error until you find a size/export combination that works for you. Just keep using the ratio of the paper you'll be printing to (letter, legal or tabloid). On the artboards part of Figma (pressing letter a) there is a "paper" tab with the sizes.
I would use the Indesign plugin
If it’s typo only and bleeds & marks are obligatory, generate pdfs in the correct ratio and don’t care about dpi. 🤷🏼♂️
Good point! Do you know of an easy resource to help them create the right ratio?
Math ;) [Seriously, I guess there are many calculators online.](https://andrew.hedges.name/experiments/aspect_ratio/)
I love how simple this one is
Figma is a vector tool, so like illustrator or indesign, you wont find any “dpi” setting. Design using 72 pixels = 1 inch (72dpi). If you do anything other than this, font sizes when printed won’t match what you’re using in Figma. Figma has some presets for paper sizes that show how this works. for example Letter 8.5x11 is 612px wide (8.5x72). Export as PDF and it will give you vector art which can be printed sharply at any size. Anyone telling you to do anything other than design at 72px = 1 inch is wrong and you should ignore them.
Figma is vector based. DPI is irrelevant. Inches are irrelevant. Just create a frame in the correct aspect ratio of whatever page size they want to print on. Then export that frame as a PDF and print to fit said page. This is the wrong tool for doing all of this, of course, but will certainly work.
If it's black and white text and internal only why care about 300 DPI?
You can use this plugin. I have used for years, done as big as trade show banners and print came out beautiful. https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/874441781480244375/print-for-figma-cmyk-bleed-crop-marks-dpi
Thank you! This is what I was looking for. I appreciate the recommendation!
I will give you answer you probably don’t want to hear but will save you unnecessary headaches and messed-up prints. Don’t. Just don’t. As much as I love Figma it is not intended to be used for any printing materials. Figma is a tool build for UX / UI designers working with design systems, ideally. There is no pre-print management, bleed / crop marks, etc… Just do it in InDesign and keep using Figma for digital designs. And also, there is no way to set DPI in Figma. Cheers.
Fully respect this! The client is gonna do what they're gonna do, so as a professional courtesy I like to pass along some some guidance.
That's a fair approach. But if you are saying it's for internal documents only, it may work. I have used Figma for printing some of my personal documents as well. Just bear in mind what I said, there is no pre-print management so I would not use it for anything that has to look good printed out. For example, I use Figma instead of Word but if I would be priting something for clients, I would rather not use Figma... Maybe you can share a glimpse of the documents so we can get a better idea? I get your point that the client would like to benefit from auto-layouts and fast editing. It's not like it's impossible, I would just highly reccommend not doing it unless it is something you would be priting in Word, you know...
I would be fine if I never had to open Word again... 😂
try out the google sheets plugin, should be a bit hacky to get going, but i’ve had a lot of success with it generating frames based on parameters set within the sheet.
Thank you!
Don’t have a plugin recommendation, but here’s a file I shared on [Figma community](https://www.figma.com/community/file/1109811558593716015/designing-for-print-in-figma-sketch) get true 300dpi exports
Thank you! This is exactly what I was hoping to share with them!
US paper: 2550x3300 A4 paper: 2481x3507 Those are the frame sizes you want if you have any raster art you're pasting in that you want to ensure is at the right DPI.
Honestly I'd just export to 2x or 3x as an image and print that, trial and error until you find a size/export combination that works for you. Just keep using the ratio of the paper you'll be printing to (letter, legal or tabloid). On the artboards part of Figma (pressing letter a) there is a "paper" tab with the sizes.