PDF Creative Specs + Best Practices Guide (Beta)

Your marketing mail is a tangible extension of your brand that consumers welcome into their homes. To elevate your programmatic direct mail marketing programs, we’re enhancing PebblePost’s creative workflows with print-ready PDFs. The result: dynamic personalization, streamlined workflows, and more flexibility for your branding.


Important note: for details on how to include Dynamic Elements in your PDFs, please reference this article.

Getting Started with PDFs

Please see below for template specs and presets:

Best Practices for High-Quality PDFs

PebblePost now supports PDF assets for all creative formats: postcard, 4-panel, and 6-panel. 

  • All image editing should be done in Photoshop, including adding gradients, transparency, etc. before you upload to InDesign.
  • Embed your text
  • Link all images before exporting to a PDF
  • Color model should always be CMYK
  • Remove any crop marks 
  • Max file size is 12MB
  • All elements within the template (for ex: images, text, etc.) should be at a 300 DPI resolution; keep all other template settings the same when exporting. 
  • All PDFs should be exported as flattened
    • Go to File → Adobe PDF Presets → Define…
    • Click New (or duplicate PDF/X-4 if that’s their normal preset).
    • Under Advanced → Transparency Flattener Preset, choose High Resolution.
    • Export as PDF/X-1a:2001 — this forces transparency flattening and eliminates the Multiply issue.
    •  Note: This converts live transparency to raster/vector composites, which are much safer for Indigo and offset workflows.
  • Create one PDF; each panel (for ex: front panel or mailing panel) should be its own page
    • All PDF pages should be exported as the same size and orientation. For example, please export all 4 x 6 postcard pages as landscape
    • The front panel always has to be the first page of the PDF. For postcards, that means mailing panel is page 2. For brochures, that means the spread with front panel and mailing panel will be your first page.
  • All  PDF uploads must be inclusive of the bleed specs

How to Upload PDFs to the PebblePost Platform

  1. Create print-ready PDFs using the creative templates and following the PDF best practices. 

  2. Upload your PDF to the Creative Manager Tool in the platform

  3. If your PDF does not follow the provided specs and best practices, you will see an error message at the top of the screen. See below for common error messages and how to resolve them.
  4. Please update your PDF and re-upload it to the platform. 
  5. Once any issues have been resolved, PebblePost reviews your PDF creative and generates a digital proof within 24-48 hours. 
  6. You will receive an automated email when digital proofs are ready for review in the PebblePost Platform. You can approve the proof directly on the platform to start deploying the following day.

Common PDF Error Messages

If you are receiving an error message not listed below, please reach out to your Operations Manager at PebblePost for support.

Example Error Message

What it could mean

How to resolve

Where to get help 

“403 Forbidden”

“Error handling file change”

 Contents of the PDF are being blocked by security filters Reach out to your Operations Manager
“Error: The PDF document contains unsupported dynamic element: Zip.”

1. Used an incorrect format for the dynamic element placeholder or

2. Didn’t embed the text of the placeholder properly

Check the format of the DE. Validation is case sensitive.


If format looks good, check that all DEs are embedded text.

Reference the PDF Creative Specs & Best Practices Guide for format.


Be sure the DE is embedded text.
“The PDF page size is 18.13 x 9.25 in. This page size is not supported. Please refer to Creative Specs & Guides above.”

1. One or more pages in the PDF are the wrong size. 

2. One or more pages has the wrong orientation.

The dimensions stated in the error message are what our platform is reading. Reference the guide for what the dimensions should be.

All pages must be in landscape even if the artwork orientation is portrait. 

 Reference the PDF Templates.
Times out - PDF never loads

File is too large and took too long to load so the platform timed out.

You may even see a successful status but the PDF won’t load. 

 Decrease the size of the file by removing unnecessary transparent and background elements. File must be 12MB or smaller
“The store address PDF must contain at least one store address dynamic element.” There is a third page in the PDF but no store address placeholders are recognized. Make sure placeholders are present, in the right format, wrapped in brackets, and embed the text Reference the PDF Creative Specs & Best Practices Guide.
“PDF creative needs to contain 3 pages if it has dynamic store address.” We recognize store address placeholders but there is not a third page in the PDF (alt panel). Add a third page to be used as the alternative for the store address panel. Reference the PDF Creative Specs & Best Practices Guide.
“PDF creative file needs to contain 2 pages.” File contains less than or more than 2 pages. (not applicable for store addresses) All brochures are now submitted as 2-page spreads instead of individual panels.  Reference the PDF Templates.
“Embedded images with a resolution below 300 DPI are not allowed” At least one of the embedded images in the PDF is below 300 DPI. Use high-res images. Reference the PDF Creative Specs & Best Practices Guide.