To resize a Canva Print PDF for a roll-up banner in Affinity on Mac, resize the page and its artwork before exporting a new PDF. Use Document Setup’s Rescale option when the proportions match; otherwise, fit or rearrange the artwork on a correctly sized page.

This guide uses the current Affinity desktop interface and its Layout Studio. Start with your downloaded Canva Print PDF and the banner supplier’s artwork dimensions. Affinity opens a PDF as a new document, saves edits in its own .af format, and exports a separate PDF for delivery. Importing PDF documents

Check whether the artwork and banner have matching proportions

Write down the required page width and height, bleed, any additional bottom area specified in the supplier’s template, and the requested PDF preset and color profile. Establish which dimensions describe the complete artwork page before resizing. Treat all dimensions below as illustrations, not specifications for your particular banner.

Calculate the horizontal and vertical scale factors separately:

  • Horizontal factor = target width ÷ original width.
  • Vertical factor = target height ÷ original height.
  • Matching factors mean the page can be enlarged proportionally.
  • Different factors mean you must choose between unused space, cropping, or rearranging the layout.

For example, an original page measuring 425 × 1000 mm can become 850 × 2000 mm at exactly twice its original size. Both scale factors are 2. Text, circles, and other shapes can retain their proportions.

A 600 × 1000 mm page presents a different problem when the target is 850 × 2000 mm. The width requires approximately 1.417 times enlargement, while the height requires twice enlargement. Stretching independently to both dimensions changes the shapes of the artwork.

Approach Result for the illustrative 600 × 1000 mm artwork Decision required
Fit proportionally inside 850 × 2000 mm Artwork becomes about 850 × 1416.7 mm Distribute or redesign the remaining 583.3 mm of vertical space
Fill proportionally to 850 × 2000 mm Artwork becomes 1200 × 2000 mm Crop 350 mm across the width, or 175 mm per side if centered
Rearrange the design Elements are repositioned within the target page Adjust text, graphics, and spacing individually

These are geometric calculations using synthetic dimensions. They provide a decision before you touch the resizing controls. If important text would fall into the cropped area, choose fitting or rearrangement.

Open the PDF and check what remains editable

For a page-based workflow, work in Layout Studio, then choose File > Open, select the Canva PDF, and open it. In PDF Options, load the required banner page rather than unrelated pages. Affinity documents that multipage PDFs open as separate pages in Layout Studio, whereas Vector and Pixel Studios use artboards. Importing PDF documents

Review these import options before continuing:

  • DPI sets the document resolution; Estimate uses the PDF’s detected resolution.
  • Color space sets the document color space; Estimate detects it from the PDF.
  • Favor editable text over fidelity prioritizes text editing at the expense of accurate reproduction.
  • Group lines of text into text frames can make text easier to work with.
  • Replace missing fonts substitutes unavailable fonts. Leave it unchecked if you intend to resolve those fonts later through Font Manager. Importing PDF documents

Compare the imported page with the original PDF before resizing. Examine the headline, line breaks, graphics, and background edges. Prioritize faithful appearance when you only need enlargement; choose greater text editability when the design needs rearrangement, then inspect the result carefully.

A PDF does not necessarily contain editable text and vectors. Affinity’s import documentation explains that flattened or rasterized content arrives as images. Resizing cannot restore the original Canva objects from that image content. Save an Affinity working copy before making substantial changes. Importing PDF documents

Resize the imported page and its artwork together

Use this route when the source and target dimensions have matching proportions and the imported page looks correct.

  1. Choose Document > Setup > Document Setup.
  2. Select Whole Document for a document containing only the required banner page.
  3. Set Document Units to millimeters, or the units used by the supplier.
  4. Set Show Dimensions of to the page, then enter the required Page width and Page height.
  5. Enable Rescale so object dimensions change with the page dimensions. Check this setting before confirming the resize.
  6. Click OK and inspect the page. Document setup (Desktop only)

For the matching-proportion example, enter 850 mm and 2000 mm. The intended result is a page twice as wide and twice as tall, with its contents enlarged alongside it.

Anchor to page has a different purpose: it keeps object dimensions unchanged while the page size changes. If the page becomes larger but the artwork stays small, check whether this option was used instead of Rescale. Document setup (Desktop only)

If your document contains several pages, use the Pages panel to Control-click the relevant page and choose Spread Properties, then target Selected Pages. Avoid applying the banner dimensions to unrelated pages. Affinity also warns that Document Setup exposes different options for different document structures, including a reduced set for artboards. Document setup (Desktop only)

If you already imported the PDF into an artboard document and cannot see the page controls described here, reopen the original PDF in Layout Studio for this workflow. Do not assume an artboard’s controls are identical to the page-based dialog.

Fit different proportions without stretching the design

When the proportions differ—or opening the PDF changes its appearance—an alternative is to create the final page first and place the original PDF into it. This lets you resize the PDF as one object.

Choose File > New and create a one-page Layout document. Set its document units, page width, page height, resolution, and color settings to the supplier’s requirements. Turn off Facing pages for a single banner. Affinity supports custom page dimensions in the New Document dialog. Creating new documents

Choose File > Place, select the PDF, and place the required page onto the banner page. Affinity’s placement workflow supports selecting document pages and clicking or dragging to place content. For this task, place only the one banner design. Autoflowing images and documents

Select the placed PDF and inspect its context toolbar. Spread chooses the displayed PDF page. Page Box controls which page boundary is displayed, such as artwork with or without bleed. Establish that boundary before sizing so the original page’s surrounding space does not unexpectedly affect the fit. Placing content

Open Window > General > Transform. Enable Link between W and H to preserve the artwork’s proportions, then enter one dimension. For the illustrative fit example, enter W = 850 mm; the corresponding height should be approximately 1416.7 mm. Reposition the object to distribute the remaining space. Transform panel

For a fill approach, enter H = 2000 mm with Link enabled. The illustrative artwork becomes 1200 mm wide, so inspect both sides for content that lies beyond the banner page. If cropping removes necessary text or graphics, use the fit approach or return to editable artwork and rearrange the layout.

Placed PDFs default to Passthrough for exact reproduction when possible; otherwise Affinity selects Interpret. A bitmap preview is displayed while editing, so assess the exported PDF as well. Editing an embedded document converts it to an Affinity document and loses the original data and PDF Passthrough capability. Placing content

Add bleed and check enlarged image detail

Set bleed from Document > Setup > Document Setup > Bleed. Use the supplier’s values for each edge; unlink the values if they differ. Choose View > Show > Bleed to display the guides. Background artwork intended to reach an edge must extend into the bleed area. Setting a bleed distance alone does not supply missing artwork. Setting bleed

Affinity defines the page dimensions in Document Setup as the trim boundary, with bleed extending beyond it. Keep that distinction when interpreting a supplier’s template, especially if it separately specifies additional bottom artwork. Do not add an arbitrary allowance to every edge. Setting bleed

Inspect any raster content at its enlarged size. As an illustrative calculation, an image that supplies 300 pixels per inch at its original size supplies 150 pixels per inch after a twofold enlargement if its pixel count stays unchanged. Increasing an export resolution does not reconstruct detail missing from the source. Compare the available detail with the supplier’s requested resolution at final size.

Export the banner PDF with the correct settings

Choose File > Export > Export. Select the PDF preset requested by the supplier, inspect the preview, choose Ask for Location, and export under a new filename. For a single-page document, use Whole document; for a page-based document containing other pages, use Current Page or an explicit page range. Avoid a selection-based export when you need the full banner page. Export dialog

Set physical size before export

The documented export Width, Height, and aspect-ratio controls apply to raster image formats, not PDF. Set the banner’s physical page dimensions in the document. Raster DPI controls the resolution of effects rasterized during export; it is not a PDF page-size control. Export Settings

Review the PDF options that affect the result:

  • Compatibility: match the requested PDF version or PDF/X standard.
  • Rasterize: Unsupported properties rasterizes unsupported elements. Nothing can omit them; Everything rasterizes the design.
  • Downsample images: check whether its threshold would reduce image detail.
  • Color space / Profile: use the supplier’s requirements.
  • Embed fonts: choose the required font handling, such as All Fonts or Text as Curves. Export Settings

Check Include bleed explicitly. Affinity’s preset comparison shows that PDF (press ready) includes bleed by default, while its listed PDF/X presets do not. Printer’s marks are also separate settings. A preset name alone does not confirm that the file matches the supplier’s specification. Compare PDF export presets

Keep the .af file as your editable master. The current file-format reference flags text rasterization for PDF export, while the detailed PDF settings also describe font embedding and Text as Curves. Those documents do not justify promising that every text object survives a PDF round trip as live text. Supported file formats, Export Settings

Affinity also documents that output exceeding a format’s maximum dimensions can be scaled down, with an Export dialog warning. If that warning appears, resolve the size requirement before delivery rather than accepting an unexpected scale change. Export Settings

Check the exported file against the intended banner

Open the exported PDF and compare it with the working document and supplier’s specification. Check the page count, trim dimensions, bleed, complete text, background coverage, image detail, and any cropping introduced by fitting or filling. When bleed is included, distinguish the larger outer PDF boundary from the intended trimmed page.

Finish with two files: the Affinity master for further changes and the exported PDF for delivery. The resize is complete when the exported page dimensions match the requested artwork size, the design retains its intended proportions, and all required content remains within the supplier’s layout boundaries.

Sources