Branding and exporting to PDF

A rider is a working document, but it's also the first impression a venue gets of your operation. A little visual polish goes a long way. Plot gives you a Branding panel to set colors, add a logo, and control what the exported PDF looks like.

Opening Branding

In the rider editor, find the Branding panel. Everything you set here applies to this rider only — you can have different looks for different artists on the same account.

What you can control

1. 1

   Primary color

   The main accent color used on headings, section numbers, and the cover page. Pick something from your artist identity — the color of an album cover, a logo, a merch design.

2. 2

   Accent color

   A secondary color used for smaller highlights like dividers and callouts. A contrasting or complementary color to the primary works best.

3. 3

   Logo

   Upload a PNG or SVG. It'll appear on the cover page and optionally in the header of each page. A transparent background looks cleaner than a white box.

4. 4

   Cover page

   A toggle. Turn it on to get a full cover page with artist name, rider type, and your logo. Turn it off for a more stripped-down document that starts straight on page one.

5. 5

   Cover subtitle

   Free text under the artist name. Useful for tour names, versions ("Summer 2026 Tour"), or a simple "Technical Rider" label.

6. 6

   Footer text

   Appears at the bottom of every page. Most artists use a short line with the tour manager's contact, a website, or a copyright line.

7. 7

   Header style

   Choose how section titles appear — with or without a colored bar, with or without numbering.

8. 8

   Section numbering

   A toggle. On gives you "1. Schedule, 2. Stage Requirements, 3. Audio FOH" and so on. Off keeps just the titles. Numbering makes long riders easier for venues to reference on the phone.

Exporting to PDF

When everything looks right, hit Export PDF. Plot generates a fresh PDF of the current rider, with all enabled sections, your branding, page breaks, and the footer on every page.

Because the PDF is rebuilt every time you export, it always reflects the very latest version of the rider. There's no stale file sitting in your downloads that doesn't match reality — unless you saved it last week and forgot to re-export.

Getting the PDF right

A few habits that save headaches:

• Check on-screen before printing. Zoom to actual size (100%) to see roughly how it'll look on paper.
• Test with a real venue name. Put a dummy venue in the header or cover if you want, just to see how it sits.
• Print one physical copy. Before a tour, print one rider and look at it on paper. You'll catch things that look fine on-screen but terrible in ink.
• Check page breaks. If a section splits awkwardly, try toggling its width (full vs. half) or shortening a paragraph — that often nudges the break to a better spot.

Live vs. PDF

The PDF is one way to share a rider, but it's not the only way. Plot also gives you a live link that always shows the latest version without anyone having to download a new file. That's covered next.

What's next

See Sharing and sending your rider for how to get the document into a venue's hands.