DIGITAL PRINTING

There are a lot of subtleties in designing for print. Bleeds, safety zones, RGB vs CMYK, image size and resolution, etc. We are going to attempt to cover as many of these things on this page to help you design your artwork.

Before you start designing your label, contact your customer service or sales rep for a listing of stock cutting die shapes and sizes. Labels that do not fit into our very large library of dies will require that a die be created for you.

The Basics – Creating your artwork
We are a Windows-based shop.
Our Preferred file format is Adobe .pdf or Adobe Illustrator (.ai or .eps).
If you are using other software, contact your Customer Service Rep or Sales Rep to determine the best way to supply artwork to us.

Please do not design your label art using InDesign or Photoshop. When artwork is created in InDesign, there can be issues with gradients, drop shadows, images and color. .

Photoshop does not produce a vector image and can be problematic as output is in an RGB color space and we require CMYK.

We cannot accept gif or png files. These are used for web. Any type of file below 300 dpi CANNOT be used.

Artwork Set-up
Your artwork should be at 300 dpi or higher.

Always design in a CMYK space. If the artwork is RGB, we will need to convert it to CMYK which can create a color shift.

Images
You can either embed or link your images. If you link your images, be sure to provide them when you submit your artwork.

Fonts (Type Faces)
Outline your fonts. There are thousands of different fonts and, outlining them will ensure that your typeface will print as expected. Be sure to proofread your artwork before outlining fonts. Once the font is outlined (turned to a vector image, they cannot be modified). Bigger is better. Reversed text should not be less than 6pt. bold. Positive text should be 5pt or larger. For fonts below 6 point, we recommend a san serif font.

Label Area
If you want a bleed, extend the artwork a minimum of .125″
Text should be within 1/16th of an inch (.0625″) in from the dieline.

Bleeds
If you have a full bleed, provide a minimum of .125″ around your artwork.
If you have a background image for your label, the image should be a minimum of 300dpi with not text within the artwork.The background image should just be the image and can be either a vector image (.ai or .eps) or a high(er) resolution file.

Color Specs
Our Digital Printing Process is CMYK. If you have PMS colors within your artwork, please convert them to CMYK before submitting them. Note that PMS can be matched using digital printing if the PMS blend is CMYK only. PMS colors that have been created using CMYK-W cannot be matched.

To submit your files or discuss artwork, please contact your customer service rep or sales rep.