Art Guidelines
Art Guidelines
There are many things to consider when prepping an art file for printing. We've put together this handy guide to help ensure your designs are print ready!
The Basics
Before we can print your product, your supplied art needs to meet a few requirements. We’ve laid these out for you below, but if you feel unsure of how to complete any of these steps our in-house design team can assist you or take over the process every step of the way.
Bleed
Safe Area
For all art elements that are
printed out to the edge of the label,
we will need a minimum of 1/16” (.0625”) extra art, or “bleed”, all the way around your design (for a total of 1/8”). This helps us to keep all of the colors and designs you want all the way to the edge of your label.
The safe area can be thought of
in the opposite direction of bleed.
When art elements do not extend to the edge of your design, they need to be kept within a safe margin of the die line. This is due to slight shifting of the press while in operation. Keeping everything 1/16” (.0625”) away from every edge will ensure that all of your art stays on your label.
Font Details
Looking to print out type on your label? There are a few things to consider to ensure your lettering is print ready.
Type/Fonts
For all positive type elements, we require a minimum of 3 pt. Any smaller than this and we risk the letters falling off of the plate. For all negative (or “reverse”) type elements, a minimum of 5 pt. Any smaller than this and we risk filling in the letters while printing.
Be careful when using serif fonts as their line weights tend to be smaller than their point size, leading to the issues explained above.
Larger and bolder will ensure a perfect print on press. All type (fonts) need to be outlined or provided along with your art in order to be used.
Line Weight
Similar to type, lines need to be large enough to print cleanly on press. For positive lines, .25 pt. (or .003”) and for negative (reverse) lines, .5 pt. (or .007”).
Technical Details
The format and file type your designs are saved in are very important to ensuring your design is able to be quickly processed for printing.
Formatting
The ideal format to send your art in is vector. Vector art (produced in programs like Adobe Illustrator) ensures cleanly reproduced images on press. We use the Pantone Matching System for all spot colors. Supplied art should also be in CMYK color space as this is what we use to print process.
File Types
Acceptable file types are .AI, .PDF, .EPS, and/or .SVG.