Ensure flawless packaging manufacturing with our technical pre-press standards. Follow our setup rules to guarantee razor-sharp print, accurate color reproduction, and seamless dieline precision across corrugated, folding carton, and rigid substrates.
Use CMYK only; convert all RGB elements to avoid color shifting. Digital screens render in RGB, whereas industrial offset and flexographic presses print Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key Black.
Minimum 300 DPI at actual physical print dimensions (100% scale). Web images (72 DPI) will result in pixelation, blurred barcodes, and soft package branding.
Submit editable vector formats (.AI, .PDF, or .EPS) with embedded fonts or packaged assets. Layered files allow pre-press technicians to adjust spot separations cleanly.
Outline all fonts (Create Outlines: Ctrl+Shift+O / Cmd+Shift+O) so text never defaults to fallback system fonts on our RIP processors.
Extend all background artwork by 3mm for the Bleed Area past the cut line, and keep critical logos, barcodes, and text 3mm inside the Safe Zone to allow mechanical tolerance.
Set barcode bars, nutritional tables, and sub-10pt body text to 100% Black (K: 100%, C:0% M:0% Y:0%) to prevent registration shift blurring and point-of-sale scanner failure.
Never alter or flatten the factory dieline layer. Place special finishes (Spot UV, Foil Stamping, Emboss/Deboss) on separate, clearly labeled spot-color vector layers.
Ensure all raster images are fully embedded, not linked, to prevent missing asset errors during Computer-to-Plate (CTP) laser imaging and flexo plate production.
Special tactile enhancements must be delivered on separate, non-overlapping vector layers above the artwork layer.
Monitors emit luminous RGB light, whereas industrial offset and flexographic packaging presses apply subtractive CMYK inks. Submitting RGB artwork produces drastic desaturation across brand hues.
Screenshots and web graphics compress visual detail into low density. On industrial corrugated or virgin SBS board, low resolutions show jagged edges, blurred barcodes, and faded halftone screens.
If brand typography is left as live text without the required fonts embedded, production systems may substitute missing fonts, altering kerning, line heights, and brand styling.
Packaging die-cutters move at thousands of impressions per hour with high mechanical precision (±0.5mm tolerance). Without 3mm outer bleed, minor shift tolerances expose bare cardboard edges.
Submit your box dimensions (L × W × D) or download a standard template tailored to your specific box style.
Apply your graphics on the designated artwork layer, maintaining the 3mm bleed margin and 3mm inner safe zone boundaries.
Send your packaged .AI or press-ready .PDF file through our secure portal for automated and manual technical verification.
Within 2-4 business hours, our UK technicians send back a digital proof with fold simulations and finish highlights.
Upon your final sign-off, plates are output and your boxes go into print, die-cut, and glue finishing with 6-8 day UK delivery.
