Computer Programs

Adobe Creative Suite CS6 or earlier.

File Information

Save and send files in .AI, .EPS, or .PDF format for best usability.

Converting Fonts to Outlines

Converting text to outlines before sending artwork ensures your design to look how you expect.

Spell Check

It is very important to check for spelling or typing mistakes in artwork. We do our best to proof read and catch mistakes, although it is up to you to check your artwork very carefully.

Flexography

Flexography, or flexo, is a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate. It can be used for printing on most types of substrates, including plastic, metallic films, cellophane, and paper. We use a computer-guided laser to etch the image onto the printing plate. This direct laser engraving process is called digital plate making. The plates are made from a photosensitive plastic material called photopolymer. The plate is attached by using double-sided sticky tape and wrapped around a rotating cylinder for printing.

RGB Vs. CMYK

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. Most color printers print in CMYK, or four color process. However, all computer monitors display color as Red, Green, and Blue. Also known as RGB. When creating artwork in RGB, it will look different when printed on a CMYK printer. It is preferred to setup artwork in CMYK or specific Pantone® colors. Request a high definition press proof if color is important to you. Click HERE to view each color mode.

Image Area & Bleed

Maintain 1/16" margin in from dieline. This ensures that your artwork and text will not be cut off when printing and die-cutting. If you want a color to print all the way to the edge of the label, there will need to have bleed in place. Bleed allows the printer to saturate a label with an ink color from edge to edge without any exposure of unprinted areas surrounding the printing impression. Click HERE to view margin and bleed set up correctly.

Trapping

Trapping is accomplished by intentionally overlapping colors so that minor problems with alignment are not noticed. Poor color registration occurs when the printing plates used to print each color are not aligned perfectly. This causes unintentional white slivers to appear between adjoining colors. We have the ability to trap your artwork in-house to properly setup your printing plate.

Step & Distort

We use stepping as a process to have multiple images to wrap Across and Around a cylinder on each plate. We then distort the images after trapping and stepping. When mounted on cylinders, the soft part of the plate stretches or distorts, and prints the image longer in the printing direction. The distortion difference varies with cylinder diameter and plate thickness. We distort the images by percentage in the web direction to ensure it will print true to scale.