Artwork review is the second step of every order: we check bleed, safe area, resolution, color mode and text before production. A file that meets the eight points in this guide prints as is; if any is missing, we tell you and the order waits. This guide explains each requirement and how to meet it in your design software.
The three lines of the label
- Die line: the outline along which the label is cut. It is the nominal size you quote.
- Bleed: 3 mm outside the die line. Any background, color or image that touches the edge must extend to here.
- Safe area: 2 mm inside the die line. No text, code or critical element should leave this zone.
Bleed and safe area exist because the die has a position tolerance of ±0.5 mm and color registration of ±0.3 mm. Without bleed, any shift leaves a white edge; without a safe area, text set against the edge can be cut. The online designer on the site draws the three lines on the real size.
The eight requirements
- PDF (preferred), AI or high-resolution PNG format.
- 3 mm bleed on each side outside the die line.
- 2 mm safe area inside the die line for text and critical elements.
- CMYK color mode; spot colors identified by their Pantone code.
- Text converted to outlines or embedded fonts.
- Images at 300 dpi at actual size.
- Lines of at least 0.25 pt; text of at least 5 pt (6 pt when reversed).
- Barcodes with a clear quiet zone and a minimum magnification of 80 %.
How to meet them
File format
Export a print PDF (PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4) with bleed included and the die line on a separate layer or spot color named "die" that does not print. If you work in Illustrator, an AI file with outlined text also works. A PNG is accepted only at 300 dpi at actual size with bleed already included; it cannot carry a vector die line.
Color mode
Design in CMYK from the start. Screen RGB colors, especially electric blues, bright greens and oranges, do not exist in four-color process and shift when converted. If a brand color is critical, specify it as a spot color with its Pantone code: in flexography it is printed with that ink and stays identical across runs.
White ink and clear film
On clear and metallized BOPP, white is not the absence of ink: it is an ink printed under the design to provide opacity. Create a spot color named "white" on its own layer and apply it where the design must look opaque; where you do not apply it, the container or the metal shows through.
Text
Convert all text to outlines or embed the fonts in the PDF. Text with a missing font gets substituted and changes size without anyone noticing until the proof. Respect the minimums: 5 pt for positive text and 6 pt for reversed text (white on a background); in reversed text, avoid thin-stroke typefaces because registration closes them up.
Images
300 dpi at actual size. A photograph 1,000 px wide measures 85 mm at 300 dpi; stretching it to double leaves it at 150 dpi and it looks pixelated. Embed images in the file, do not link them.
Lines and strokes
Minimum 0.25 pt. Thinner lines are lost in flexography or come out broken. In reversed areas, 0.5 pt minimum.
Barcodes
Generate the code as a vector from a reliable generator, never as a scanned image. Minimum magnification of 80 % (an EAN-13 at 80 % measures 29.8 × 20.7 mm), black or dark bars on a white or light background, free quiet zone left and right, and no distortion of the proportion when placing it. On curved containers, orient the bars along the axis of curvature (ladder orientation) so the scanner can read them.
What we check on the digital proof
Before production we send you a digital proof with the imposition on the roll and the die line. Check that the unwind direction matches your applicator, that variable text (lot, expiry) has its space reserved and that Pantone colors are named. Production starts with your approval by email or from the portal; after that, any change means new plates in flexography.
If you would rather skip all this, the online designer generates a PDF with correct bleed, die line and TrimBox and barcodes as vectors, ready for production.
