Inkable

File Setup

To minimize errors, and to make Prepress checks and proofing quicker, please take note of our guidelines below. Taking the time to check and correct any issues below before you submit your file/s to us will make the whole process considerably faster.

CUSTOM LABEL ARTWORK CHECKLIST

FILE SETUP

Set all your label artwork’s images, objects, and your file’s colour mode to CMYK for digital printing.
We print labels to any size. Please double check artwork dimensions before sending to save on proofing time.
Do not include printer’s crop marks or registration marks in your PDF export. Add a 3mm bleed to all sides.

ARTWORK

Our Prepress check does not include reviewing text. We do not alter textual content to keep the integrity of the files, especially with sensitive information (contact numbers, names, alphanumeric codes, and so on), to avoid any clerical errors. It is your responsibility to check for spelling and/or grammar mistakes and correct these accordingly.

We strongly recommend that all raster images be at least 350 dpi (original resolution, not resized) to ensure that your artwork prints sharp, without any pixilation.

Outline all fonts. This is important in your free Prepress check and report, because any errors in layout area, color saturation or other preflight concerns will entail touching these art elements. We cannot correct issues with flattened layers.

If there are any fine lines in your label artwork, please note that the minimum line thickness that our machine can go down to is .57pt or 0.2mm. Any thinner and we cannot guarantee strong, even printed lines.

FILE NAMING

While our customer service associates will be on hand to manage your custom label projects, proper file naming is important as an initial measure to make processing faster, and so that we can easily track and annex files related to your print job.

Please use this naming scheme for all your label artwork files :
Your Company Name – Name of Label – Date

FILE FORMATS

Please save your label artwork as layered .PDF files so that our Prepress Team can properly check and report any issues to you. We can certainly work with layered files saved as one of the below formats as well :
PDF (Adobe Portable Document File)
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
AI (Adobe Illustrator Artwork)
PSD (Adobe Photoshop Artwork)

We prefer to use PDF files whenever possible for our Prepress checks. If you submit a file in any other format, we cannot process this and you will need to convert them into one of the above formats.

COLOR SETTINGS

Please set your label artwork’s objects, images, colors within the document, as well as the document’s color settings to CMYK (Cyan – Magenta – Yellow – black color space) for digital printing. Any files submitted in RGB color space will be automatically converted to CMYK, resulting to a slight color shift. We cannot guarantee color integrity from converted files.

* We do not color-correct artwork. Any and all color values on the layout will also be respected and this will remain untouched unless artwork exceeds the recommended TIC (Total Ink Coverage), in which we will need to reduce ink saturation to avoid print issues. In this case, we will report this to you as certainly there will be a color shift resulting to the adjustment made.

PMS (PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM) COLORS : We do not offer Spot Color matching at this time. Our digital printing uses a four-color process build (CMYK); and while we can’t guarantee very close color replication, we can make an approximation by converting color values to close CMYK combinations.

* An important note : Comparing color on screen is not a good benchmark for color accuracy, as our screens are calibrated differently. If you are keen on getting very close color, we offer hard proofs as well, so that you can personally check for color accuracy. This is provided at a minimal fee.

IMAGE QUALITY

One of the most important factors to check when looking at print ready files is the image quality, or resolution of a file. This includes checking the general resolution (file/document setting) as well as individual art elements (objects, images) if they are of high resolution.

We strongly recommend setting all artwork and images to 350 dpi; otherwise we will not guarantee crisp prints without any pixilation. If you have original sources of your files, they also need to be of an equivalent (same) dpi to prevent getting low-resolution results. Please use vector format (not raster) for fonts and objects so that we can perform our Prepress check on all your artwork elements. We will not be responsible for any errors in layout and print quality if you cannot submit font (text) or objects in vector format.

Whenever possible, we also advise using source .TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) files without .JPEG compression.

* With logos and other shapes we recommend using vector files, or JPEGs that are at least 350dpi (must be the original file and not saved as 350dpi). If we find any low-resolution photos, we will inform you and ask you to resupply, as we cannot recreate what isn’t already there.

SAFETY MARGINS, BLEED, AND TRIM

These refer to the considerations for print. On proofs you will notice Blue, Red, and Black boxes–these are our Printer’s Guidelines. The part of your artwork that extends to the Red lines indicates the “Bleed”; this should have all art elements that you would want to print edge-to-edge. Blue would denote the Safety Margins and this encloses the Safety Area; any important details (logo, text) should be in this area so that it is safe once we run the prints through our trimming machine. Black lines/black box would show you your final, finished print, as you would receive it.

To guarantee that your artwork prints edge-to-edge, please add a 1/8 inch to all sides and extend all design elements on the page to the edge of your new bleed border.

* We require files to have the correct Bleed ad Safety settings, otherwise this will double proofing time.

If you do not follow our requirements above, we cannot guarantee and will not be responsible for the outcome of your final printed labels.