The best advice I can offer a customer who has hired an outside graphic designer or agency to design a logo or product label is to request the native files. You should request the native files with editable text and the native files with the text outlined. Make sure they include a folder that has all linked files or has embedded all the linked files.
No matter the technology (digital press, flexographic, offset), any printer you work with can only produce a printed product as good as the provided artwork. Native files such as Adobe Illustrator (.ai, .eps, .pdf) or Adobe Photoshop (.psd) are the highest-quality files for printing.
Here are a few guidelines to give your graphic designer for setting up print files for Enterprise Print Group.
| FILE TYPE | ai, .eps, .pdf, or .psd | The artwork should be a vector file in a .ai or .eps format for the press operator to color match. A .pdf file is acceptable if created from a native vector app. Some Photoshop files are also suitable. Apps that generate vector files are Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Vectr, and Canva, to name a few. Enterprise Print Group uses Adobe Illustrator to set up your artwork for print. |
| FONTS/TEXT | Please outline all text unless EPG will need to edit the text in the artwork; then please send the font files along with the artwork. Once the text is outlined, it is no longer editable. | |
| WHITE INK | White ink should be on a layer by itself. Any print on top of the white ink layer that needs white under it should be set for overprint. | |
| LINKED FILES | Include all linked files along with the artwork or embed all linked files. | |
| ARTBOARD | The artboard size should be .125" larger that the dieline. The will be a .0625" space on all sides. | |
| BLEED | The bleed (if there is a bleed in the artwork) should extend .0625" on each side beyond the die line. | |
| DIE LINE | Unless there is a bleed, the printable artwork should be .0625" within the die line. EPG offers multiple options for cutting and finishing your labels. • Kiss Cut - cuts through labels only (not liner) and provided in rolls, with (die cut) or without (butt cut) spacing between labels. • Through Cut – cuts on the die line through all layers to create single decals and stickers. • Perforations – serrated cut in the liner between labels or sets of labels to allow them to be separated as needed. • Sheeting - cuts through all layers for label kits, larger labels allowing them to be provided in stacks. |
Enterprise Print Group’s professional graphics department can create and design or update the artwork for your labels. Contact our sales department for a quote on EPG’s graphic design services.
