Artwork for a specific piece
Label Artwork
One SKU laid out to the die, with the finish separated and the varnish-free zones marked.
What you get
- Artwork laid to the supplied or drawn die line
- Finish and varnish separations
- Bleed and safety to the die, not the trim
- Print-ready PDF plus working file
- Spec sheet
How it runs
Step 1
Send what you have
Your mark, your copy, and the piece it is going on.
Step 2
Layout
We lay it to the trim, the die and the finish, and flag anything that will not hold.
Step 3
Engineer
Separations, bleed, safety and tolerances set to our press floors.
Step 4
Hand over
Print-ready files and a spec sheet naming every tolerance.
What changes the price
These are the variables that move the number. There is no calculator — we read the file and quote it.
- Whether a die line exists or has to be drawn
- How many finishes on the label
- Whether the substrate is paper, film or metallic
- How many SKUs share the layout
- Whether legal or nutrition copy has to be set
The press standards that apply
Hairlines under 0.5 pt
A foil line finer than 0.5 pt either fills in or flakes off the sheet. We redraw thin strokes up to the floor rather than let them disappear.
Counters under 1.5 mm
The hole in an 'a' or an 'e' closes under pressure. Below 1.5 mm at final size it prints as a solid blob, so we open the counter or change the size.
Colours that touch
Two inks butted edge to edge show white at the join when registration moves. We pull them apart by 0.3 mm or trap them deliberately.
Gradients on foil or metal
Foil is one flat tone — it cannot fade. A gradient is redrawn as flat facets, or the foil is dropped and the fade printed in ink.
Islands in a laser cut
Any cut that fully encircles an area drops the middle out. We bridge it at 0.6 mm so the counter stays attached, or we do not cut it.
Inverted mono versions
A mark reversed out of a solid is not the same drawing — strokes gain weight and counters close. The mono version is drawn, not inverted.
More on the processes themselves: foil and metallics, emboss and letterpress and die-cut shapes.
Questions
What bleed does a die-cut label need?
3 mm beyond the die line on every edge, with content held 3 mm inside it. On a curved die we hold 4 mm, because the cut wanders more on a radius than on a straight edge.
Can you put foil on a label?
Yes, on paper and on film. Foil on a metallic substrate in the same tone reads as nothing — the sheet already shines — so we either change the foil tone or drop it.
Also in this family
Business Card Artwork
We lay out and engineer a business card so the finish lands where it should and nothing falls off the trim.
from $295
Stationery Suite Artwork
Card, letterhead and envelope laid out as one system so the mark sits the same on all three.
from $650
Wedding Suite Artwork
An invitation, RSVP, details card and envelope drawn as one suite and engineered for the finish.
from $950