Print-Ready Artwork — A Checklist Before You Send Files to the Printer

2026-10-03 · Liandong Packaging

Most delays in custom printing do not start on the press. They start in a file.

A layout that looks finished on screen can be unusable on press for reasons that have nothing to do with design: colours specified in the wrong space, artwork built at screen resolution, no bleed, live fonts that substitute on another machine. Each one stops the job and sends it back to the brand for another round.

This is the checklist we run before any file goes to plate or screen. It applies to hang tags, woven labels, care labels, stickers, folding cartons and booklets alike.

1. Vector first, raster only when you must

Logos, type and line work should be vector — AI, EPS, PDF or SVG. Vector artwork scales to any size without softening, and it is what cutting dies, foil blocks and embroidery machines read.

Raster images (photographs, scans, gradients rendered as pixels) are fine, but they have a hard resolution floor:

A 72 dpi image pulled from a website is the single most common problem we see. It cannot be "fixed" — it has to be re-supplied.

2. Colour: CMYK for process, Pantone for brand

Screens are RGB. Presses are CMYK. A colour chosen in RGB and converted late often shifts — the bright orange on screen comes back duller.

• Process colour (CMYK) — four inks, mixed on press. Good for photographs and multi-colour artwork.
• Spot colour (Pantone / PMS) — a pre-mixed ink. Used when a brand colour must be identical across runs, suppliers and materials.

For brand marks we recommend specifying the Pantone reference *and* the CMYK breakdown. Paper stock changes the result: the same ink on kraft and on coated white board are visibly different colours. Uncoated stock absorbs more ink and prints darker, which is why a proof on the actual material matters.

3. Bleed and safe margin

If colour runs to the edge of the piece, the artwork must extend past the trim line. Cutting is never perfectly exact; without bleed you get a white sliver along one edge.

• Bleed: 3 mm beyond the trim line on every side (some cartons need 5 mm).
• Safe margin: keep text and logos at least 3 mm inside the trim line, so nothing critical is cut off.

For die-cut shapes, supply the cut line as a separate vector path in a spot colour, not merged into the artwork.

4. Outline the text, or embed the fonts

A font that is not installed on the output machine gets silently substituted. The layout reflows, line breaks move, and nobody notices until the proof comes back wrong.

Two safe options:

• Convert text to outlines / curves — the type becomes vector shapes. Safest, but no longer editable as text.
• Embed the fonts in a PDF — keeps text editable. Confirm the font licence allows embedding.

5. Set the file up at final size

Build the artwork at the actual dimensions, at 1:1 scale. Scaling a small file up at the last minute reintroduces the resolution problem above.

For repeating patterns (a roll of labels, a continuous carton wrap), state the repeat width and whether the pattern must align at the seam.

6. The checklist

7. Always proof on the real material

A PDF proof on a screen is a check on layout, not on result. Ink sits differently on coated, uncoated, kraft and textured stock; foil and emboss change how a surface reads entirely.

For a first run we recommend a physical sample on the specified material before the full quantity goes ahead. It costs a few days and removes most of the risk. This matters most for small runs, where a reprint costs proportionally far more than on a long run.

Where this saves the most time

The three items that most often push a delivery date back are, in order: low-resolution artwork, missing bleed, and RGB-only colour files. All three are caught in five minutes if they are checked before the file is sent — and all three cost days once the job is already on the press schedule.

If you are unsure whether your file is ready, send it as it is. We will check it and tell you exactly what needs changing, before a quote is confirmed.

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Related guides: Hang tag materials and finishes · Woven labels vs printed care labels