Pre-Press and Design Requirements

If you have any questions, that are not answered below, about the requirements for supplied art, please contact Linda Hurl, our Graphics Manager at art@labels.ca.

If you are supplying art in digital format we require VECTOR art for spot colour printing & high resolution images (separate) for process printing.

Art files should be produced in:

Illustrator CS5 or less

Please supply a hard copy of the label with disk or a PDF copy with electronic files.

Adobe PDF: Fonts must be embedded in the PDF file or sent along separately.

NOTE 1: JPEGs Are Not Acceptable Art!
NOTE 2: Our department is Mac based.

When designing please keep the following in mind:

We require vector artwork and type to print as spot pantone colours. This will produce much sharper type, line drawings and better colour accuracy. We can also print 4 colour process for photos and other artwork that has been created as raster because there is no other way to achieve the desired effect. Please make sure to include all image files (eps, tiff, etc.) on the disc, as well as all fonts used in the file. When using Corel Draw please include clip art files if any.

Accepted Media: We can accept CD-ROM discs and USB flashdrives.

Die: Please obtain from us a copy of the die layout or the proper size that you are designing for

Screens: Screens should not drop below a 7% dot. LPI – 85, 100, 133, or 150 please check first.

Lines: Lines in the design should be no less than 1 pt.

Bleeds: Require 1/8″ bleeds off edges of label. We prefer to colour separate the jobs here.

Spreads & Chokes: Generally 1 point of trap is ideal.

For your Information

Vector Art is made up of paths defined by points, which are used to create lines and curves, called vectors. Vector objects do not show a reduction in quality when you scale them larger or smaller. The edges appear smooth even when magnified.

In contrast, a RASTER (bitmap) image is made up of a grid of coloured dots, or pixels each containing complex colour information, such as in photographs. When viewed at the correct resolution the dots fit together to form the image. When magnified the image loses quality.

Sending us your art

You can send us your art in any of the following ways:

Using our online file submission system

By E-mail to art@labels.ca

By FTP – please contact us for details

Dies Available

Please see the following page for the current list of dies