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 .

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:

Freehand MX or less
Illustrator CS2 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.

Corel Draw: If you are using Corel Draw you can export files as an Illustrator ".ai" file with type converted to curves.

QuarkXpress: Quark is a page layout program created for offset printing. Although we are a flexographic printing company, we can accept Quark files. However, customers should be advised that Quark files may cause trapping problems at the pre-press stage. This can cause a delay in your order.

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 3.5 floppy Mac/Dos discs, CD-ROM discs, or Zip discs.
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.
Film: We prefer to do the film ourselves since art requires adjustments for dot gain, distortion and step and repeats. Emulsion up negs with a density of four is also very important. If supplying film please contact us for more specific information and send a colour proof.

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
By FTP - please contact us for details
On any of the media listed above.

Dies Available

Please see the following page for the current list of dies