Do you already have a finished packaging design, or are you working with a graphic designer and want the print to come out exactly as it looks on screen? Print file preparation is a set of a few simple rules that decide whether a white edge won’t appear after the artwork is trimmed, whether text won’t fall into a fold, and whether your brand colour will match what you see on the monitor. Let’s start with the most important thing: with us, the design and print preparation are included in the price, so you don’t have to do it yourself. This guide is for you if you have your own artwork or a design supplier — it shows what really counts for a file to be production-ready.
Start here — print preparation is included in the price
Before you dive into the details of bleed and resolution, one thing to put your mind at ease: you don’t have to be a prepress specialist. As standard, we do the design, layout and print file preparation for you, and before production you always get a visualisation to approve — nothing goes on the machine until your “ok”. This text will come in handy in two situations: you have your own finished design from your graphic designer, or you want to understand why we ask for the file in a specific way. And if you’re just starting out — the dieline, the ready shape of the construction, we’ll send you as a template on which the designer works. There’s no need to guess it.
Bleed — the background has to extend beyond the cutting line
Bleed is the margin of artwork that extends beyond the target format of the packaging. The machine cuts with minimal tolerance, so if the background ends exactly on the cutting line, the smallest shift will leave a thin white strip on the edge. That’s why coloured backgrounds, photos and anything that should reach “right to the edge” should be pulled beyond the cutting line — roughly about 3 mm on each side. The bleed value is standard and we’ll give it to you together with the dieline template; you only need to watch one thing: that the background actually reaches the end of the bleed and doesn’t stop short of it.
Safety margins — keep text away from edges and folds
Bleed is one thing; the safety margin is its mirror image facing inward. It’s the zone right by the edge and along the fold lines, where it’s better not to place anything important. The reason is the same as with bleed — a minimal shift in the cut — plus a second one: creases and folds. An element that falls into a fold of the box will break in the middle of the logo or cut off part of the text. A simple rule for what to keep away from the edge:
- Logo and brand name — move them a few millimetres away from the cut and from every creasing line, so they don’t break on a fold.
- Text and contact details — the closer to the edge, the greater the risk that part of the characters will disappear during cutting; give them some room.
- Barcodes and QR codes — place them on a flat wall, away from folds, otherwise they may stop scanning.
Dieline and creases — design on the ready shape of the construction
Packaging isn’t a rectangle but an unfolded construction with tabs, walls and fold lines. That shape is the dieline — and the designer should design precisely on it, not “by eye”. In practice it works like this: you get a ready dieline template from us, and you place the design on a separate layer on that shape. The cutting and creasing lines stay as a separate helper layer — they’re not on the print, they only serve the machine to die-cut and fold the board. This way you can be sure the artwork lands on the walls where it should, and doesn’t shift out of place once the box is folded.
Colour — work in CMYK, not RGB
A screen emits light (RGB), while print reflects light off ink (CMYK) — these are two different colour spaces, and that’s why a colour from the monitor will never translate one-to-one onto paper. To avoid surprises, prepare the file in CMYK, not RGB. A few rules worth knowing:
- CMYK mode from the start — set the document to CMYK before you begin; an RGB→CMYK conversion at the end can “dull” intense colours, especially vivid greens and oranges.
- Brand colour as Pantone — if the brand rests on one specific colour, pick it as a Pantone so it’s repeatable from run to run; more on this in the psychology of packaging colour.
- Rich black — build large black backgrounds as rich black, that is black with an admixture of the other inks, because 100% K black alone will come out grey and uneven; on the other hand, leave thin text and fine lines at 100% K so they’re sharp and don’t print “double”.
Remember overprint too — small black elements are usually left overprinting, but white in overprint can disappear entirely; that’s something we check at the preparation stage. And since screen ≠ print, for a critical colour the surest thing is to see it on paper — how packaging samples work we describe separately.
Resolution, fonts and file format
Even a perfectly laid-out design will fail if the artwork is too low quality or the fonts “shift” on another computer. Three things we watch for in a file:
- Resolution of 300 dpi — prepare raster graphics, that is photos and textures, at roughly 300 dpi at 1:1 scale; an image pulled off a website at 72 dpi will blur in print.
- Vector and outlines — keep logos and vector graphics as vectors, and convert fonts to outlines (curves) or attach them to the file, so the text doesn’t get swapped for another.
- Format and links — for print, PDF is best, or native AI/EPS files with embedded (not just linked) graphics; a loose link to a photo you forget to attach means a missing image on the print.
File requirements in brief
It’s quickest to see when set out in one place. The numerical values (mm, dpi) are approximate — the exact parameters and dieline template we give for a specific project:
| File element | Requirement | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Bleed | Background beyond the cutting line, roughly ~3 mm | Artwork cut off exactly at the edge |
| Safety margins | Important elements moved away from edges and folds | Text and logo right by the cut or on a crease |
| Dieline | Design on a separate layer, on the ready shape | Design “by eye”, without a construction template |
| Colour | CMYK, brand colour optionally as Pantone | File in RGB, “dulled” colours after conversion |
| Resolution | Raster graphics ~300 dpi at 1:1 scale | 72 dpi image from a website |
| Fonts | Converted to outlines or attached to the file | Typeface swapped on another computer |
| File format | Print-ready PDF or AI/EPS with embedded links | JPG file from a screen or missing links |
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to prepare the print file myself?
No. We do the design and print preparation in the price, and before production you get a visualisation to approve. This guide comes in handy when you have your own design or graphic designer and want to hand over a production-ready file.
What is bleed and how much should it be?
Bleed is the background artwork extending beyond the cutting line, so there are no white edges after trimming. As standard it’s roughly about 3 mm on each side — we give the exact value together with the dieline template.
Why should the file be in CMYK and not RGB?
Because print works on CMYK inks, while a screen works on RGB light. An RGB file, once converted for print, can lose colour intensity. If you have one strong brand colour, it’s worth picking it as a Pantone for repeatability between runs.
In what format should I hand over the design?
Ideally a print-ready PDF, or native AI or EPS files with embedded graphics and fonts converted to outlines. This way nothing gets swapped or lost along the way.
Where do I get the dieline for my packaging?
We send you a ready dieline template for the chosen construction and print run. The designer works on that shape, and the cutting and creasing lines stay on a separate helper layer, which we don’t print.
Send the file or leave the design to us
Do you have a finished design to check, or would you rather we prepared everything from scratch? Give us the type of packaging, the print run and the format, and we’ll verify the file or create the design, prepare a visualisation to approve and a preliminary quote:
→ Send your design and calculate the cost of packaging
See also
Just laying out your design? Start with the guide on how to design packaging with a logo, and the choice of technology, which affects colour and cost, we break down in the piece on digital printing vs offset. If you’re planning premium effects — embossing, foil or varnish — check the guide to packaging finishes, because they too have their own file requirements. We are a packaging manufacturer from Warsaw — design and visualisation are included in the price, we produce from 500 units and ship across all of Poland.