For designers
Artwork Guidelines
A short, specific checklist for whoever prepares your file. Most delays in a printed packaging order come from artwork that needs work rather than from the press.
The short version
- Work on the dieline we supply, as a separate layer. Never delete it and never print it.
- Supply vector artwork as a print-ready PDF, AI or EPS.
- Outline all fonts, or supply the font files with the artwork.
- Extend backgrounds and images at least 3 mm beyond the cut line.
- Keep type and logos at least 4 mm inside the cut line and clear of every crease.
- Specify colours explicitly — spot references for spot printing, CMYK for process. Never RGB.
- Place raster images at final size and embed them rather than linking.
Working with the dieline
A dieline shows the cut line, the crease lines, the glue areas where adhesive is applied and print will not show, and the safe area inside which type and logos are guaranteed not to be trimmed or creased. These are supplied on separate layers or in distinct spot colours so they can be turned off for output.
A tray is a three-dimensional object presented as a flat template. A design that looks balanced on the flat blank can put your logo across the corner of an assembled tray. Print your layout, fold it, and look at it before you send it — five minutes that prevents the most common design error there is.
File requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Format | Print-ready PDF preferred; AI or EPS accepted |
| Colour space | CMYK for process; named spot colours for spot printing. Never RGB |
| Fonts | Outlined, or supplied as font files alongside the artwork |
| Bleed | At least 3 mm beyond the cut line on all edges |
| Safe area | Type and logos at least 4 mm inside the cut line, clear of creases |
| Raster images | Placed at final size, embedded, at a resolution suited to the substrate |
| Minimum type | Larger than for coated paper; board and flutes are less forgiving |
| Line weight | Avoid hairlines; fine rules can break up on textured board |
Colour on board
Board is not paper and it is not a screen. A spot colour on bleached board reproduces closely to its reference. The same ink on natural kraft shifts warm and loses contrast, because the brown substrate shows through every ink laid on it — an exact match is not physically achievable there.
On moulded fibre, printing is limited altogether: the surface is textured and absorbent, so fine detail does not hold. A printed band, sleeve or applied label gives a far better result and is what almost every fibre product on a shelf actually uses.
Where colour accuracy is commercially important, request a physical proof on the actual board. A digital proof catches content and layout errors; only a physical proof shows how the colour will really look.
Legal and information panels
If your pack needs an ingredients list, allergen declaration, weight statement, barcode or storage instructions, design a dedicated panel for it before the rest of the layout rather than fitting it in afterwards. Retro-fitting a legal panel into a finished design always produces a worse result.
A barcode needs a flat surface with a clear quiet zone around it and must not sit across a crease or a curve. Test the code at final printed size on the actual board — codes that scan perfectly on screen sometimes fail when printed small on a textured substrate.
We print what you supply. The content of that panel, and its compliance with the rules in the market where you sell, is for you or your regulatory advisor to confirm — and those rules differ between the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Certification marks
We will not print a certification mark, compostability logo or recycling claim unless the material you have ordered genuinely carries that certification in the market where you sell. Those symbols are controlled and have specific legal meanings. If sustainability messaging matters to your brand, ask us for the material specification in writing and build accurate copy from it.
Before you approve
Read every phone number, web address and email out loud, digit by digit. Check the spelling of your own business name. Have somebody who did not write the copy read it. Approval is the point after which corrections cost plates and schedule time.
Sending artwork
Attach it to your quote request, or email it to info@thefoodtrays.com. Files up to 12 MB can be attached through the forms; for anything larger, send us a link.
If you have not settled the structure yet, the tray designer collects the specification and the artwork in one step.
The full background to all of this is in the detailed artwork guide.
For the commercial side — colour counts, setup costs and what a proof does and does not tell you — see the food tray printing guide.
Artwork questions
What file format should I send?
A print-ready PDF is ideal; AI and EPS are also accepted. Vector artwork, fonts outlined, colours specified, images embedded at final size. Send what you have and we will tell you honestly whether it will hold up at tray scale.
Do you charge for the dieline?
No. We supply it before artwork starts, because designing without one is the most common cause of a reprint — a layout that looks balanced flat can put a logo across the corner of an assembled tray.
Can you use the logo from my website?
Almost never. A screen-resolution image will not print acceptably at tray scale. Ask whoever holds your brand assets for the vector original; if none exists, redrawing it costs far less than a disappointing print run.
How much bleed do you need?
At least 3 mm beyond the cut line on every edge where colour or an image reaches the edge. Cutting has a tolerance, so a design trimmed exactly to the line will show a white sliver on some units.
Why can I not supply RGB colours?
RGB is a screen colour space; presses print in CMYK or with mixed spot inks. Converting late produces colours nobody chose. Specify CMYK or named spot references from the start.
Can you print certification or recycling logos?
Only where the material you have ordered genuinely holds that certification in the market where you sell. Those marks are controlled and printing one you are not entitled to creates a regulatory exposure that sits with you.
How small can type be?
Larger than on coated paper. Board is absorbent, and on corrugated it is slightly textured, so fine type fills in. Set legal and ingredient text noticeably larger than you would for a leaflet and check it on a physical proof.
What happens after I approve the proof?
We make plates and print. Approval is the point after which changes require new plates and a new schedule position, and are chargeable. Have a second person read the proof before you approve it.
Need a dieline before you start designing?
Tell us the tray and the size and we will send the flat template — free, before you commit to anything.