Resource guide
Artwork Guide for Printed Food Trays
Exactly what a print-ready file needs: formats, resolution, bleed, safe areas, outlined fonts, colour specification and how to work with a dieline.
Updated August 28, 2026 · About 9 minutes to read
This is written for whoever prepares your artwork. It is deliberately specific, because most delays in a printed packaging order come from a file that needs work rather than from the press.
The short version
If you read nothing else, this is the checklist:
- Work on the dieline we supply, as a separate layer — never delete it, never print it.
- Supply vector artwork as a print-ready PDF, AI or EPS.
- Outline all fonts, or supply the font files.
- Extend background colours 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 at a resolution appropriate for the substrate.
Working with a dieline
What the lines mean
A dieline shows the cut line (where the blank is cut), the crease lines (where it folds), 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 cut or creased).
These are usually supplied on separate layers or in distinct spot colours so they can be turned off for output.
Design across the folds deliberately
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. Fold a printed copy of your layout before approving it — it takes five minutes and prevents the most common design error.
Never print the dieline itself
The cut and crease lines are instructions for the tooling, not artwork. Leave them on their own layer and we will remove them for output. Deleting them entirely makes it impossible for us to verify alignment.
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 with 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 and clear of creases |
| Raster images | Placed at final size, embedded not linked, at a resolution suited to the substrate |
| Minimum type size | Larger than you would use in print — board and flutes are less forgiving than paper |
| Line weight | Avoid hairlines; very fine rules can break up on textured board |
Four things designers get wrong on packaging
Designing on a rectangle
The single most expensive error. Without the dieline, elements land across creases and in glue areas, and it is only discovered at proof stage.
Using a logo pulled from a website
A screen-resolution raster logo will not print acceptably at tray scale. Ask the brand owner for the vector original; if it does not exist, redrawing it is cheaper than a bad print run.
Specifying colour in RGB
RGB is a screen colour space and cannot be printed directly. Converting it late produces colours nobody chose. Specify CMYK or spot from the start.
Type too small
Board is more absorbent and less smooth than coated paper, and fine type fills in. Set legal and ingredient text larger than you would for a printed leaflet.
Before you approve the proof: 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 time.
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 is always worse than planning for it.
A barcode needs a flat surface with a clear quiet zone around it, and it must not sit across a crease or a curve. Test the code at final print size — codes that scan perfectly on screen sometimes fail when printed small on textured board.
Where dielines get complicated
Lids, overlaps, hand holes and header boards all add fold lines to work around, which makes the catering tray range the most demanding artwork job on the site.
For delivery packaging the constraint is different again — panels have to survive a bag rather than a boardroom — and the takeout and delivery guide covers what that changes.
Questions this guide gets asked
What file format do you need?
A print-ready PDF is ideal, with AI and EPS 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.
Do you supply the dieline?
Yes, free, before artwork starts. Designing without one is the most common cause of a reprint, because a layout that looks right flat can put a logo across the corner of an assembled tray.
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 tolerance means a design trimmed exactly to the line will show a white sliver on some units.
Can I use my logo from our 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 less than a disappointing print run.
What is a safe area and why does it matter?
The region inside the cut line where type and logos are guaranteed not to be trimmed or creased. Cutting and folding both have tolerances, so anything important needs a margin — at least 4 mm.
Why can I not use RGB colours?
RGB is a screen colour space; presses print in CMYK or with mixed spot inks. Converting late produces colours nobody selected. Specify CMYK or named spot references from the start.
How small can type be?
Larger than on coated paper. Board is absorbent and, on corrugated, 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.
Where should the barcode go?
On a flat panel with a clear quiet zone, never across a crease or a curve. Test the code at final printed size on the actual board — small codes on textured substrates sometimes fail to scan even when they look perfect.
