When Artwork Should Be Prepared
Artwork is the stage where a brand becomes visible, and it is routinely started too early. A label is drawn to a specific bottle; a box dieline is built around a specific bottle and closure. Preparing either before those are fixed means redrawing them.
The workable sequence is:
- Bottle and closure selected.
- Decoration method decided — printed label, screen print, hot stamping or a combination.
- Retail presentation decided — folding carton, rigid box or sleeve.
- Destination market confirmed, since required text is a layout input.
- Dielines issued for the selected components.
- Artwork produced to those dielines.
- Artwork reviewed for print feasibility before sampling.
Steps 4 and 5 are the ones most often skipped. Designing to an assumed size and adding legally required text afterwards produces a layout with no room for it, and the redesign lands after the brand has already approved the look.
Technical Requirements That Cause Rework
Most artwork rejections come from the same short list. Checking these before sending saves a full round.
| Requirement | Why it matters | Common failure |
|---|
| Bleed | Cutting tolerance means artwork must extend past the trim line | Artwork built exactly to trim, leaving white edges after cutting |
| Safe margin | Critical content must sit clear of trim and folds | Text too close to an edge, or crossing a crease |
| Vector artwork | Logos and text must scale and print cleanly at any size | A logo supplied as a low-resolution raster image |
| Raster resolution | Placed images need sufficient resolution at final print size | A web-resolution image scaled up into a print layout |
| Outlined fonts | Fonts not present on the production system substitute silently | Live text with no outlines and no font supplied |
| Colour mode | Print and screen use different colour models | Files delivered in screen colour with no print values specified |
| Minimum stroke and type size | Fine detail does not survive some decoration processes | Hairline rules or very small type specified for hot stamping |
| Layer separation | Each decoration process needs its own artwork layer | Foil, print and varnish merged into one flattened layer |
Colour Is Where Expectations Break
More approval disputes come from colour than from any other artwork issue, and almost all of them are avoidable by being explicit early.
- Specify colour by a print reference, not by a screen appearance. A named spot colour reference communicates what an on-screen swatch cannot.
- Expect substrate to change the result. The same ink reads differently on coated stock, uncoated stock, clear film and metallised material.
- Metallics and foils are not colours. They are processes; their appearance depends on the foil and the surface, and cannot be matched to a flat swatch.
- Screens are not proofs. Monitors vary and are backlit. Colour approval should rest on a physical proof or a printed sample.
- Different components will not match perfectly. A label, a folding carton and a rigid box wrap use different materials and processes; expect close, not identical.
- Say which colour is critical. If the brand colour must hold, name it as the priority so it is protected where compromises are needed.
Required Text and Market Content
Certain content is dictated by the destination market rather than chosen by the brand, and it needs space reserved from the first layout.
| Product identity | Name and category, in the form and language the destination requires. |
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| Volume declaration | Format, units and placement can be prescribed by the market. |
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| Ingredient declaration | Naming convention, ordering and legibility rules apply, and this is usually the largest text block. |
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| Responsible entity | Several markets require a named local entity — commonly the importer, not the manufacturer. |
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| Batch and date information | May be printed or applied during production; space and method both need planning. |
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| Warnings and symbols | Required symbols vary by market and have their own size rules. |
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| Barcode | Needs a quiet zone and adequate size to scan reliably. |
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| Language | Some markets require specific languages; multilingual layouts need proportionally more room. |
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Exact requirements are confirmed for the destination market and the specific formulation — see the documentation guide. Your importer or a local advisor is usually the authoritative source for the final wording.
File Formats and How to Send Them
For initial discussion, PDF, AI, SVG, EPS, JPG, PNG and ZIP are all workable. What matters more than the extension is what the file contains.
| Best for print artwork | Vector PDF, AI or EPS with fonts outlined, bleed included and colours specified for print. |
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| Best for logos | Vector in any of the above. SVG is acceptable for review purposes. |
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| Acceptable for reference | JPG or PNG for concepts, inspiration and layout direction — not for production. |
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| Packaging a set | ZIP containing artwork, fonts (where licensing permits), linked images and a short specification note. |
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| Include a specification note | Component, dimensions, material, finish, decoration method and which colour is critical. A short note prevents most misreadings. |
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Do not send confidential or proprietary final artwork through an unsecured public form. Share what is needed for feasibility review at the enquiry stage, and arrange a secure upload or NDA path before final production files are transferred.
