Tools for your artworks
Artwork Assistant
Welcome to our Artwork Assistant and Template Generator. We take great care to ensure your order is processed quickly and efficiently, which is why we’ve built these two tools to help our prepress team receive files ready for production. You can either check your artworks using our File Checker, or use the Template Generator to create a file, which includes pre-configured cutting lines and spot colours. You will receive it in PDF format and can then adapt it with your own artwork.
File Checker
Check whether your files are ready for printing.
Enter your label dimensions and the number of designs with the same size and shape. If your artwork includes Hot Foil or HPI White elements, please make sure the relevant option is selected.
You can upload one or multiple files at the same time. Each file and its upload status will appear in the panel below.
There are two possible outcomes: your artwork either passes our artwork check with no issues detected, or it contains issues that need to be corrected before printing. In this case, you can book our Artwork Service.
Template Generator
Enter the size and shape of your label. If your artwork contains HPI-White elements, hot foil, or both, please tick the relevant checkbox.
We will generate the cutting line and apply the required spot colours to your file.
Open Print Template:
Open the AI template from your email using a vector graphics program such as Adobe Illustrator. The file is created in the size you specified, including a 2.5 mm bleed around the artwork. If you selected the “square” or “round” label shape, the cutting line (magenta) is already included in the final format. If you selected the “custom shape” option, a placeholder shape will be included in the document.
You can create a custom cutting line in Adobe Illustrator, for example by using the Pen Tool. Make sure that the cutting line matches the artboard format and the final size of your label. It is important to create a spot colour named “cutter” and apply it to the cutting line.
Colour Elements with Spot Colour:
If necessary, set the relevant elements as spot colours. Colour all vector elements that require special finishing (such as white ink, hot foil, embossing or spot varnish) using the corresponding spot colour in Adobe Illustrator. Select the elements using the Selection Tool and assign the appropriate spot colour from the Swatches panel (e.g. “Foil”).
If your label does not include any of these finishes, you can ignore this step.
Move Elements to Layer
Move all elements coloured with a spot colour, such as “Foil”, “HPI-White”, “Embossing” or “Spot Varnish”, to the corresponding layer in Adobe Illustrator. These layers should always be placed above the main artwork layer. Select the elements using the Selection Tool in the Tools panel and drag them into the appropriate layer in the Layers panel.
Set Spot Colors to Overprint
Elements coloured with the respective spot colour (e.g. “Foil”) must be set to overprint. Select the elements using the Selection Tool in the Tools panel, then open the Attributes panel. Enable the overprint option for the fill and/or stroke as required.
For contour lines, ensure that the stroke is also set to overprint.
The overprint setting ensures that the selected elements are printed on top of the underlying artwork without causing the colours underneath to disappear.
Check Colors Using Separations Preview
To verify that the settings are correct, open the Separations Preview panel (Window > Separations Preview). To check colour separations, enable the Overprint Preview option.
You can then toggle the visibility of individual colour channels to inspect the different separations used in the document.
Export Finished Print File as PDF
Once all colours have been set correctly, the file can be exported as a print-ready PDF. Go to File > Save As and choose Adobe PDF (PDF) as the file format. Select a file name and destination, then click Save.
In the dialog window, choose the Adobe PDF preset [High Quality Print]. Under the Marks and Bleeds section, enable Use Document Bleed Settings. The previously defined bleed of 2.5 mm should be applied automatically.
Finally, click Save PDF to export the file. Your print-ready PDF is now saved in the selected folder.
