Prepress Services
Everything that happens between your artwork file and the first label on press. Get this stage right and production is straightforward; get it wrong and you find out after 200,000 labels.
Four Stages
| Stage | What happens | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry review | We check your specification is complete and producible | Same day |
| File preflight | Technical check of artwork before anything goes on press | 1 working day |
| Colour management | Brand colours mapped to the printing process and substrate | Within preflight |
| Sample confirmation | You approve a physical sample that becomes the production standard | 2–4 working days |
Enquiry Review
Before quoting we check that the job can actually run: web width within 450 mm, colour count within the press capability, die shape achievable, material available.
If your specification will not work, you hear it at this point rather than after a sample has crossed two continents. If you are not sure of the material, describe the container and the environment and we will propose a construction.
File Preflight
Send artwork as AI, PDF or EPS with fonts outlined and images embedded. We check:
| Check | Common problem we catch |
|---|---|
| Resolution | Images below 300 dpi that will print soft |
| Bleed and safety margin | Content too close to the die line, cut off in trimming |
| Colour space | RGB artwork that will shift when converted for print |
| Minimum line weight | Hairlines and small reversed text that fill in on press |
| Barcode dimensions | Bar width, quiet zone and contrast below scannable threshold |
| Die line accuracy | Corner radius or shape the die cannot reproduce cleanly |
| Overprint and trapping | Registration gaps between adjacent colours |
You get a written report with any issues and a suggested fix. If you prefer, we make the corrections and send the file back for approval.
Colour Management
The same ink prints differently on coated paper, matt BOPP and metallic film. A brand colour that is right on one substrate can be visibly off on another.
Our colour management system maps your target colour to each combination of press and substrate, so the appearance holds across processes and across repeat orders. Spot colours are mixed to Pantone reference and checked under a standard light source rather than by eye under whatever lighting the workshop happens to have.
If you have a strict brand colour, send a printed reference — a previous label, a pack, a printed guide. A Pantone number alone leaves room for interpretation; a physical sample does not.
Sample Confirmation
Screen proofs check layout and copy. They do not check colour — monitor calibration and ambient light both change what you see.
| Sample type | What it confirms | Cost and time |
|---|---|---|
| PDF proof | Layout, copy, die line | Free, same day |
| Digital sample on real stock | Material feel, approximate colour | Low cost, 2–3 days |
| Press proof | Exact production colour on the actual process | Plate cost applies, 3–4 days |
Because our digital line runs from one piece, a sample on the real face stock needs no plate and no minimum run. That is why a first order with us carries less risk than with a supplier who has to tool up before you see anything.
Once approved, the sample is held on file as the production standard. Repeat orders are matched against it, not against the original artwork — so batch three looks like batch one.
Plate-Making Is In-House
Once the sample is approved, plates are imaged on an Esko CDI Spark 4835 and processed on a DuPont Cyrel FAST 2000TD thermal unit — both in our own building.
Most label converters outsource this. That adds days to every job and takes revisions out of their control. Ours takes a day, and an artwork change late in the process does not mean waiting for an external supplier’s queue.
Send Us Your Artwork
We will preflight it and tell you what needs fixing before you commit to a run — whether or not you order from us.