Designing
Art for Flexo Label Printing
Trapping,
Registration:
It
is not necessary to do your own trapping. Flexo printing uses a different
set of standards for trapping than any other printing medium. A standard
trap for flexo printing is 1 point. The area of trap will appear as another
color. Unfortunately, this effect cannot be seen on a color inkjet printout.
Colors should not butt up against each other unless they are underneath
a solid black line of 1 point thickness or greater. This solid line; when
overprinting the underlying colors; will cover any misregistration and
eliminate the need for a trap in that area.
Bleeds:
A
bleed on any label should extend at least 1/8" past the outside edge of
the label (the die line). A border on the inside of the die line of a label
should be no smaller than 1/16 of an inch of 5 points on either side of
the die line. Otherwise, due to movement of the press there may be too
thin of a border on one or the other side of your finished labels.
Graduated
Screens, Gradations:
A
flexo graphic press cannot consistently hold a graduation of less than
3%. A graduated screen should be from 98% of color to 3% of color. A gradient
of a spot color cannot have a combination of 2 colors in it. It must be
either 1 color or a CMYK gradient. The computer automatically converts
any gradients using more than one spot color to CMYK.
Type:
Type
that is reversed out of a color should not be smaller than 5 points. Using
bold type when reversing type is recommended. Photoshop should never be
used to set type. Always use another program to set type and use Photoshop
only for manipulating artwork.
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