Avoid These Top 5 Mistakes with Your Artwork

The most common mistake we see is the placement of the design on the template layer in the artwork file. The template layer is only there as a guide to indicate the safe zones, trim lines and bleed areas, so it shouldn’t be included in your final design. In fact, you can just delete the layer altogether before submitting your file to us, otherwise those handy guides could get printed and ruin the look of your packaging.

Pro Tip: To avoid this mistake, lock the template layer once you’ve imported it into your design software, and check that your design is on the appropriate artwork layer. Your final product will look clean, professional and guideline-free.

So, you’ve been wanting some flashy metallic effects on your packaging, but then there’s a holdup— we can’t proof your artwork file because the metallic areas aren’t clearly indicated in the design.

Let us explain. To create metallic effects, a white ink layer is printed first to block out that shimmery sheen where it’s not needed. Any part of your design that’s supposed to appear metallic gets printed directly onto the silver material without any white ink underneath. To clearly call out your special effects, place any metallic design elements on the separate layer that’s indicated in the template.

Pro Tip: If you need help setting up metallic effects, check out our video here.

Did you know we have a unique template for all our bags and tin cans? A great place to start your artwork process is our website, where you can download the correct template for your exact product. Unfortunately, a design not set up to our template specifications will result in us sending it back to you for changes. Using another company’s template won’t work either as our manufacturing equipment and processes are different than theirs.

If you’re in need of some artwork setup assistance, browse our Designer Network to find a graphic designer who’s familiar with our templates and processes.

Pro Tip: For tips and tricks on using our templates, check out our blog post on the subject - Mastering Roastar's Design Templates: Your Guide to Flawless Packaging

Here’s a mistake that is commonly overlooked: ink in the heat seal. For pouches, the artwork is first printed on the raw material, and then the bag is formed using intense heat and pressure.

Our paper-based materials like kraft or compostable are sensitive to this high heat and ink will smudge, burn or even tear the material where heat is applied. If you’ve provided a design with ink in any restricted area marked in our templates, you will end up having to revise the file.

Pro tip: Take a close look at the artwork template for your specific material. It’ll show you exactly where to keep your design ink-free.

While it may seem like a straightforward color, black is more complex than you think! Using the incorrect black color build in your design can bring your file to a halt during artwork prevalidation.

Our printing process uses four colored inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) to produce your packaging. If these color values are set to 100%, this results in a heavy ink coverage of 400%, known as Registration Black. Similarly, you’ll want to avoid any Rich Black, which uses all four colors to create a dark black. Otherwise, you’ll end up with visible quality issues where the heat is applied to seal the packaging—like burning and delamination. To avoid this problem, follow our press-ready requirements by using only a 100% black without the addition of any cyan, magenta or yellow values.

Pro Tip: Just remember your CMYK value while using black should read C=0, M=0,Y=0, K=100.

To avoid the time-wasting disappointment that an artwork revision can be, consider these other important tips before you submit your file. For additional help, we created a tutorial video that explains how to set up press-ready artwork, found here.

Outline Text: To avoid any missing font errors on our end, create a copy of your file and outline all text. This converts the font to shapes and preserves their look no matter who opens the file.

Embedding Images: Embed all linked images. Otherwise, those links will break once you submit your artwork, resulting in missing link errors.

Image Resolution: Speaking of images, it’s also important to ensure the quality of the images are high resolution and not pixelated or blurry. For best results, use images that are 300 PPI (pixels per inch) at full size.

Include Bleed: Add the proper amount of bleed on each side of your artboard to allow some leeway for minor shifts during the printing process.

CMYK Color Mode: Double-check that your file’s color mode is in CMYK and not RGB.

Take Your Time: Rushed artwork has a higher chance of errors. Review everything a few times, and don’t forget to spell-check!

Ask Questions: If you’re unsure about something, don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone or chat. Asking for help now could prevent a much bigger headache down the road!

Try our Tools: If the whole artwork process is making you throw up your hands in frustration, know that we get it. In fact, we put together a design tool so that anyone, regardless of experience level, can get flawless-looking bags and tin cans.

Our Roastar Design Lab allows you to select one of our everyday, seasonal, or holiday patterns. Then, all that’s left for you to do (if you’d like) is to add a logo or image and some text. Because we’ve handled the design part, you’re unlikely to run into any major hiccups in the process and can be on your way to finalizing an order in just a few minutes! As the icing on the cake, check out our low minimums.

Nobody’s perfect. If we request a new file, we’ll let you know exactly what you need to fix. We’ll even include screenshots to help you understand the issue. And don’t worry, we’ve pretty much seen it all and are here to help you every step of the way.

In the end, getting your artwork through prevalidation successfully is all about preparation. Follow the templates, avoid the common mistakes, and if you have a question, just ask. We’re all about helping you bring your packaging vision to life!

Ready to get started? Check out our Artwork Setup Guides to begin your design journey!