Printing Self-Adhesive Labels – What to Bear in Mind and What to Watch Out For
Self-adhesive labels enhance the visual value of a product. For this to be the case, however, it’s important to ensure that the file with the design has been prepared properly and that the substrate and any finishing options are suitable for the job. Before executing the project, it’s important to bear in mind several important issues related with the right preparation of the label design and the use of appropriate colour space.
The printing of self-adhesive labels using digital technology takes several business days. Before this happens, however, the graphic design has to be prepared in the right way. If you are wondering what you should do to ensure that your self-adhesive labels are printed efficiently, watch out for several common errors that appear on the product label design stage.
Printing of Self-Adhesive Labels
At the beginning, it’s worth deciding on the printing technology that will be used for the project. For example, if you are regularly producing small batches of products or if you want to print several label batches within one order, digital printing technology will be the right and profitable solution.
The next stage should involve the selection of the material and the planned finishing options as this will definitely speed up the entire label design process.
The label design should correspond both with the characteristics and nature of the product on which the label will ultimately be placed and also serve to visually identify the brand.
Here, it’s important to factor in the expectations of the target group by involving the graphic designer to successfully engage and attract the attention of potential customers.
Attention should be paid to the original design, the colour scheme applied, as well as any finishing options and shapes.
Labels for Printing and RGB and CMYK Colours – What to Watch Out For
There may be many errors during the printing of labels that result from misunderstanding what the RGB and CMYK colour spaces refer to. Sometimes a client presents a given project on a computer and later, once it is printed, it turns out that in reality the product has different colours than those on the computer screen, which ultimately translates into the customer not being entirely happy and satisfied. Sometimes this spoils the entire label concept and then the whole project has to be redone from the beginning. This, in turn, is associated with additional costs.
How to avoid such errors without unnecessary hassle? First and foremost, one has to be aware of the fact that the RGB (red, green, and blue) scale refers to the colours that are visible on a computer and other electronic devices. When creating a design according to this approach, we have to bear in mind that, depending on the equipment on which it is displayed, its colours can look slightly different. CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) is a completely different matter altogether. This scale refers to the colour space in the case of designs being prepared for printing.
The right thing to do when preparing labels for printing is to create a design in CMYK colour mode.
Once a printing house receives a design, it is verified thoroughly starting from checking if the file has been prepared in CMYK.
Make sure you prepare the file correctly before printing your labels
In order to ensure that the digital printing of self-adhesive labels is hassle free, it’s worth discussing everything with the selected printing house before starting the label design process. Getting to know the requirements of a specific firm will help you prepare the files properly. These aspects also concern taking into account the bleed, changing the text to curves or if the file was saves as a composite PDF. It’s also important to factor in possible finishing options. At the beginning, adjusting the project to the printout on a metallic substrate.
If you’re wondering how to prepare your labels for printing at the Unilogo Digital Printing House - you can find some guidelines here. Should you have any doubts or further questions on the label design stage - our DTP operators will be happy to help you and explain everything you need to know about how to successfully prepare your label design.
This will eliminate the risk of errors and having to redo the entire project. And this will, of course, translate into faster turnaround times and customer satisfaction.
Make sure there’s no gap between your expectations are the reality
Once the label designs have been prepared, we advise getting print proofs done of your project. This will allow you to verify the print quality, colour schemes used, and the choice of raw material. This is also a good time to introduce any modifications to the project.
We offer free of charge print proofs and will have them done for you within 3 business days only.
