How to set up packaging design files for production and packaging manufacturing.

Create your dielines or open dxf dieline files in illustrator.

Make sure your cut lines and score/crease lines are on separate layers and use different spot colors identified as cut and crease.

Typically I will set up a green for folds and red for cut lines.

To do this open your swatch pallet, create a new one, using CMYK adjust to the desired color, name it cut or fold, select spot color, and save it.

Make sure to select spot color or else this will just piss off your production person, or you’ll end up with green and red lines all over the finished pack. Not good.

Now that you have 2 layers 1 for cut and 1 for folds you need to create a layer for the artwork to be printed.

Just 1 layer for printed artwork. Please don’t set up an illustrator file with 60 layers for print. It happens and it’s a disaster to try and unscrew files like that. Just don’t.

This layer s for all of your images, text, barcodes, etc… Anything that is going to be printed. Since we print in CMYK, all artwork has to be in… you guessed it. CMYK. No RGB files.

This can be easily checked in Illustrator to catch any errors before you send this out using the separations preview window in illustrator to click through each color. Also, don’t set up overprints unless you have some serious production experience. This is easily corrected by the production team, but it’s also easy to over look if you’ve overprinted art as they’ll assume you meant it.

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Why should you bother knowing how to set up a file for print if you’re a designer? Because you have to take control of your own work. Don’t assume someone else will take responsibility for your crappy files. They won’t.