Artwork Setup Guide
Are you supplying your own artwork to us to print? Please follow the instructions on this page. It is super important to follow, especially things like resolution, contrast, and bleed.
Setting up your artwork correctly
Please read through the checklist for providing design files. Remember: If your files do not meet our specifications, your product may be printed incorrectly.
If you do not supply artwork which matches our requirements, we will ask you to resupply it or charge you for the time it takes to adjust.
When supplying your labels to Long Story Short to print, you must make sure the following requirements have been met.
Font Size
As a general rule we recommend not going below a size 5 or 6. The less contrast between your text and background, the larger your text will need to be. For example, white text on a light pink background won't look good unless your font is large and bold.
Fine Details
We recommend not using small text or small details on textured labels. Any fine detail will not print well on texture. If using line art again, make sure it is in a contrasting colour to the background.
Colour
As a general rule, we always recommend contrast in your design (dark text on a light background, or light text on a dark background). Just because it looks good on screen, does not mean it will look good printed.
On some stocks, like foil and texture, colours tend to wash out and print lighter than you would like. Please darken any colours by 20% to counter this.
Please see further information about colour below.
Barcodes and QR codes
Make sure you follow supplier guidelines and codes are at least minimum size. On textured stock please make sure to increase size by 20% on top of minimum size. Generally for qr codes this will be 2cm minimum.
Colour
Please ensure you convert all RGB colours to CMYK.
Please expect difference in colour between what you can see on your screen and what will print. This is because your monitor has a backlight, and so colours will appear brighter/more vibrant than how they will print.
Colours will also print differently on each printer, and each material. A specific colour printed on textured stock, foiled stock and matte/gloss stock will look different on all.
If it is important to you to achieve a specific colour, please let our team know it is a colour sensitive job when you place your order and we can provide options to help you achieve a colour match. Colour inconsistency is not grounds for a reprint, however there are lots of things we can do in the processing of your files to minimise this, however we do need to be made aware ahead of time.
If you need to match a colour for consistency please make sure you provide us with the CMYK Pantone colour. Without this we cannot guarantee colours printed will match other printed collateral you may have. If you are not able to provide a Pantone, you are welcome to send us a colour sample (like a sample label) and we can look up the closest Pantone for you.
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Label Size & Bleed
Please make sure your artwork is designed to size. We cannot change the label size on our end, so it's imperative it's designed correctly. We can scale your design up or down, but if it does not fit in your measurements we will charge a layout fee to edit. As an example, a rectangle label will not print square and vice versa.
When saving your artwork, please ensure it has a 3mm bleed. This is important, as during the printing and cutting process, slight shifts can occur, and the bleed acts as a buffer zone to maintain a clean, professional look. Without a proper bleed, even small misalignments can result in visible gaps at the edges, which can make the finished label look unpolished or poorly produced.
If using Canva to design, save as a 'PRINT PDF' then select 'ADD BLEED AND CROP MARKS'
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Saving your Files
We accept JPEG, PNG or PDF. However, if you are ordering foiling, spotgloss, white ink or embossed printing your artwork MUST be PDF. Please make sure all fonts are embedded (outlined) if sending a PDF design or it will not open correctly on our end. If downloading from Canva there is no need to do this, please download as 'PDF print'. Please save your files at a mini of 300 dpi.
Naming your files: Please name each file with the below included
1. Name of your product
2. size of the label
3. quantity you would like us to print of that particular design
For example:
Exfoliating Salts 60x40mm x 100
Specialty Printing
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Foil
Make sure all elements of your design are vector and all fonts are outlined (including your logo). Please use a bright colour (not already in your artwork) and let us know that colour is to be foil. Please avoid any small or thin fonts and smaller detailed artwork as foil may fill in those areas.
Please note: Foil stock is notorious for affecting the colour, so for foil labels we always recommend you provide us with a Pantone colour to ensure it prints as per expectation. If you don't have access to this information, you can also mail us a sample of the colour you would like to achieve.
Foil also washes out colour slightly, so if you have a light coloured background please darken it by 20%
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White Ink
White ink can be used in two ways.
1. It could be to print WHITE ink on our artwork.
2. It could be used as an underlay under colour.
So it is important to let us know in as much detail as you can what you want white ink, what you might want as an underlay etc.
Make sure all elements of your design are vector and all fonts are outlined (including your logo). Please use a bright colour (not already in your artwork) to show us where the white ink should be.
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Spotgloss
Make sure all elements of your design are vector and all fonts are outlined (including your logo).
Let us know in detail where you would like the spotgloss applied.
Please note: Spotgloss always looks better on bigger, bolder areas. The more of it, the better it looks and the more it stands out. That isn't to say you can't have it on small text, but it looks fantastic on bigger areas!
Tips for Designing Labels for Textured Vinyl
- Ensure your design has good contrast—avoid placing light-colored text on a light background, as it can be difficult to read.
- Avoid small fonts. We recommend using a minimum font size of 6 or 7 pt, and wherever possible, opt for larger text to maintain legibility on the textured surface.
- Colors can appear distorted or faded on textured vinyl. If exact color matching is important, please supply Pantone references so we can match as closely as possible.
- Due to the nature of textured vinyl, colors may appear less vibrant than on smooth surfaces. Keep this in mind when selecting your color palette.
We do not proofread your labels, we will simply print what
you have supplied so please make sure your labels have no
spelling or grammar mistakes, and are saved in a high resolution.
Setting up cards / swing tags
Please avoid any borders on swing tags, business and thank you cards
Set up
Please ensure you supply your artwork to us with front and back combined into a single PDF file.
2 Sided Business Cards
Page 1 will print as Front
Page 2 will print as Back
NOTE – Gloss and Matte Lamination on 1 side will always be treated to Page 1 of your document.
When ordering Spot UV, we require a 3 Page PDF.
Page 1 will be the Business Card side which requires the Spot UV to be applied.
Page 2 will be the Reverse side of the Business Card.
Page 3 should be Spot UV to be applied to Page 1 ONLY (using a spot colour marked Spot UV).