4 min read
Private label artwork: settle these first
Most artwork delays are not design delays. They are unresolved decisions arriving at the design stage.
Decisions that belong before the file
Pack format and dimensions, number of print colours, language set, legal text required in the country of sale, barcode type and placement, and the regulatory marks that the brand owner is entitled to use.
Two of these are not design decisions: the legal text and the marks. Both should come from the brand owner in writing, not from the printer's library.
The expensive reversals
Changing a language after plates are made, or changing pack dimensions after film is ordered, are the two reversals that cost the most and take the longest to recover from.
A neutral first run with a label applied later is slower per unit and far cheaper to change — worth considering for a first order in a new market.