Designing Artwork - Things to Consider
Click here to view a pdf containing all the information you need regarding artwork.
Using Gradients
When printing water-based, gradients are not suitable as there will be banding (the colours don't blend properly). Avoid using gradients of any kind when using water-based printing.
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Designing Across the Seam
When designing across the seam try not to use horizontal lines, as the plates may move which will mean they will not line up exactly.
Designing near to top and bottom
If you are thinking of putting information on the bottom half of the cup, make sure it is not too close to the bottom. This rule also applies at the top - don't put any important information/images there as it may be cut off. This is because designs can sometimes move up or down by +/- 3mm. Be aware that the top 2mm of the cup will not be seen if a lid is used with the cup. The bottom 5mm of the cup can be susceptible to very slight scuffing, although we strive to minimise this, it is sometimes unavoidable, so we would advise you to not have printing on the bottom 5mm of the cup.
Colours Overlapping
With water-based printing, when you're printing two colours next to each other, there's a possibility that they may overlap slightly and make a new colour.
To avoid this try to have minimum amount of colours of your cup design.
Colours not fitting into 'area'
When water-based printing using spot colours, if there is any movement in the plates, the colour may not fit into the area it is meant to go. To avoid this you could increase the line stroke to make it thicker. Print using CMYK may alleviate the problem, but please speak to our design team for clarification.
The only way you can truly tell what the cup will look like is to have it printed. These points may sound negative, but they enable you to design your cup template around these problems, meaning the process from producing artwork to print is a lot shorter. Our design team can help work through these problems to produce the best design possible.
