Most label reprints aren't caused by the print. They're caused by artwork set up wrong: no bleed, text too close to the edge, a cut line drawn as a fill instead of a stroke, or white ink that didn't separate. Every one of those takes a couple of minutes to avoid once you know what we need. This is exactly how to set up artwork for labels on rolls, straight from our production requirements. Follow it and your file goes to print first time.
The rules for every label
- Colour mode: CMYK. Set the document to CMYK from the start and convert any RGB images in Photoshop before placing them. RGB converted at export never matches what you saw on screen.
- Pantones: Pantone C (Solid Coated). If the brand relies on a specific Pantone, specify it as a Pantone C spot colour so it's unambiguous.
- Bleed: 3mm on every edge. Extend backgrounds and edge-to-edge colour 3mm past the trim.
- Safe area: 5mm inside the trim. The cut can move by up to 2mm, and the safe margin absorbs that.
- Images: 300dpi at 100% size. Web and social images (72–150dpi) print soft. Use vector logos wherever possible.
- Fonts: outlined before export.
- Format: print-ready PDF only.
The safe area is the thing people most often get wrong. Thin borders are the trap: a 1mm keyline around the edge will look uneven if the cut shifts even slightly. Either avoid thin edge borders or make them generous enough that a small shift doesn't show. Our guide to bleed and crop marks covers the principle in more depth.
Squares, rectangles and circles: we add the cut
- Don't draw a cut line. Our system adds it.
- Trimbox = your quoted size, for example 100 × 100mm. For a circle, the trimbox is the circle's bounding box (width = height = diameter).
- Bleedbox = trimbox + 3mm on every side, so a 100 × 100mm label has a 106 × 106mm bleedbox.
Custom shapes: the Thru-cut line
Anything that isn't a square, rectangle or circle needs a cut path you supply:
- Create a spot colour named exactly "Thru-cut" (capital T, hyphen, lowercase "cut").
- Apply it as a stroke, not a fill, on a closed path with centred stroke alignment.
- One Thru-cut path per file.
- The Thru-cut size and the trimbox both match your quoted size.
- Extend the artwork 3mm past the Thru-cut on all sides.
The common errors are a cut drawn in regular black ink instead of the spot colour, a fill instead of a stroke, an open path, and a trimbox that doesn't match the cut. Any of these sends the file back for revision.
White ink for clear and silver BOPP
On clear film, colour prints see-through. On silver, it prints muted and grey. A white underprint fixes both. White prints first and CMYK prints over the top, so wherever you want solid colour, there needs to be white underneath.
- Create a spot colour named exactly "White". Not "White Ink" or "WHITE".
- Build it as C10 M0 Y0 K0, a light cyan preview that's easy to tell apart from your process colours.
- Place it under every area that needs to read as solid. Leave it out wherever the clear or silver stock is meant to show through.
- Set overprint deliberately. We honour overprint settings, so if they're wrong, elements can knock out or drop away.
Check it before you send. In Acrobat, open Print Production → Output Preview, turn on Simulate Overprinting, and step through each separation, including the White and Thru-cut plates, to confirm everything sits where you expect.
Not sure whether clear or silver is right for the job? See the roll label materials guide.
Pre-send checklist
- CMYK throughout, Pantones as Pantone C spot
- 3mm bleed on every edge
- Key content inside the 5mm safe area, and no thin edge borders
- Images at 300dpi at 100% size
- Fonts outlined
- Square, rectangle or circle: no cut line; trimbox = quoted size; bleedbox = +3mm
- Custom shape: one closed Thru-cut stroke, matching the quoted size, with 3mm bleed past it
- Clear or silver stock: "White" spot colour (C10 M0 Y0 K0) under solid areas, checked in Output Preview
- Exported as a print-ready PDF
Frequently asked questions
How much bleed do label files need?
3mm on every edge, including past the Thru-cut line on custom shapes.
Why keep text 5mm from the edge?
The cut can move by up to 2mm. The 5mm safe area gives that movement room without clipping text or logos.
Do I need to add a cut line?
Only for custom shapes. For squares, rectangles and circles, our system adds it.
How do I set up white ink?
Create a spot colour named "White", built as C10 M0 Y0 K0, and place it under any artwork that needs to read as solid. Check it in Acrobat's Output Preview with Simulate Overprinting on.
My designer uses Affinity or CorelDRAW. Does this still apply?
Yes. Menu names differ, but every professional design app supports CMYK, document bleed, named spot colours and PDF export with bleed.
What file format do you take?
A print-ready PDF only.
Key takeaways
- CMYK, Pantone C spot colours, 300dpi images, outlined fonts, print-ready PDF.
- 3mm bleed and a 5mm safe area, because the cut can move up to 2mm.
- Squares, rectangles and circles need no cut line. Custom shapes need one closed "Thru-cut" stroke.
- Clear and silver need a "White" spot layer (C10 M0 Y0 K0) under solid colour.
- Check the separations in Acrobat Output Preview before sending.
For label sizes, core and wind direction, see the roll label sizing guide.
Send us print-ready label artwork
Mediapoint prints trade-only, blind-shipped roll labels on white, clear and silver BOPP and matt paper, laser cut with a clean edge, from two business days. The minimum order is $120 + GST per job. See labels on rolls for live trade pricing, or send your PDF through for a quote.
