Introduction to flexo
shopping bag art for the bag purchaser and packaging sales person
In our experience, most custom printed bag projects get started with people
not trained to get the art ready: the person needing the bag and the person
selling the bag. It is important to have a basic understanding of what is needed
to get a custom printed project off to a good start. General estimates for plate
costs and lead times provided in quotations and throughout general conversation
with our Customer Service and Sales staff are based on receiving correctly prepared
B&W or digital art work. For further clarification, the following items
are not "correctly prepared art" that fit into generally quoted costs
and lead time estimates:
| Business cards, letterheads, photocopies, faxes, etc. | Digital files supplied on media other than we can read |
| B&W requiring enlargement more than 150% | Overall designs not positioned on a TULSACK bag template |
| Scanned images requiring enlargement more than 150% | Films and/or plates not to our specifications |
| Previously printed paper bags or other packages | Designs with halftones and flat screens requiring adjustment for in line flexographic printing |
| Multicolor designs with tight register and trapping requirements not prepared to in line flexo specifications |
Introduction for
the graphic artist
We see that most of the artists and designers preparing work for a shopping
bag have a background in offset lithography or gravure, not flexography. If
there is some flexo experience, it is in narrow web for labels, and not the
wide web used for packaging. Wide web flexo is a world apart from offset litho
and narrow web flexo. These Art Guidelines are designed to function as
a very basic "how to" primer for designers and artists working on
new flexographically printed shopping bag projects. The Guidelines should
help to get the art done correctly the first time, minimizing the prep time
and costs to get shopping bag art ready to run. Please do not hesitate to call
or write TULSACK if there
are any questions before starting a new shopping bag design.
In line flexographic
printing
Flexographic printing is a relief printing process that uses photopolymer plates
.112 thick. In many respects flexo is like printing with big rubber stamps.
At TULSACK printing is done in line with bag making. Rolls of paper are unwound
into the bag machine, printed up to three colors, handles applied, side folds
formed and seam glued, bottom folded and glued, and then individual bags are
cut away from the web and packaged for shipment. The ability to reproduce fine
lines, screens and halftones is limited compared to litho, gravure and narrow
web flexo.
Ink color matching
and proofing
We can custom match submitted materials, or use PMS color specifications. When
using PMS, please specify colors from the Uncoated "U" section of
the book or Coated "C" section of the book as appropriate. If we are
reproducing a PMS color on uncoated paper that has been reproduced on coated
paper previously, we suggest the end user and/or artist specify a PMSU shade
that best matches the coated paper version when submitting the art and order.
TULSACK prints on Natural Kraft, White Kraft, Oatmeal and Claycoated papers.
All inks are water based.
We send ink drawdowns for PMS colors on White Kraft and Claycoated only when requested on P.O., or when there are traps and/or overprints that in our judgment should be approved prior to production. Note that due to our production process, there is no trapping or overprinting on Claycoated paper. We send ink drawdowns for PMSU matches on Natural Kraft and Oatmeal, as well as for all custom matches to colors other than PMSU numbers. Approval is required before bags can be produced.
Design templates
and logo positioning, bag proofing
Unless the design is no more than a spot imprint, the designer should have a
template before starting artwork. A tool enabling artists to quickly construct
their own templates appears on the back side of this sheet.. Templates can also
be requested from Tulsa Customer Service, or found as downloadable, executable
files in Freehand and Illustrator at this site. See link below, or in
Site Directory at left, but please finish reading these Art Guidelines first..
Orders for spot imprints not on a template must include logo positioning instructions
on the P.O., e.g., center left to right, 3" up from bottom. All bags must
be proofed, usually as folded bluelines. Color keys may be furnished when tight
register and complicated trapping is involved. Bag proofs must be approved before
bags can be produced.
Line width
Minimum positive printing line width is two (2) point. The minimum reverse printing
line width is (3) point.
Type size
Minimum positive printing type size is ten (10) point. The minimum reverse printing
type size is twelve (12) point bold. These guidelines are subject to review
with serif type faces, and with designs including heavy areas of broad solid
along with small type in the same color. In these circumstances the type may
need to be larger and/or bolder.
Register tolerance
and trap
Wherever two colors meet, a 4.5 point trap - 1/16" - is required to trap
the colors. Where two colors are adjacent and the designer does not want them
to touch, there should be a minimum of 4.5 points of space between the two colors.
As a general rule this register tolerance precludes the use of two overprinting
colors to create a third color, whether with solids or screens; and when attempted
would need a third color such as black to outline the shape. Note that due to
our production process, there is no trapping or overprinting on Claycoated paper.
Screens and halftones
The line screen rulings used at TULSACK are 50 line and 45 line. Maximum Photoshop
resolution needed is 125 - save space! Due to the differences between how wide
web flexo and offset litho reproduce screens and halftones, we request the opportunity
to review the design elements to provide specific production art direction as
early in the planning process as possible. Halftones must have strong contrast,
as must steps between manually selected screen values of the same color. Subtle
tone variations will not reproduce. Please have the artist contact TULSACK
before going too far with a design using screens and/or halftones.
Formats TULSACK can
accept for artwork
1. Original vector art.
2. Camera ready mechanical or scanned (raster) digital images that do not have
to be enlarged more than 150%.
3. CD for Mac or CD/DVD for PC.
4. 100 & 250 megabyte Zip, or USB flash drives for Mac or PC.
5. As email attachments to submitart@tulsack.com
or submitart@bag-art.com.
Typical maximum as an email attachment is 7 to 10 megabytes. We use Stuffit
compression utility.
6. Adobe Illustrator or high res PDF files preferred.
7. With digital art please send all fonts and image source files and confirming
PDF or hard copy - scaled laser pr ink jest prints, etc. - indicating correct
output.
8. .007 RREU (right reading emulsion up) negatives. Please do not supply negatives
for designs with screens or halftones.
9. .112 photopolymer plates with .050 relief. Please do not try to furnish plates
for designs with screens and/or halftones. Plates already mounted on sticky
back can not be used.
10. .250 Magnesium dies for hot stamping, .0625 to .09375 relief.
11. All supplied production materials subject to review for quality and suitability
in our process. Supplied plates and/or dies must be accompanied by film negatives.
