How should a brand prepare artwork before sending it for label production?

Brands should prepare label artwork as a vector file such as Adobe Illustrator or a properly formatted PDF, with fonts outlined, images at production resolution, colours specified as Pantone or CMYK as appropriate, adequate bleed beyond the trim edge, and a clear die-line indicating the exact cut shape, before sending it for production.

Vector-based files preserve sharp text and line quality regardless of scale, which matters since labels are often printed small and any softness in the artwork becomes more visible at final size; raster formats like JPEG are generally not suitable as a final production file for this reason. Outlining fonts, meaning converting text to shapes rather than leaving it as editable type, ensures the design displays and prints correctly regardless of whether the manufacturer has the same fonts installed on their system.

Images should be placed at a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch at the label’s final printed size to avoid pixelation, and colours should be specified using an objective standard, Pantone for brand-critical colours needing exact, consistent reproduction, or CMYK where photographic or highly varied colour ranges are involved. A bleed allowance, typically a small margin of the design extending beyond the intended trim edge, prevents unwanted white edges if the die-cutting is not perfectly aligned to the printed image. Finally, a separate die-line layer showing the precise shape the label will be cut to, including any tear perforations for multilayer or promotional labels, gives the manufacturer exact production specifications rather than requiring them to guess the intended final shape from the visible design alone.