You had a great logo designed: vivid colors, modern fonts. You sent the file off, opened the roll labels and got a shock: dull colors, white slivers at the edges and tiny text you can't read.
Sadly this happens a lot, because digital design and physical printing (especially on rolls) are very different disciplines.
Taking into account coated paper and the dynamics of roll printing, here are 5 golden rules for a flawless result.
1. Work in CMYK, Not RGB (the Biggest Mistake)
Screens are light-based and use RGB (red, green, blue). Printing presses are ink-based and use CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black).
Send a design in RGB and the bright neon green on your screen can print as a dull, muddy forest green. Before ordering coated roll labels, switch your design software (Illustrator, Photoshop) to CMYK and check how the colors change.
2. Bleed and Safe Area
After printing, roll labels are cut with sharp dies, and machines can shift by fractions of a millimeter.
- Bleed: extend background colors or images at least 2-3 mm beyond the cut line. Otherwise a tiny shift leaves unwanted white lines at the edge.
- Safe area: keep logos and text at least 3 mm inside the cut line, or your letters may be cut off.
Our template tool sets up bleed and safe area for you.
3. The Power of Vector
Prepare your design in vector format (AI, PDF, EPS) where possible. Vector artwork is built from math, so it stays sharp however much you enlarge it.
If you use photos (raster), make sure they are at least 300 DPI. Low-quality 72 DPI images from the internet print pixelated and cheapen your brand. More in our article What is DPI?
4. Readability and Contrast
Coated labels have a semi-gloss surface that can reflect light. So:
- Avoid thin fonts at very small sizes (under 6 pt); ink can spread and make text unreadable.
- Don't put dark text on a dark background.
- Barcodes: black bars on a white background is the safest choice. A black barcode on red may not scan.
5. Unwind Direction
This is vital if you use a labeling machine. Which way should your design face when it comes off the roll?
- Top off
- Bottom off
- Left or right off
If you apply labels by hand it hardly matters. But with a machine, you must specify the unwind direction when ordering, or the whole roll may be unusable. See our unwind direction guide.
Designed correctly, coated labels make your product shine on the shelf. The technical details can seem daunting, though.
Not sure your design is print-ready? Send us your file and we'll check it before printing. To cut the risk of mistakes, contact us.
