Each copy of the box placed on the sheet is called an up. The more ups per sheet, the fewer sheets, press passes and board you need, and the lower the unit price.
Start with the sheet
Sheet size depends on the printer’s press. 70 × 100 cm is very common among board manufacturers, but many offset presses run 52 × 74 cm or 35 × 52 cm sheets. That’s why imposition is calculated for a specific press: ask your printer for their sheet size.
Margins you can’t use
- The gripper margin: a strip of about ten millimeters that the press uses to grab the sheet.
- Margins and marks: color control bars and registration marks around the usable area.
- Space between ups: it holds each box’s bleed. Some shops butt the ups together to share a cut line when the artwork allows it.
Saving space
- Head-to-tail: rotating every other up by 180° lets flaps and glue flaps interlock.
- Nesting: offsetting the rows so stepped shapes slot into one another.
- Separate parts: a two-piece box (base and lid) can share the same sheet.
On boite.ma
With the Starter and Business plans, the editor calculates the imposition on the sheet of your choice: ups in a grid, head-to-tail or nested, with the number of ups and the sheet utilization rate. The imposed file downloads as a PDF.