1. The dieline
- Work on the dieline at 1:1 scale, at the correct dimensions and for the correct board thickness. Never resize it by hand.
- Keep the dieline on its own locked layer, in spot colors (cut, crease, bleed), set to overprint and non-printing.
- Don’t edit the lines: moving a cut changes the box. If a dimension needs to change, regenerate the dieline.
2. Bleed and safe zone
- Extend backgrounds and images all the way to the bleed, usually 3 to 5 mm beyond the cut. On boite.ma, it’s 5 mm.
- Keep text, logos and codes at least 3 mm inside the cut lines and 2 mm away from the folds.
- Leave the glue flap free of ink and varnish.
3. Color
- Images and solid areas in CMYK, or in Pantone if the shade must be exact and your printer has planned for it.
- Small text and thin rules in black only (100% K), not rich black: otherwise the slightest misregistration makes them look blurry.
- Large black areas in rich black, using your printer’s recipe.
- Kraft and unbleached boards shift colors: ask for a test print if the result matters.
4. Images, fonts and barcodes
- Images at 300 dpi at print size; 150 dpi is the bare minimum.
- Fonts outlined or embedded; a minimum size of around 6 pt for comfortable reading, larger for regulatory text where the law requires it.
- Barcodes as vectors, at 100% of their nominal size, black on a light background, with their quiet zone, and never across a fold.
5. Check the assembled box
A flat plan doesn’t show everything. Assemble the box: in 3D first, then in paper, printed at 100% and cut out by hand. Make sure no text is upside down on a flap, no fold cuts through the logo and nothing important ends up on a hidden panel.
6. Export
- A 1:1 PDF, usually PDF/X, with the dieline on its own layer. Ask your printer which format they prefer.
- The dieline on its own, as PDF, DXF or SVG, for the die maker.
- A proof, which you approve and sign off before the print run.
To go further on the design itself, read our guide to designing effective packaging.