3 Questions To Ask When Selecting A Packaging Pre-Press Partner
You have your packaging design in hand, and you're ready to go to the printers and turn your creation into reality… or are you? Packaging design is a multi-step process, and it's easy to forget that the critical pre-press stage lies between your completed design and the final package printing step. If you're designing your own packaging for the first time, the importance of this stage may not be apparent.
While creating the design that will appear on your packaging may seem like the most exciting step, a good pre-press partner is necessary to help you convert your beautiful artwork into a practical product. The pre-press process is itself a multi-stage endeavor that requires an experienced partner with industry expertise. These three questions will help you select the right pre-press company for your needs.
1. Do You Have Relevant Experience?
A significant part of the pre-press process involves taking your two-dimensional artwork and creating three-dimensional models and printed prototypes. These steps allow you to see how your design will look in practice and provide the opportunity to spot potential flaws or issues that require correction. A good pre-press company will give you the most accurate view of your final results.
However, packaging comes in many shapes and sizes, from simple cardboard boxes to complex shapes that make unboxing a completely unique experience. A pre-press company with experience in one packaging type may lack experience in other areas, so it's important to ask prospective companies if they've worked for clients with similar needs in the past.
2. What's Your Turnaround Time?
Pre-press is far from a simple process or a simple formality. Instead, each part of the pre-press process is critical in ensuring that your design translates well to the real world. Problems in pre-press, or failing to take this stage seriously, can result in serious printing problems that can affect the quality or appearance of your final project.
Because this process is complex, pre-press professionals can often take a surprising amount of time to evaluate your project and return their results. Whether designing packaging for yourself or a client, you'll need to account for this turnaround time. Remember that turnaround time can vary depending on project complexity, so provide as many details as possible to receive an accurate estimate.
3. What's Your Policy for Revisions?
Remember that the goal of pre-press is to spot issues that can potentially affect your production printing run. As a result, the pre-press process will typically result in several deliverables, including physical prototypes, dielines, and various digital models and files. If you discover issues with any of these results, you may need to go back and adjust your original design.
Different printing companies will have different policies on pre-press revisions, so it's important to understand your options if you need to make changes at any step along the way.
To learn more, contact a pre-press service in your area such as Lincage Imaging Systems.