Custom Lay Flat Pouch (Tear Notch)

SPOT White layer on a metallic film

Incorporating a white ink layer when working with metallic or clear substrates ensures the final result aligns with your vision. It enhances color accuracy and vibrancy, improves visibility and legibility, and enables the application of special effects. 

Opacity

Metallic and clear substrates are transparent or semi-transparent, allowing light to pass through. Without a white ink layer underneath, colors can appear dull or translucent as the substrate shows through. Adding a white ink layer creates opacity, ensuring the colors remain vibrant and true to your vision

Color Accuracy

Certain colors, especially lighter shades, may not appear accurately on metallic or clear substrates without a white ink layer. The white layer acts as a base, allowing the colors to appear as intended by blocking the substrate's color from affecting the colors. . 

Contrast

White ink enhances contrast, increasing visibility and legibility, particularly on metallic substrates where the reflective surface can cause glare or reduce clarity. 

Special Effects

White ink can be used creatively to create unique effects on metallic or clear substrates, such as creating highlights, adding texture, or simulating spot varnishes. This can add an extra layer of sophistication to your packaging.

Setting up a SPOT white layer in Adobe Illustrator

To set up a SPOT White layer follow these steps:

1. Open your document in Adobe Illustrator.
2. Select the object or area you want to apply the SPOT White layer to.
3. Go to the "Swatches" panel (Window > Swatches) and click on the Swatch Options menu icon (located at the top right corner of the panel).
4. Choose "New Swatch" from the dropdown menu.
5. In the New Swatch dialog box, select "Spot" as the Color Type.
6. Choose "White" as the color.
7. Optionally, you can give your new swatch a name for easy reference.
8. Click "OK" to create the SPOT White swatch.
9. Apply the SPOT White swatch to your selected object or area by clicking on it in the Swatches panel.

Turning your fonts to 'Outline' in Adobe Illustrator

To avoid errors in processing, ensure all your fonts have been turned to outline before you upload your PDF to the platform.

To turn fonts into outlines, follow these steps:

1. Select the text or texts you want to convert to outlines.
2. Go to the "Type" menu at the top.
3. Choose "Create Outlines" from the dropdown menu. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + O (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + O (Mac).
4. After selecting "Create Outlines," the text will now be converted into vector shapes, effectively turning the fonts into outlines.

Keep in mind that once you convert text to outlines, you can no longer edit it as text. Therefore, it's a good practice to make a copy of the text before converting it to outlines if you might need to edit it later.

Make sure your artwork has bleed applied

Including bleed in your artwork is crucial, especially for projects like lay-flat and stand-up pouches. Bleed refers to the extra space around the edge of the final trimmed document where the artwork extends. This ensures that when the document is cut, the artwork reaches the edge without leaving blank spaces. Proper bleeds and margins are necessary for a polished finish, with a recommended bleed area of 3mm (0.125 inches).

To set up bleed:

1. Open your document in Adobe Illustrator.
2. Go to "File" > "Document Setup."
3. In the Document Setup dialog box, enter your desired bleed value (e.g., 3mm) in the "Bleed" input boxes.
4. Click "OK" to apply the bleed settings to your document.

When creating your artwork, extend any background colors, images, or elements that touch the edge of the document beyond the bleed area. This ensures that there are no white borders when the document is trimmed.

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