BlogPackaging

Preparing artwork for a private-label pack

Cartons, labels and leaflets are where a formula meets the shelf. A few decisions made early save a reprint later.

MAS Pharma team1 min read
A flat die-cut carton sheet beside a folded white carton and a folded leaflet on navy

Your artwork is printed and packed on our lines, so it has to fit the pack exactly and carry everything the market requires. This is what we check before anything goes to print.

Design on the dieline

Every carton and label has a dieline: the flat template with its cut, fold and glue lines. Ask for the dieline of your exact pack and design on it, so each panel lands where it folds and nothing important sits on a glue flap.

What the pack has to say

  • Product name and form, for example syrup or effervescent tablets.
  • Full composition, matching the approved formula word for word.
  • Directions for use, warnings and storage conditions.
  • Net quantity, batch number and expiry date.
  • Who made it and who markets it.

Many markets also want this text in their own language as well as English. Check the label rules of the market before the layout is final, not after.

Leave room for batch and expiry

Batch number and expiry date are printed on the line at packing time. Keep a clear, unvarnished area for them on the carton and label.

Barcodes

Barcode numbers are registered by the brand owner with GS1 in their country. Print dark bars on a light ground, at full size, and test a printed proof with a scanner.

Files we need

  • Print-ready PDF, with fonts outlined.
  • CMYK colour, with any spot colours named.
  • 3 mm bleed on every edge.
  • Images at 300 dpi at final size.
  • The dieline on its own layer.

Approve the proof

Before printing, you approve a final proof. Read the composition against the formula once more: where the product is registered, the authority compares the two.

Starting a pack design? Ask us for the dieline of the format you have in mind.

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