Technical resources and checklists

How to use these

These are working checklists, not certificates. They are written to catch the things that most often cause a job to come back, and they are deliberately short enough to be used.

Two notes before you adopt them. First, they are a starting point: add the items specific to your plant, your substrates and your customers, because those are the ones that will actually bite you. Second, they assume nothing about your equipment, so a few lines will not apply. Delete those rather than ticking them out of habit.

Every page on this site prints cleanly, so the browser print command gives you a usable copy without a download.

Artwork release checklist

Run before artwork leaves the studio or is accepted from a customer.

• Dieline present, on its own layer, and matching the approved structure
• Panel dimensions verified against the structure, not against the previous job
• Bleed present on every edge that is cut, at the value your converting actually needs
• Critical text and elements inside the safety margin, allowing for fold and seal tolerance
• Correct number of separations, with no stray spot colours left in the document
• Spot colours named consistently and matching the job specification exactly
• Technical elements such as dieline, varnish and white set to overprint, not knockout
• Images at adequate effective resolution at final size, after any scaling
• Images in the correct colour space for the intended process and substrate
• Total area coverage within the limit agreed for this process and substrate (check it)
• Minimum printable dot and minimum line weight respected for the process
• Barcode present, correct symbology, adequate bar width reduction and quiet zone
• Barcode orientation suitable for the printing direction
• Small reversed type checked against the minimum the process can hold
• Fonts embedded or outlined, and no missing links
• Legal and regulatory text present, legible and at the required size
• Version, date and job reference on the file, so the correct artwork is identifiable later

Prepress checklist

Run between artwork approval and plate or cylinder output.

• Correct dieline version confirmed with the die maker or structural designer
• Step and repeat correct: number across, number around, gaps and orientation
• Repeat length checked against the cylinder or sleeve available
• Distortion applied where the process requires it (flexo distortion calculator)
• Trapping direction and width suitable for the process and the registration it holds
• Screening, ruling and dot shape chosen for the process, anilox and substrate
• Curves applied for the correct press and substrate combination, and only once
• Separations visually checked individually, not only as a composite
• White and varnish layers correct, including any pull-back from the edge
• Print direction and winding direction confirmed against the converting requirement
• Proof produced on the correct stock, or with the correct simulation, and signed
• Plate or cylinder output parameters recorded with the job
• Job archived with enough information to repeat it without guesswork

Colour management and G7 readiness checklist

Run before a calibration project, and periodically afterwards. If several of these are unresolved, fix them before calibrating rather than after.

• Measurement instrument calibrated, and its measurement condition recorded (M0, M1 or M2)
• The same measurement condition used everywhere: proof, press and QC
• Backing, aperture and illumination consistent between operators
• Substrate white point measured and recorded for each material in use
• Press mechanically stable before calibration: impression, pressures, rollers, tension
• Anilox rolls inspected and volumes verified rather than assumed
• Ink specification fixed and consistent between deliveries
• Current press behaviour fingerprinted and recorded before any change
• Tonal response and grey balance evaluated against the target, not by eye
• Curves applied in one place in the workflow, with no duplicate correction downstream
• Proofing system verified against the same target as the press
• Tolerances agreed per substrate, and realistic for what the press holds
• Delta E method stated explicitly in the specification (CIE76 and CIEDE2000 compared)
• Routine measurement schedule defined, with records kept and reviewed
• Operators trained on what the calibration does and how to maintain it

Flexo first checks

When a flexo job is not behaving, these are the checks worth doing before anything is changed. Change one thing at a time and record it, or you will not know what fixed it.

Wider defect coverage across all processes is on the troubleshooting page.

Production calculation sheets

The calculators on this site do the job a calculation sheet used to do, and they show the formula and the assumptions instead of hiding them in a locked cell.

More checklists

Further checklists are being added, including packaging structure review, incoming material inspection and QC record forms. They will appear on this page as they are written, in the same readable format rather than as downloads.

If there is a checklist you need and it is not here, tell me what it is for and it will go near the front of the queue.

Frequently asked questions

Related tools and reading