What is the difference between this and the retail packaging checklist?

This one covers the design stage specifically — the decisions made between receiving a dieline and releasing artwork. The retail checklist is broader and covers structure, commercial terms and logistics as well. If you already have a dieline in hand, this is the relevant list.

Why does the substrate need confirming before design starts?

Because it changes colour behaviour. Kraft and uncoated stocks absorb ink, so colours print duller and warmer than the same file on coated board, and white needs an opaque underbase. Designing on white and discovering the stock afterwards means reworking the palette.

How small can text safely go?

Above 6pt for positive text and above 8pt for reversed, as a working floor. Reversed type fills in more readily because ink spreads into the knocked-out area, and the effect is worse on absorbent and fluted substrates than on coated board.

Where should the barcode never go?

Across a fold, across a curve, or over a perforation. Any of the three distorts the bars enough to fail at the scanner, and it is discovered in a warehouse rather than in prepress. It is a dieline decision made before artwork rather than a layout choice.

What does pre-flight actually check?

That the file will reproduce as intended — image resolution at placed size, fonts embedded or outlined, bleed on every trim edge, the dieline on a non-printing layer, and total ink coverage within the press limit. It catches mechanical problems, not design ones.

Which panel should carry the brand mark?

The one that faces the shopper on shelf, which is not always the largest face. Packs frequently sit shoulder to shoulder, making a narrow side panel the face people actually see. Ask how the product is merchandised before deciding.

Why use rich black on solids but 100% K on small text?

A four-colour black on small type registers imperfectly and reads soft, because four plates cannot align perfectly at that scale. A single black plate stays crisp. On large solid areas the reverse applies — one plate looks washed out and a rich build looks dense.

What is total ink coverage and why does it have a limit?

The sum of all four channels in the heaviest area. Past the substrate's limit the ink cannot absorb, causing set-off onto the next sheet and slow drying. Stacking heavy channels to make a darker black is the usual way it gets exceeded.

What happens if I leave a white object set to overprint?

It disappears entirely. Overprint means print on top of what is beneath rather than knocking out, and white ink over colour reads as nothing. It looks perfect on screen, which is why it survives to proof so often.

Should artwork be built on the dieline or transferred to it?

Built on it. A dieline shows which panel is front, where the glue lap hides artwork, where creases fall and where safe areas run. Designing on a rectangle and transferring is how content ends up under a lap or across a fold.

Packaging Design Checklist

This checklist is for the design stage specifically — the decisions made between receiving a dieline and releasing artwork to production.

Before opening a design file

Dieline received from the supplier for the confirmed size
Panel orientation understood: which face is front, which is hidden under the glue lap
Regulated content collected at final length, not as placeholder text
Substrate confirmed, since kraft and uncoated stocks change colour behaviour
Print method confirmed, since flexo and offset have different detail limits
Finish decisions made, since spot UV and emboss need artwork designed for them

Hierarchy and legibility

One clear primary message readable from three feet
Brand mark positioned on the panel that faces the shopper on shelf
Variant or flavour distinguishable at a glance from neighbouring SKUs
Product name legible at the smallest size the pack will appear
Secondary information genuinely secondary, not competing

Regulated panel

Ingredient, INCI or supplement facts panel laid out at legal minimum size or larger
Allergen declarations present and prominent where required
Net weight, batch space and country of origin included
State-specific warnings confirmed for every market
Compliance sign-off obtained in writing before release

Structure interaction

No text or barcode crossing a fold line
Critical content held inside safety margins on every panel
Nothing important positioned under a glue lap
Interior print considered where the pack opens to reveal it
Window position checked against the product inside

Print constraints

Colour mode CMYK, spot colours named consistently
Rich black on large solids, 100% K on small text
Positive text above 6pt, reversed text above 8pt
Fine detail simplified where foil or emboss is applied
Gradients checked if printing flexo on corrugated
Total ink coverage within press limit

Barcode

Placed on a flat panel, not across a fold or curve
At or above 80% of nominal size
Dark bars on a light background with a clear quiet zone
Scan-tested on the printed substrate, not from a screen

Pre-flight before release

Images 300 dpi at placed size
Fonts outlined or embedded
Bleed on every trim edge
Dieline layer separate and non-printing
Unused swatches removed
File named with product, size and version

After the proof

Proof checked against a written specification, not memory
Physical sample reviewed where fit or colour is critical
Approval given by someone authorised to give it
Approved file archived with dieline, board spec and colour targets

The technical export requirements behind several of these checks are set out in full in our packaging file requirements reference.

Designing on the dieline, not beside it

The most common structural error in packaging artwork is designing on a rectangle and transferring to the dieline afterwards. It looks equivalent and it is not.

A dieline carries information a rectangle does not: which panel is the front, where the glue lap sits, where the creases fall, which faces are hidden when the pack is assembled, and where the safety margins run. Artwork built without that information routinely places something important under a lap, across a fold or outside the safe area.

Import the dieline as a locked non-printing layer and build on top of it. Every subsequent check in this list becomes visual rather than theoretical.

What the panels are actually for

Not every face carries equal weight, and treating them equally wastes effort.

Front panel. Seen from two to three feet on a shelf. One clear message, the brand mark, and the variant. Everything else is secondary by definition.

Back panel. Read in the hand at close range. This is where regulated content lives, and where it should be laid out first at final length.

Side panels. Frequently the face a customer actually sees, because packs sit shoulder to shoulder. Narrow, and worth designing rather than filling.

Top and base. Base is generally covered or on a shelf. Top matters where products are displayed in a tray or a bin.

Interior. Free real estate on any pack that opens toward the customer, and the surface people photograph on a direct-to-consumer product.

Colour that survives production

Three practical constraints catch designs that were built without them.

Rich black on large solids and 100% K on small text. A four-colour black on 8pt type registers imperfectly and reads soft; a single-plate black stays crisp.

Total ink coverage within the press limit. Stacking four heavy channels on a dark area exceeds what the substrate can absorb, and the result is set-off and slow drying rather than a richer black.

Spot colours named consistently. A swatch called “Brand Blue” in one file and “PMS 293” in another produces two plates for one colour, and the cost of that surfaces on the invoice.

Before you release

The pre-flight list in this checklist is mechanical, and it is worth running it as a list rather than by eye. Missing bleed on one edge, an image placed at 180 dpi, or a stray unused swatch are all invisible on screen and all cost a proof cycle.