Mesa Label Express features a completely in-house Art Department. From design concept, to proofing, to final product, our Art Department will work with you to ensure that you receive the product you envisioned, in a timely fashion.

Supported Software:
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• Adobe Illustrator - CS3 (13) or Lower. Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or an Illustrator .eps is our preferred format for vector graphics, as well as Spot Colors.
• Macromedia Freehand MX 2004 or lower.
• Adobe Photoshop - CS3 (9) or Lower. Photoshop is a Raster Graphics program ideal for Four Color Process (CMYK) images, however it does not handle Spot Colors very well. If you use Photoshop to create a spot, or line, job, please refer to the Photoshops' manual/documentation for correct document setup.
• Adobe InDesign 2.0 - The tight integration and compatibility with other Adobe Products make this our preferred page layout program.
• Quark Express 4.03 - If possible please convert Quark files into an .eps or an Adobe Illustrator compatible format.

Semi Supported Software - The following formats are not considered CRA but may still be useful - Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, or Power Point), any program in the Corel Suite- Draw, Painter, Print Shop etc., as well as AutoCAD . These formats might be convertible into a compatible file format or at least some elements, such as large areas of text, might be useful. Please check the programs documentation for compatibility issues and/or conversion directions.

If you have art in an unsupported format, or if you're unsure of the format, please contact our Art Dept. at (858) 668-2820 or E-mail them at artdept@mesalabel.com

ALL FILES that are submitted must include fonts (unless all text has been converted to outlines/paths, read below before converting any text). ANY and ALL Inserted and/or Linked Files must be sent as separate files, even if the files are embedded, in case they need to be altered. Please see below for more specific guidelines.

File Setup/Flexo Printing Guidelines

• Setup files exactly as they are to be printed:
  1. Make sure all files, as well as all linked Graphic Files, are in the correct Color Mode. Ex. CMYK, Spot (Line) Art, Bitmapped, etc. DO NOT submit RGB files. NOTE: In Adobe Illustrator 9 & up, if a Transparency is used in a Spot color object, that object will print 4 color process. Use the percentage slider in the Color palette to lighten a Spot Color.
  2. Use only the colors in the file that will be used on press. If the label is to be printed in Spot (Line) Colors please use only the Pms colors that will be used on press. Delete all other color swatches from the swatch palette.
  3. Correctly and plainly label all 'special elements'. Ex. die lines, foils, or custom inks/colors. Create a custom swatch for each element and name them appropriately.
• Submit ALL fonts. Even common fonts should be submitted to avoid possible confusion. All Fonts must be sent in a Macintosh compatible format. If Mac Compatible fonts cannot be sent please convert all text to outlines/paths. It is also good practice to send both a file converted to outlines, and a text file with the fonts to cover all ends. WARNING: If you convert text to outlines you then lose the ability to edit that text. Make a copy of the text prior to conversion.
• Gradients must have a minimum 3% dot in all colors. Fade all Spot gradients to at least 2% of the PMS Color. Do Not fade to White.
• Position all art at least .0625" (1/16") away from die line. If art extends to the edge of the label, please bleed at least .0625" (1/16") off the edge.
  
• Trapping - DO NOT TRAP. Due to multiple presses and the different specifications per press, we do all trapping inhouse.

Art files can be sent to us any 1 of the 3 ways listed below:

• Smaller files (8Mb or less) can be emailed to us at the following address: artdept@mesalabel.com.

• Large files (100Mb or less) can be sent to us via www.dropload.com. Enter 'artdept@mesalabel.com' in the E-mail field and 'guest' for the password, both lowercase. Simply attach the file you wish to send and click 'Drop It'. An E-mail will notify us when the file has been uploaded. NOTE: Upload may take anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes (or longer, depending on file size and Internet connection), DO NOT disrupt the transfer once it is in progress.

• Art files can be mailed to us on the following media: 100 MB Zip disk, Compact Disc or DVD.

Please compress files before sending via E-mail or Dropload. The following compressed formats are acceptable: zipped (.zip), tar-gzipped (.tgz or .tar.gz), stuffed (.sit), Self Extracting Archive (.sea).

* Changes to the content of the label originally submitted may cause an increase in art charges (consult a customer sales representative for exact pricing). Jobs requiring art of unknown design may be billed for design time (this will be estimated at the quote stage). Any changes or corrections to CRA may incur an additional art charge.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our art department.

Artproofs

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