Artwork specification

So that your card is printed and finished exactly as you designed it, please follow the specifications below. The easiest option is to supply a print-ready PDF — vector data (logos, type) stays sharp and spot colours separate cleanly.

1 · File & format

Pure image data (JPG/PNG) cannot contain spot-colour channels. For hot foil and Pantone spot colours you therefore need a PDF, AI or EPS.

2 · Setting up hot foil & spot colours

Hot foil and Pantone spot colours are printed as a separate channel in addition to CMYK. Set up the area to be finished or printed in a spot colour like this:

1. Create a new solid (spot) colour. In InDesign/Illustrator, in the Swatches panel: New swatch → Colour type: Spot.
2. Naming. For hot foil, name the swatch exactly Heissfolie (with several foils, e.g. Heissfolie Gold). For a Pantone spot colour, use the official Pantone name, e.g. PANTONE 286 C.
3. Colour = 100 % cyan. Give the spot colour the appearance values C=100 · M=0 · Y=0 · K=0. This is only the on-screen marker so the area is clearly visible — which foil/Pantone it actually becomes is decided in the configurator or with us.
4. Set to overprint. Set all foil/spot-colour objects to overprint fill (InDesign: Window → Output → Attributes). That way the CMYK underneath is not knocked out.
5. Vector & minimum sizes. Build foil areas as vectors, no gradients/transparency inside the foil. Fine lines ≥ 0.2 mm, positive type ≥ 5 pt.

3 · What the configurator does with it

When you upload your PDF in the card designer, we render it straight into the preview. We detect the area marked as 100 % cyan automatically and lay the chosen look over it:

• Hot foil → metallic simulation in the chosen foil colour (gold, silver, copper, blue, green, matt/gloss white; more on request).
• Pantone spot colour → we show the colour as an approximation. If you enter “286 C”, for example, we use the matching hex value for visualisation — even if the PDF does not (yet) contain a real spot-colour channel.
• UV varnish → colourless high-gloss reflection on the marked area.

The on-screen preview is an approximation for orientation. The physical Pantone fan deck and our checked prepress are binding — metallic foils can never be shown exactly on a monitor.

4 · Checklist before uploading

• Trim size 85 × 55 mm, 3 mm bleed all round, crop marks optional
• Everything in CMYK, images ≥ 300 dpi
• Fonts embedded / converted to outlines
• Foil/spot colour as a named solid colour, 100 % cyan, set to overprint
• Front and back saved separately

Unsure about the setup? Send us your PDF via the enquiry form or to order@floss-cards.de — we check the data free of charge and come back with feedback.