Resource Page

Standard Die List

Over 2000 standard dies available. Please email us for specific sizes.

• Squares

• Rectangles

• Ovals

• Circles

• Sawtooth

• Starburst

• Special Shapes

File Format Guidelines
Click here to print Format Guidelines from pdfGuidelines for supplying computer-generated artwork to A&M Label PLATFORM: MACINTOSH OS X & OS 9 PREFERRED MAC VERSION PROGRAMS Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Quark XPress Photoshop ACCEPTED MAC VERSION PROGRAMS FreeHand PageMaker NO Powerpoint, Word, Excel, or other non-vector formats. FONT INFORMATION Convert text to paths or supply fonts and printer fonts with file. COLORS When assigning a spot color to art or text, please indicate Pantone color. CMYK is acceptable with screens of 100% to 2% minimum if possible. DIE LINES & BLEEDS Please include die line. Please add 1/8” bleed when applicable. FILE INFORMATION Please include all placed images (i.e. EPS, TIFF, PSD, etc.) used for the job to be printed. Placed images must be at least 300 dpi resolution for printing purposes. • When providing art on a disc, please include a hard copy printout of the artwork. • When providing art as an email attachment, please include a PDF file of the artwork. Include special instructions when applicable. We can accept compressed files: Disk Doubler or Stuffit (Mac); zip (DOS). ACCEPTED FILE STORAGE Mac formatted – 3.5” Diskettes Mac formatted – Zip disk, 100MB Mac formatted – CD-ROM NOTE: Following these instructions does not guarantee the art will output. If any of the above are not possible, please send in Camera Ready Art (film or print). Additional Information Please mail the following information with your disk when sending computer generated art: - It is important that you include a hard copy of the artwork and special instructions. - A composite proof and separated color plates are also beneficial. Please send the latest version of disk art and label each color by the exact Pantone number or Gill standard color number wanted. - It is also helpful to include the directory showing the file(s) on the disk. - Computer generated artwork is simply a matter of saving and copying onto a disk. Remember: Do not send all of your original files. Always make a COPY to send. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at: A&M Label 800.989.8809 or 248.437.5200 Fax: 248.437.8777 28505 Automation Blvd. Wixom, Michigan 48393-3154

Glossary
Click here to print Glossary from pdf

Following are definitions of terms commonly used in label design, printing, finishing and application: - Adhesives - Materials used to bond labels to containers. There are two types: water based and hot melt. Pressure-sensitive labels have integral adhesive of three types: rubber based, solvent acrylic and emulsion acrylic. - Black-and-white - Originals or reproductions in single color or monochrome, as distinguished from multicolor. - Black printer - In color reproduction, the black plate is used to increase detail and contrast of neutral tones. - Break for color - To separate the parts of a copy to be printed in different colors. - Caliper - The thickness of a single sheet of paper measured to the nearest ten-thousandths of an inch and expressed in thousandths of an inch (equivalent to mils or points). - Camera-ready - Copy which is ready for photography. - Cast Coated - Coated paper dried under pressure against a highly polished cylinder to produce a high-gloss enamel finish. - Chokes and spreads - Overlaps of overprinting images to prevent color fringes or white borders around image detail due to slight misregister during printing. This is called "trapping" in digital imaging systems. - CMYK - Cyan, magenta, yellow and black subtractive color primaries. - Coated paper - Paper with a surface coating that fills the pores and produces a smooth, level finish. - CIS paper - Abbreviation for paper coated on one side. - Coating - A pigmented emulsion applied to the surface of paper to improve its printability. Mixture applied to a metal plate. In printing, an emulsion, varnish or lacquer applied in-line or off-line over a printed surface to give it added protection. - Color balance - The proper ratio of cyan, magenta and yellow to reproduce a color subject. - Color separation - The process of separating color originals into yellow, magenta, cyan and black printing negatives or positives, using blue, green, red, and special filters for the black. - Copy - Any furnished material (manuscript, pictures, art work, etc.) to be used in the production of printing. - Cut and stack labels - Glue applied labels which are cut to size and piled in stacks of 500 to 1,000 labels ready for gluing and application by the user. Some heat-sealed labels are also precut and stacked. - Cyan - A subtractive primary color which reflects blue and green light and absorbs red light. - Die-cutting - The process of using dies or sharp steel rules to cut special shapes of labels on printed sheets. - Digital color proof - Off-press color proof produced from digital data without the use of separation films. - Draw-down - A method of roughly determining color shade by drawing down a small amount of ink with the edge of a putty knife or spatula. - Embossing - Impressing surface with dies to produce a relief image. - Fanfold - Type of folded paper that can be fed and printed continuously on a press or computer printer. - Finishing - Post-press operations to complete the manufacture of labels such as varnishing, overcoating, lacquering, bronzing, gold-stamping, embossing, straight cutting and die-cutting. - Flexography - Relief printing process using an anilox inking system and fluid inks. - Foil/paper laminate - High quality, expensive substrate for label printing consisting of a paper backing to which thin aluminum foil (0.00025-0.00035 inch thick) has been laminated. - Gloss - A measure of the spectral reflectance of light from a surface. - Halftone - The reproduction of continuous-tone subjects, such as photographs, through a contact halftone screen, which converts the image into dots with different sizes and equal spacing between centers. - Hard copy - A permanent visual record of the output of a computer or printer as opposed to a soft copy, which is a visual image on a video display terminal. - Heat-seal labels - Labels with a latent adhesive that remains dormant until activated by a heated plate on the labeling machine. - Hot melt adhesives - Thermoplastic materials with 100% solids that liquefy when heated and resolidify on cooling. They are used for attaching labels to metal cans and plastic bottles and as hot pick-ups for labels in high speed labeling machines. - Lamination - A plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet for protection or appearance. - Layout - The drawing or sketch of a proposed printed label. - Line copy - Copy for reproduction of text and subjects without intermediate tones. - M - Abbreviation for a quantity of 1,000 sheets of paper. - Magenta - A subtractive primary color which reflects blue and red light and absorbs green light. - Metalized paper - A label substrate consisting of a lacquered CIS paper on which a very thin film of aluminum has been vapor deposited under high vacuum. - Mylar - A polyester film by DuPont particularly suited for stripping positives because of its dimensional stability. - Negative - Photographic film in which tonal values of image are reversed, i.e., dark areas appear light and vice versa. - Opacity - Property of paper which minimizes “show-through” of printing from the back side or the next sheet. - Opaque ink - An ink that is not transparent and reflects only its color regardless of what colors it overprints. - Overrun - Copies printed in excess of the specified quantity. - Plate - The image carrier in letterpress, flexography, lithography, letterset and some sheet-fed gravure printing. - Positive - Photographic film in which the dark and light tonal values of image are similar to the original. Reverse of negative. - Pressure-sensitive labels - Labels with an active adhesive coating, protected by a liner or backing sheet until used. - Primary label - Labels with an active adhesive coating, protected by a liner or backing sheet until used. - Process colors - The subtractive primaries: yellow, magenta and cyan, plus black in 4-color process printing designated as CMYK. - Process printing - Printing from a series of two or more halftone plates to produce intermediate colors and shades. In 4-color process, the colors are yellow, magenta, cyan and black. - Progressive proofs (progs) - Proofs made from the separate images in color process work, showing the sequence of printing and the result after each additional color has been applied. - Quality control - Procedures for the measurement and control of raw materials, the printing process and the product. - Register - Printing two or more images in exact alignment. - Secondary label - Smaller than primary label with information on ingredients, nutrition, instructions for use, cautions and warnings, prices, promotional advertising, and special deals, like rebates, etc. - Stiffness - A measure of the ability of paper to resist an applied bending force. - Stock - Paper or other material to be printed. - Tag labels - Labels on heavy paper or tag stock with die-cut holes. - Transparency - Color or monochrome photographic positive on a transparent base. - UV ink - Solventless ink that is cured by ultraviolet radiation. - Varnish - A thin, clear coating of mixtures of natural and synthetic resins and drying oil applied to a printed sheet for protection or appearance. - Yellow - One of the subtractive primary colors which reflects red and green light and absorbs blue light. If you have any questions, please contact us at: A&M Label 800.989.8809 or 248.437.5200 Fax: 248.437.8777 28505 Automation Blvd. Wixom, Michigan 48393-3154