Printing Packaging

Why the printing of packaging can make or break your pack design

Printing packaging is the stage at which months of work can come undone in a matter of hours.

Of the entire product supply chain, from new product development through to a package on the shelf of a retail outlet, printing is the most archaic stage. The printing process that was invented over 500 years ago is still used in basically the same way today.

The photograph above is of an offset printing press taken around 1911.



Printing presses of today look modern, but the actual process of getting ink onto paper (or another material) is very much like it has been for hundreds of years.

While technology has made printing packaging easier and better than it has been, there are still a number of restrictions to take into account when considering how a pack is designed. We have come across a number of situations where the signed-off design, seen on a computer screen or laser printout, cannot be printed because of technical restrictions.

SIDENOTE - Different printing methods

Food and other FMCG products are now packaged with a range of materials including paper, cardboard, plastics and metals. Because of this, different printing methods are required to apply the branding and graphic imagery for the product. A good packaging design agency will spend time and resources ensuring that the design of any pack meets the specifications of the printing process that will be used.

Offset Printing

Offset printing is still the most common form of printing and used for most basic 4 colour printing work. Traditionally, all printing used the offset method and most paper and cardboard packs are printed in this way.

Offset is a very 'forgiving' form of printing packaging and is usually able to replicate most of the graphic elements you can see on a computer screen - for example gradients.

It is common for most packs that using offset printing to use what is termed '4 colour process'. This means that all colours seen on the final pack are printed using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. This is commonly termed 'CMYK', with 'K' standing for Black.

Flexographic Printing

Most plastic packaging is printed using a flexographic (or 'flexo') process. An alternative to this is Gravure printing, which is more expensive but has some advantages over flexo.

All design agencies now supply files in electronic format, direct to a printer or a pre-production house. This is a specialist company set up to make alterations to the electronic files of a designer so that they can be used on a printing press.

A further consideration when printing is an understanding of the available colour gamut. The vast range of colours seen by the human eye cannot always be printed using todays technology and some colours can be printed better using one method than another.

SIDEBAR - The Pre-Production Meeting


Prior to supplying electronic files to a printer, a design agency should always call a 'pre-production' meeting. This meeting includes the client, the agency, the printer, the reproduction house and the company that will actually pack the product into the packaging (often this is the client, but not always). By doing this, each part of the process is considered by all and problems can be avoided prior to work being done.

Because the final result is what REALLY matters, it is always advisable to have representation from both the client and the design agency for a 'press-check' when printing packaging. This is the stage at which the finished packaging comes off the end of the printing press. The final pack should be compared to the proof signed off by the client, with the intent that they look the same. If they don't, alterations can be made so that the final result communicates the product and the brand in the best manner possible.

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