Test every graphic detail of your pack
Paying attention to packaging is now an integral part of any marketing strategy, to promote the brand in the right way and to ensure that the customer comes to associate the beauty of the logo and graphics with the quality of the product. In order to assess whether the graphic study carried out upstream is positively reflected in reality, a test print is an essential preliminary process, which makes it possible to identify any setting errors and, at the same time, to touch and see the quality and final appearance of the packaging.
Precisely for this reason, we always recommend requesting a test print before starting the production process: an intermediate step that has low costs and saves time and money. Let’s take a closer look at its countless benefits.
Avoid frequent graphic errors with a printing test
A test print, especially when choosing a new packaging supplier, allows you to quickly and easily avoid a series of graphic and aesthetic problems, such as:
● incorrect positioning of lettering, logos and graphics, which can be cut off during the production process if they are too close to the cut or fold line;
● typos and misprints, especially if ingredients or instructions for use are printed on the packaging, as this is perceived by the end customer as an indication of poor product quality and therefore projects a negative image of the brand;
● low quality images or graphics, which is usually attributable to the use of low-resolution files and which affect the clear legibility of the packaging. In this case, it is also always a good idea to enquire about the type of printing technique used by the supplier, in order to understand whether the graphic design is perfectly suited to inks and machinery;
● a range of colours that is inconsistent with the corporate image or that in any case does not communicate positive sensations. Preliminary studies of packaging colours are essential in a marketing campaign, as the correlation between colour and brand has the ability to influence consumer choice. It is therefore wise to ensure that they are well harmonised with each other and do not impair the legibility of the logos or the information on the packaging;
● an unreadable or incorrectly sized font, which is often directly responsible for the misinterpretation of written texts.
All the benefits of a printing test before the production
To summarize, requesting a test print from the graphics team in charge of packaging production has all sorts of benefits that save you time and money in the long run. As we have seen, printing an initial test version allows you to:
● evaluate whether the colour range is right and consistent with the type of sizes and material chosen, making it possible to change them in good time if necessary;
● understand the graphic rendering of the logo and lettering, in order to understand if they are clearly legible and identifiable by the customer;
● make various tests with different graphics, to arrive at a definitive choice if there are any doubts in the design phase;
● check whether the material chosen is the right one for the final packaging, by checking first-hand the quality of the finishes and any optional extras to be applied to the packaging (such as transparent windows, opaque lettering or ‘open-and-close’ zips);
● benefit from the experience of specialised graphic designers, who will check that logos and graphics are correctly aligned, as well as all aspects of cutting and assembling the packaging, thus preventing errors from occurring during production.
That is why, with Flexie, you can receive an initial version of your design on a reel at home: 10 linear metres, in the material you deem most suitable, so that you can see for yourself the printing yield, assess colour consistency and, if you are in doubt, various graphic proposals. In this way, it will be much easier to arrive at the final version to be printed.
