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Creating a White Ink Swatch in Illustrator

April 25, 2022 08:30am

Creating artwork in the White_Ink color ensures that we know clearly what you want to print as white ink. 

  1. Create a new color swatch in the Swatches palette. 
    • Open the Swatches palette (if needed) by clicking Window > Swatches in Adobe Illustrator.
    • Click the fly-out menu in the upper right-hand corner of the Swatch Palette and select Add New Swatch
      • For the swatch options, set the following
        Swatch name: White_Ink
        Color type: Spot Color
        Color mode: CMYK
        Recommended color build for display: 20c, 0m, 0y, 0k
      • It's very important that the settings are correct for this color. Double-check against this screenshot:
        WhiteInk_SwatchOptions.png
  2. Select any artwork you want to print white, and assign the White_Ink color to it.
  3. Check your artwork against our Guidelines for Best Results with White Ink.
  4. Save the file as .AI or .PDF

We've also created this video about how to create a white ink spot swatch in Illustrator.

When sending artwork components – as well as assembled, completed dieline files – check that:

  • There are no cut or crop lines included.
  • All transparencies have been flattened.
  • Text and Line Art follows our recommended guidelines.
  • All images included are embedded, rather than linked -- To do this in Adobe Illustrator, right-click the element(s) in the Links palette and select "Embed File(s)".
  • You are only providing an Exterior or Interior file -- white ink is limited to single-sided orders

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