Flexo Printing

Flexography is the most common process used to print packaging. The corrugated is pulled through a series of stations, or print units. Each print unit is printing a single color. The various tones and shading are achieved by overlaying basic shades of ink.

This technology employs plates with raised images (relief) and only the raised images come in contact with the corrugated during printing.

Our flexo presses accommodate sheets up to 66”x170”, have high-end printing up to 360 line screen, and shorten production time by slotting, scoring, folding and gluing.

Our onsite ink kitchen saves time and ensures consistency.

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Litho Offset Printing

As an alternative to printing directly on corrugated, the lithographic process offers crisper images and enhanced color flexibility by printing onto large or small labels that are then mounted onto corrugated.

The basic principle of offset printing is that oil and water do not mix. A litho printing plate has non-image areas which absorb water. The plate is kept moist throughout so that ink only adheres to image areas.

During every cycle of the press the ink image is first transferred to a rubber surfaced offset cylinder and from there to the paper.

The offset cylinder’s flexibility preserves the delicate plates and conforms to the surface of textured papers.

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Digital Printing

Digital printing is ideal for short run needs as well as prototyping and proofing.

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Screen Printing

Screen printing is a process of forcing ink through a tight screen which is mounted on a frame. The screen carries a stencil which defines the image area and is made of porous material which allows for full ink coverage on corrugated board. The board is generally screen printed prior to its conversion into a box or display. This method is ideal for those who desire a higher resolution image than flexo-printing provides. Full color graphics are available using screen printing.

We work with sheet sizes of up to 60” x 120.” Utilizing up to 6 colors.

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Art Preparation Guidelines

Please consider the following when setting up art files for cartons and displays:

How will your artwork be printed?
Each process involves different design specifications. The most common processes are shown below. Silkscreen and digital printing are also available.

• Digital art may be supplied as Illustrator, InDesign, Quark and/or Photoshop files. PDFs are acceptable in some cases. No low-resolution jpegs, please.
• Photographic images should be high-resolution (300dpi) images at full size.
• Please outline text whenever possible, or provide all fonts needed.
• Critical text/artwork should be a minimum of 1/4” away from the dieline edge and/or scores.
• Minimum bleed is 1/2” out from the dieline. NOTE: If we supply a dieline with label trim included, please bleed the art 1/8” out from the label trim area (green lines).

• Digital line art should preferably be vector-based (i.e., Adobe Illustrator) images. Photoshop line art should be 600dpi minimum.
• Photographic image resolution should be at least 150dpi at full size.
• Touching colors will be trapped (overlapped about 3/32”) to allow for press movement during printing.
• Text size minimum is 8 points, if possible.
• Line weight minimum is 1 point.
• Critical text/artwork should be a minimum of 1/2’ away from the dieline edge and/or scores.
• Minimum bleed is 3/8” out from the dieline.

If you're using FTP: ftp://ftp.tilsnercarton.com/
Talk to your sales representative about obtaining a username and password before attempting to use the site.

Files can be received and sent via CD to:
Tilsner Carton Company
162 York Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55117

If your file is 5mb or smaller

You can also send files via yousendit.com to graphics@tilsner-carton.com

The art department is Macintosh-based. Available programs include the Adobe CS4 Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign) and QuarkXPress 7.3.

• Complete, workable CMYK files; preferably in their native file format.
• A color printout of the file (when sending art by mail).
• All supporting files: Linked files and fonts.
• Appropriate Pantone or GCMI spot colors (if applicable) – indicate coated or uncoated for Pantone. If you need a specific custom color, please provide a sample for color matching.
• Name of company, project and contact person for any questions related to the project.

Any questions? Contact your sales representative at:

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