How to Prepare Artwork for Woven Label Manufacturing

How to Prepare Artwork for Woven Label Manufacturing

Woven labels are fundamentally different from printed materials. Your design is not printed — it is woven using individual coloured yarn threads on a loom. This means your artwork needs to be prepared specifically for the weaving process. Getting this right from the start prevents delays, extra costs, and production mismatches.

Step 1: Use Vector Format (Non-Negotiable)

Woven label production requires vector artwork only. Vector files define shapes and lines using mathematical paths rather than pixels, allowing our technical team to map each colour region to a specific yarn colour.

Accepted file formats:

• Adobe Illustrator (.AI) — preferred
• Encapsulated PostScript (.EPS)
• High-resolution PDF with embedded vector paths (not rasterised)

Not accepted for weaving:

• JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF (raster/pixel-based formats)
• Low-resolution PDFs exported from Word or Canva
• Screenshots of logos

If you only have a raster logo file, our design team can redraw it in vector format for a small fee. This is a worthwhile investment as the vector file will be usable for all future label orders and print applications.

Step 2: Specify Pantone Colours (PMS)

Woven labels use coloured yarn threads, and yarn is purchased by Pantone colour code. When submitting artwork, specify every colour in your design as a Pantone Solid Coated (C) code, for example: PMS 286 C (navy blue).

Important colour considerations:

• Maximum 8 thread colours per label at standard pricing (more colours are possible at higher cost)
• Very subtle colour gradients cannot be replicated in weaving — they must be simplified
• White is always available as a base/background thread at no additional colour count
• Metallic threads (gold, silver) are available as premium options

Avoid:

• CMYK or RGB colour references — these do not map directly to yarn colours
• Gradients and photographic shadows — these need to be simplified to solid colour regions
• Very thin lines below 0.8mm — minimum thread weave resolution limits fine detail reproduction

Step 3: Design at the Actual Label Size

Design your artwork at the exact finished size of the label, in millimetres. Common label sizes:

At small label sizes, complex designs with multiple small text characters will not weave cleanly. Our minimum recommended text height is 3mm for legible characters. Keep brand labels simple — a clean logo and brand name read better at label scale than a complex illustration.

Step 4: Add Bleed and Fold Lines

If your label will be folded (center fold, end fold, or loop fold), add the fold line to your artwork file. Our team will advise the exact fold crease position based on your label dimensions.

For labels with a top/bottom cut: add 2mm bleed on cut edges so the weave pattern extends beyond the cut line — this prevents fraying or white edges at the cut point.

Common Artwork Mistakes to Avoid

1. Submitting a JPEG exported from a website — these are too low resolution and raster-based
2. Specifying "match my brand colour" without Pantone codes — colour matching without PMS codes leads to guesswork and production mismatch
3. Expecting photographic gradients to reproduce — weaving is a grid-based process, not photo printing
4. Designing at screen size (72 DPI) — always work at physical label size in mm, not screen pixels
5. Forgetting to outline fonts — fonts must be converted to outlines/paths before submitting to prevent font substitution errors

Need Design Help?

If you are unsure about any aspect of artwork preparation, submit what you have via our contact form and our technical team will review it and advise. We would rather catch artwork issues before production than after. Samples can be dispatched within 3–5 working days once artwork is approved.