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When producing package designs, there will almost certainly be specific cuts required. That way your printer knows the abnormality is intentional and can proceed without seeking clarification. In order to prevent delays with the job, the slug can be a lifesaver for including simple messages such as “this page intentionally left blank” or “image is intentionally inverted/negative” etc. Sometimes a document may have something that is intentional, but unusual, in its design and may appear to the printer as though it could be a mistake. If placing a registration mark manually (you will probably never need to do this in your entire career, just FYI) be sure to set it using the colour swatch, so that the mark appears on every printing plate. For instance placing a fold mark on either side of the job where it needs to be folded, or crop marks where it needs to be cut. In this basic implementation you would include the relevant mark manually in the slug directly in the specific area you need it. The most basic print marks to include in the slug area are crop marks, fold marks and registration marks. The information about the job requirements will typically exceed what is carried by default in a simple PDF, and providing clarification of the specific job requirements for your printer, via the slug area, can make everyone’s job easier. Printing for packaging involves things such as dielines, and multiple cuts and folds. However there may be some occasions where you have need to communicate information to your printer, and that is the purpose of the slug. Your printer has to deal with a lot of difficult customers. And the slug area normally doesn’t need to be included at all.Īs with all matters print related: ALWAYS check with your printer, and follow whatever specs they provide. Provided you output your PDF file to the correct specifications, these settings are stored within the PDF, and don’t need to be output as physical marks. In a modern workflow your printer may actually prefer you don’t add any of these marks to your document anyway. With modern PDF output, the basics such as crop marks, registration marks etc can be added automatically at output. It’s mainly the province of the press operator, and best to not make a mess of it. ![]() Most of the time you can ignore the slug. This space is used for elements such as registration and crop marks, colour bars, and notes and instructions for the press operator. This area is still printed, but is trimmed off along with the excess bleed. When referring to the ‘slug’ in modern, digital-based, typesetting workflows, you would typically be discussing the area outside of the bleed on a printed page. The only similarity retained in the modern usage of the term appears to be that it is still used in a fairly nebulous way. In traditional letterpress printing, the term ‘slug’ was used often interchangeably to refer to a range of different elements, usually related to the pieces of metal or wood used to affect leading.
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