The color of brown kraft paper can have a significant impact on the overall appearance of your design. Lighter colors may not show up well on kraft paper, while medium to darker shades may appear darker when printed.
Photographs and gradients are not recommended as the kraft stock can alter colors and make images look muted or dull. However, some people like the retro effect certain colors have when printed on brown kraft. The most popular designs ordered by our customers are simple and use minimal colors like solid black.
If you're unsure how your full-color design will look when printed, you can order a Printed Proof for an additional cost by contacting our Customer Service team at 1.888.667.0067 or via chat.
In this example, you can see how the color swatches are affected when printed on brown kraft paper.
Heavy coverage or full-color backgrounds are not suitable for this stock. Minimalistic designs are the best choice for brown kraft paper. If your design includes a lot of color and heavy coverage, we suggest using white and coated stock for optimal results.
For Example:
This example illustrates the contrast between the appearance of full color printing on white paper versus brown kraft paper.
Ensuring that your important content (text and graphics) is at least 0.125” away from the edge (trim line) is crucial due to possible shifts that may occur during the production process. Content within our recommended safety margin of 0.125” will not be trimmed.
To set up the safety margin, define it in Adobe InDesign during the document setup process or in the Margins and Columns section under Layout. In Illustrator and Photoshop, you will need to set up these guides in the document.
Proper safety margins will prevent your objects from appearing as if they are about to fall off the page and ensure that they are not trimmed off.
For artwork designed to be printed to the edge, it must extend past the trim line and into the bleed area by a minimum of 0.125". This additional bleed compensates for uncontrollable shifts that occur during the printing and trimming process and ensures that any content touching the edges does not leave unwanted gaps or borders. Avoid using heavy coverage or full-color backgrounds for optimal results.