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Design Guidebook
Prepare your files for the Panda Printing Process by following these guidelines!
Welcome game designers, publishers, graphic designers, artists, illustrators, and everyone else who creates board games!
Within these pages you will discover the secrets to producing files perfectly crafted for the printing process of Panda Game Manufacturing. You may face prepress challenges, and with this book as your guide, you will have the information necessary to overcome those challenges.
In our quest to produce the highest quality board games possible, all projects must pass through the design verification process. The design verification process at Panda consists of the uploading of the print files by the client, followed by the checking of those files by a member of the Panda prepress team. A prepress report will be generated highlighting the issues that must be addressed before the files can be moved to the production phase. Several rounds of file uploading, checking, and prepress reports may happen before the files are cleared to go to production.
But never fear! The closer you follow this guidebook, the quicker your game will get through the design verification process and into the production phase. In addition to this guidebook, Panda has online resources available at pandagm.com/resources/.
Sincerely,
The prepress team at Panda Game Manufacturing
Adam Skelding Prepress Lead Heidi Zimmerman Senior Prepress Specialist JF Gagné Senior Prepress Specialist Alex Corrao Account Mgr./Prepress Specialist
2017 Panda Design Guidebook
Copyright © 2017 Panda Game Manufacturing v1.5 print
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3 TA
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TENT
S
Throughout this guide, look for the callout boxes below pointing out tips, warnings, and downloadable content available
WARNING
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENTAVAILABLE
PANDA TIP
GENERAL INFORMATION AND SPECIFICATIONS
FILE PREPARATION AT A GLANCE 4
BASIC FILE REQUIREMENTS 5-6
BLEED & MARGINS 7
OFFSET PRINTING & CMYK 8
COLOR & RESOLUTION 9
COMPONENT SPECIFICATIONS
TWO PIECE GAME BOX 10
TUCK BOX & FOIL PACKS 11
BOX MARKINGS & CUSTOMS 12-13
GAME BOARD 14
CARDS 15
BOOKLETS & PAPER SHEETS 16
PUNCHBOARD 17-19
CARDBOARD MATS & SCREENS 20
STICKERS & SPECIAL EFFECTS 21
MANUFACTURED COMPONENTS 22
GLOSSARY 23
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
4FILE PREPARATION AT A GLANCE
Adobe software is a popular choice when creating print files. Using the right piece of software for the right task can make file preparation easier.
PLEASE DO NOT USE PHOTOSHOP TO CREATE YOUR FINAL PDF FILES. Photoshop is designed for raster illustrations. Illustrator is designed for vector art. InDesign is best for layout of printed materials, especially those that contain text.
Use Photoshop for the development of raster illustrations. Panda strongly advises you to not use Photoshop for the creation of your final PDFs. Please use Adobe InDesign (preferred) or Adobe Illustrator instead. If you must use Photoshop, please plan for additional time for prepress checks and revisions.
Use Illustrator for the development of vector illustrations.
Use InDesign for final layout (especially text placement) and pdf generation.
FILE PREPARATION AT A GLANCEIncluded within these pages are the instructions needed to ensure that your files are set to Panda printing standards. Following these guidelines will reduce the time it takes for your project to go through the design verification phase of production.
We strongly urge those unfamiliar with Panda’s standards to read this guidebook in its entirety. While it is important to follow all of these best practices, there are a few absolute MUSTs below.
All files submitted for print must...
• be submitted in PDF format.
• be in CMYK color format.
• be generated using the color profile U.S. Sheetfed Uncoated v2.
• have images at a resolution of at least 300 pixels per inch (ppi).
• have at least 3mm of bleed (exception: game boards & boxes require 18mm).
• have at least 3mm of margin.
• have all black text in pure black (C: 0%, M: 0%, Y: 0%, K :100%).
• be properly named (i.e., Gametitle_component.pdf).
• include (either in a separate layer or file) a die line template for your box,
punchboards, and stickers.
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5 BA
SIC F
ILE R
EQUI
REM
ENTS
To help ensure proper PDF export settings, Panda offers an export profile for use in InDesign, Illustrator, and Photshop. This profile is available at: pandagm.com/resources/
To help ensure you have proper bleed and margins on your files, use Panda’s Custom Template Generator, which you can find here:pandagm.com/template-generator/
BASIC FILE REQUIREMENTSFile Format: All files must be submitted as a PDF with compatibility set to Acrobat 7 higher.
Color: All files must be submitted in CMYK colorspace. Do not use RGB colorspace for your files.
Color Profile: All files must be submitted with the color profile U.S. Sheetfed Uncoated v2 for best results.
Image Resolution: All images require a resolution of 300 ppi (or higher). Using lower resolution images runs the risk of your images appearing blurry and pixelated.
Margin & Bleed: All files and components require 3mm of bleed AND 3mm of margin, unless stated otherwise. Gameboards and boxes require 18mm of bleed. Please check your specific component later in this guidebook for more details.
6
6BASIC FILE REQUIREM
ENTS
Example of file names for the game “Boomer Town Takedown”
Boomer_box_top.pdfBoomer_box_bottom.pdfBoomer_box_dielines.pdfBoomer_cards.pdfBoomer_gameboard.pdfBoomer_punchboard_front_1.pdfBoomer_punchboard_back_1.pdfBoomer_punchboard_front_2.pdfBoomer_punchboard_back_2.pdfBoomer_punchboard_dielines.pdf
If you must use Photoshop to create your final PDF files for print, please ensure the layers with all black text (and pure black icons) have their opacity set to Multiply. Doing this his will help avoid overprint issues.
BASIC FILE REQUIREMENTS (cont.)Pure Black: If you are using black text, please ensure that it is set to Pure Black (C: 0%, M: 0%, Y: 0%, K :100%). If you must place black text in Photoshop, set the Opacity Mask of your text layer to Multiply.
Nomenclature: Panda has a recommended nomenclature for naming your files; following this naming convention will help keep files organized and avoid confusion during production. File names should follow the format Gametitle_component.pdf. A later version would be named Gametitle_component_v2.pdf, etc. When you upload revised files, always update the version number and delete any earlier iterations of that file.
Example: If you have a game titled Boomer Town Takedown, the rulebook could be named “Boomer_rulebook.pdf.” If that file is updated, the updated file should be named “Boomer_rulebook_v2.pdf,” and the original “Boomer_rulebook.pdf” file should be deleted.
Dieline Files: Always include dielines and/or fold lines for boxes, folded rulesheets, punchboards, and stickers. You may place these on a separate layer within your document for ease of checking. If you are unable to export these on a separate layer, upload an additional file as a PDF. Please label dielines and/or foldlines clearly by attaching “dielines,” or “foldlines” to the end of your filename (i.e., Boomer_box_dielines.pdf ).
Templates: Panda has an incredible and easy to use template generator. If you need a template for a printed component such as a box, card, game board, booklet, player mat, tuck box, or more, please use the Panda Template Generator found at: pandagm.com/template-generator/. The downloadable PDF template will have bleed, die, and margin lines. It even has fold lines on game board templates.
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7 BL
EED
& M
ARGI
NS
Card sample, with margin, dieline (or trim line) and bleed line overlaid.
bleed linedieline (or trim line)
margin line
BLEED & MARGINSBleed and margin issues are a common problem found during prepress checks, but they are easy to avoid!
Bleed is a printing term that refers to the artwork that goes beyond the edge of the dieline (or trim line) for your component. Artwork and background colors should extend at least to the edge of the bleed line. Maintaining the recommended bleed will ensure that unprinted edges do not appear on your components.
All files require at least 3mm of bleed on each side, with the following exceptions:
Game Boards & Boxes: These two components need extra bleed so that they can be wrapped around the board or box edges. They require 18mm on each edge (3mm of bleed + 15mm of wrap).
Punchboards: Every individual token requires 3mm of bleed and 3mm of margin.
Sticker Sheets: Every individual sticker requires 3mm of bleed and 1.5mm of margin.
Margin is the area between the main content and the edge of a page. Most printed components have a trim tolerance of +/-1mm. Keeping your margin free of text or images means that your content won’t be unintentionally cut off and the final product won’t appear off-center. Please keep pertinent artwork and all text within the margin line.
All files require at least 3mm of margin on each side, with the following exception:
Large Rulebooks: If your stapled binding rulebook is 28-64 pages in length, please increase the margin to 5mm.
8
8OFFSET PRINTING & CM
YK
Shown above are the four common ink colors used in offset printing. Additional unique inks (PANTONE spot colors) may also be used in special situations.
blank paper
printed sheets
plate cylinder
ink rollers
offset cylinder
OFFSET PRINTING & CMYK
Pure Black Cyan: 0% Magenta: 0% Yellow: 0% Black (K): 100%
Cyan: 75%
Cyan: 96%
Yellow: 100%
Yellow: 46%
Black: 86%
Magenta: 60%
Magenta: 70%
Yellow: 95%
Green Orange
Rich Black Cyan: 96% Magenta: 70% Yellow: 46% Black: (K): 86%
The offset printing process is a technique in which an inked image is tranferred (offset) from a plate to a rubber mat, and then onto the printed surface. Most common in large scale commercial offset printing is the use of four ink colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK). By combining these four inks in various amounts, millions of different hues can be achieved.
Pure Black is the use of only black ink at full strength.
Other Colors are combinations of two or more inks.
Rich Black is the combination of all four inks (CMYK). In the example below, rich black (center) is created from various strengths of the CMYK colors (outside corners).
Cyan
Magenta
Yellow
Black (K)
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9 CO
LOR &
RES
OLUT
ION
When using Photoshop to build illustrations, use these settings so that your raster images will easily integrate with InDesign.
Your illustrator should be familiar with your layout and technical specifications. This will ensure that their art is in CMYK, 300ppi, and large enough to fill your bleed..
Pure Black Cyan: 0% Magenta: 0% Yellow: 0% Black (K): 100%
Incorrect color space and low resolution images are also common problems discovered during design verification.
Resolution: For best results, all images need to have a resolution of 300 pixels per inch (ppi).
Color mode: All images need to be in CMYK format, not RGB. InDesign can automatically convert your RGB images to CMYK upon export to PDF.
Color Profile: The printing presses at Panda’s manufacturing facility are calibrated to the color profile U.S. Sheetfed Uncoated v2.
If you are using an Adobe product to create your PDF, we can help you make sure that your export settings are optimal for printing with Panda. Go to: pandagm.com/resources/ to get the Panda Export Profile and instructions on how to use it.
COLOR & RESOLUTION
Pure Black Text: There is a reason we ask that all text be in Pure Black. Our eyes are trained to notice extremely small variations when deciphering text. For this reason, we strongly recommend using a single color plate when designing text for print as the smallest misalignment of the printing plates may cause typefaces with thin strokes to appear slightly blurry. Pure black is the best of those four colors to use for type as it is the easiest to read.
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10TW
O PIECE GAME BOX
Example of a game box with wrapped edges and game insert
Top and Bottom box templates generated with the Panda Template Generator.
To ensure that you have proper dimensions, fold lines, bleed, and margins on your box, use Panda’s Template Generator: pandagm.com/template-generator/
TWO PIECE GAME BOX You only get one chance to make a first impression, and with tabletop games, the first impression starts with the box. The best way to start building your box is with the Panda Template Generator found at: pandagm.com/template-generator/
Make Sure Your Components Fit: The box should be at least 15mm larger in each dimension than your largest component to make sure that each component can be easily removed. The box also needs to be large enough to contain all of the components together. Your contact at Panda can help you determine the best box size for your game.
Example: If your game box is 150mm x 200mm, the maximum size of any the components inside the box would be 135mm x 185mm. This size would apply to game boards when folded, rules booklets or sheets, punchboards, cardboard mats, etc.
18mm of Bleed: All box files (top & bottom) must have 18mm of bleed on each side. This is 3mm of standard bleed, plus 15mm of wrap that goes around to the inside of the box to create a clean, smooth edge.
Box Bottom Adjustment: In order for the box top to fit properly over the box bottom, the box bottom panel needs to be slightly smaller than the box top (the box sides remain the same). The required adjustment is dictated by the thickness of your box material. The Panda Template Generator will automatically make those adjustments for you!
Box Markings: Please see pages 12-13.
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TUCK
BOX
& FO
IL PA
CKSTUCK BOX & FOIL PACKS
Tuck Boxes: If your game consists of only cards, the best container may be a lighter, one-piece tuck box. Just like the two piece box, you can generate custom templates for a tuck box with the Panda Template Generator found at: pandagm.com/template-generator/
Bleed and Margin: All tuck box files must have 3mm of bleed and 3mm of margin.
Box Markings: Please see pages 12-13.
Foil Packs: For something even smaller, like a booster pack, foil can be your best option. Our foil packs follow all of the same print specifications as our boxes. Contact us for a template that matches your project.
Box Markings: Please see pages 12-13.
Example of a tuck box template from the Panda Template Generator.
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12BOX M
ARKINGS & CUSTOMS
The UPC must be in pure black, (C: 0%, Y: 0%, M: 0%, K: 100%). Please leave at least 5mm of space for the Panda lot number (example shown here on the right side of the UPC).
Age label warning symbol (must be a minimum of 10mm in diameter)and choking hazard text
CE mark, required for any games going to the European Union
Warning! Not Suitable for children under 36 months. Small parts - Choking hazard
Required Markings: When submitting your box file(s) please ensure that all required markings below are on the box (usually on the box bottom).
UPC: Most retail products require a UPC (barcode) for scanning and inventory purposes. Please ensure the UPC code is in Pure Black (C: 0%, Y: 0%, M: 0%, K: 100%) on a white background. Leave at least 5mm to the right of your UPC so that Panda can include a manufacturing lot code which is required by customs in the rare event of a product recall. This will be a Panda lot number and a small Panda logo for easy reference (see example to the left).
Age Warning Label for Small Children: All games with small parts need the Age Warning Label for small children. The minimum size for this warning symbol is 10mm diameter. This image can be found by following the link on pandagm.com/resources/. Colors and proportions of the label must not be adjusted. The following text should be included next to the icon: “Warning! Not Suitable for children under 36 months. Small parts - Choking hazard.” For more information, please reference the following regulations: ASTM F963-07, EN 71, and ISO 8124.
CE Mark: In order to pass through EU customs, your game will need a CE marking on the box. The CE marking is a declaration that the product passes all essential safety requirements in accordance with EU testing standards. The CE marking needs to be a minimum of 7.5 mm in width and the proportions may not be altered in any way. A downloadable CE mark can be found by following the link at pandagm.com/resources/.
Note: By putting the CE mark on your box, you may need to produce a test report if requested by EU customs.
BOX MARKINGS & CUSTOMS
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BOX M
ARKI
NGS &
CUST
OMS
Example of a player count, playing time, and recommended age labels
BOX MARKINGS & CUSTOMS (cont.)Required Markings (cont.):
Made in China: As the product is being produced in Shenzhen, China, “Made in China” is required to be near the UPC in order to pass through US or EU customs.
Recommended Age Label: All games need a recommended Age Label. Games listed as 13+ in the US and 14+ in Europe will not be subjected to the same customs regulations as games intended for children. We recommend using 14+ (instead of 13+) in the event that you import any of your products into the EU. There is no standard label or typeface for the recommended age. If your game is labeled 14+, you will not need the age warning label for small children. However, if your game could be deemed to be designed or marketed towards children, customs may consider your age label inappropriate and require safety testing and the addition of an age warning label for small children.
Recommended Markings: The markings indicated below are not mandatory, but highly recommended.
Company Address: While not mandatory, your company’s name and address should appear on the box in order to fully pass safety testing. At minimum, your website URL, if you have one, should be on the box.
Playing Time and Number of Players: While not mandatory, most games include a label to indicate the playing time and the number of players.
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14GAM
E BOARD
Artwork file with dielines overlaid - The bleed will be wrapped to the back of the game board to help protect its edges.
The finished game board
Artwork file as submitted for game board production
To ensure that you have proper dimensions, fold lines, bleed, and margins on your game board, use Panda’s Template Generator at pandagm.com/template-generator/
GAME BOARDYour game board is the centerpiece of the tabletop gaming experience. Though laying out a flat board may seem simple, it can be troublesome if the margins and bleeds are not set properly. You can generate a custom template for your game board at pandagm.com/template-generator/
Bleed: As with the game box, the board requires 18mm of total bleed to wrap around the edges. This covers and protects the edge of the game board which in turn lengthens its life.
Double Sided: Printing a custom back for your game board adds minimal cost and is an enormous opportunity. lf you are designing a double-sided game board, the back side needs to be 3mm smaller on all four sides than the front. This is because the back sheet is mounted on top of the wrapped edges from the front side of the game board. Don’t forget the standard 3mm bleed!
Example: If your game board is 200mm x 400mm, then the trimmed size for the back would be 194mm x 394mm. Including bleed, the final file size would be 200mm x 400mm.
Maximum Size: Should you have high ambitions for a giant game board, please note that the current maximum size for Panda manufactured game boards is 700mm x 1000mm. For playing surfaces larger than 700mm x 1000mm, consider using two game boards placed side by side. If you need a larger board, ask your project manager about a printed vinyl game board.
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CARD
BOAR
D M
ATS &
SCRE
ENS
bleed line
margin line
Standard card corners have a 3mm corner radius
Panda’s most common card sizes include: 44mm x 67mm (mini) 84 / sheet 57mm x 87mm (bridge) 60 / sheet 63mm x 88mm (blackjack) 54 / sheet 59mm x 91mm (euro) 45 / sheet 51mm x 51mm (mini square) 110 / sheet 70mm x 70mm (square) 56 / sheet
Panda has many more standard card sizes; for a complete list, go to pandagm.com/template-generator/
Cards are often an integral part of tabletop games. Panda offers a wide variety of standard card sizes to suit your game’s unique needs.
Bleed and Margin: All cards must have 3mm of bleed and 3mm of margin. Please extend the background artwork to or past the bleed line, and keep pertinent artwork and all text within the margin line.
File Format: When submitting cards, upload the file as a multipage PDF with the card back as the last page.
Example: Deck A has 54 cards, therefore the PDF for Deck A will be 55 pages in length, with page 55 being the card back for the preceding 54 cards.
Color: If you are making cards that require high color consistency on the card backs, avoid using screen and gradient designs. We cannot print any pigment combination where the total ink coverage exceeds 320%. (C% + M% + Y% + K%)
Border Black: For a deep, consistent black that will be easier to color match between print runs and expansions use a color formula of (C:40% M:0% Y:0% K:100%). Card backs and borders should avoid using rich colors as these are hard to consistently color match. If you do want a rich color border, speak to your project manager about using PMS Pantone spot color borders.
Card Inventory Sheet: A card inventory sheet tells us how many of which card to print. If you have a deck of cards with multiple card backs, you can download a template for the generation of your card inventory at: pandagm.com/resources/.
CARDS
16
16BOOKLETS & PAPER SHEETS
Perfect binding
Saddle stitch binding(most common formof rulebook binding)
Casewrap (hard cover) binding
Spiral binding
Using a larger than required margin on the gutter of your rulebook will ensure that your content near the fold is easily visible.
BOOKLETS & PAPER SHEETSBooklets, also known as rulebooks, are usually saddle stitched (bound with staples). Paper Sheets are single sheets that can be folded to your specifications.
Bleed and Margin: All rulebook and paper sheet files must have 3mm of bleed.
Margin sizes vary depending on the number of pages:
1-28 pages: Use the standard 3mm margin.
32-64 pages: Increase the margin to 5mm.
68+ pages: Inquire about different binding methods and templates.
Number of Pages: An important note to keep in mind when laying out your booklet is that the pages must be in multiples of four (with the exception of single sheet rules which can be single or double sided).
File Format: Submit these as multi-page PDFs with only one page of the booklet on each page of the PDF. Do not use two page spreads. The production team will layout the booklet for print with the proper pagination.
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17
PUNC
HBOA
RD
Margins, dielines, and bleeds
whole board dieline
REMEMBER TO SAVE YOUR DIELINE TEMPLATE AS A SEPARATE PDF FILE THAT CONTAINS NO ARTWORK.Optionally, you may save the dieline as a separate layer within the art file, name the layer “dielines - do not print” Diecut mold made from dieline file
PUNCHBOARDA punchboard is a versatile component that can be utilized to create a multitude of items such as tokens, tiles, trackers, dials, and even constructible cardboard components.
Punchboard Size: To comfortably fit in the box, the size of the punchbord should be at least 15mm smaller in each dimension than the box top.
Example: a 200mm x 250mm box can hold a punchboard of 185mm x 235mm.
Bleed and Margin: Each individual punch out (token) on the punchboards should have 3mm of bleed outside its dieline and 3mm of margin between the dieline and any non-background art including text and border lines. The entire board must also include a “whole board” dieline; this dieline also requires 3mm bleed and 3mm margin. The whole board dieline will match the size of the punchboard as specified on the contract. There should always be 6mm minimum between any dielines, either token to token, or token to whole board dieline.
Label and Number Your Punchboards. This is particularly important if you have multiple punchboards with the same dieline and similar art so that they don’t get mixed up during the production process. You can label them outside the whole board dieline as that portion will be discarded during final assembly and packaging.
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18PUNCHBOARD
Artwork: front
Artwork: back
Example: If you need four panda tokens and twelve coins, it is more efficient (and less expensive) to create a single dieline template to be used twice instead of two separate templates.
PUNCHBOARD (cont.)Multiple Punchboards: When designing punchboards, it’s best to think about efficiency. As there is an added cost for each diecut mold, you will want to lay out your punchboard in such a way that the same dieline template can be used for multiple punchboards.
Individual Token Sizing: The smallest token size Panda can produce is approximately 8mm x 8mm, and the smallest edge in any unique shape must be at least 3mm long.
Note: Due to the physics of the punching process, the front side of the tokens will have a slightly rounded edge.
Back Side Layout: Make sure that the layout of the back sheet of the punchboard artwork is a mirror image of the front of the punchboard.
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19
PUNC
HBOA
RD
For a double -layered punchboard, we start with two punchboards...
...that are glued together...
...creating the perfect place to hold cubes, meeples, or other components
PUNCHBOARD (cont.)Shared Dielines: If you’re running out of space on your punchboard, some tokens could share a dieline. Straight edge triangles, rectangles, and hexagons work best for this. However, there are some restrictions for this method.
Each token must have at least one edge that touches a portion of the punchboard that is discarded after the tokens are punched out. As there is no bleed between tokens that share a dieline, they must have identical content in their margins.
In the above example, the 12 tokens are in two groups of six. Each token has at least one edge that touches the discarded punch board.
In this example, the two center tokens do not share an edge with the discarded punchboard. This dieline pattern would not be allowed.
Double Layered Punchboards: In some games, a double layer punchboard is a great solution. This type of punchboard is actually two layers of punchboard glued together. The top layer will have areas punched out of that can hold cubes, discs, meeples, or other components in a certain spot on that board. Please take extra care to ensure that any images on the bottom layer line up correctly with the punched out portions of the top layer.
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20CARBOARD M
ATS & SCREENS
Example of a player screen template
Player Screen: 224 X 92mmpandagm.com
Bleed: 3mm
Bleed: 3mm
Blee
d: 3
mm
Blee
d: 3
mm
MarginTrim
BleedFold
Player screens: good for keeping things secret!
CARDBOARD MATS & SCREENSIn addition to the main, folded game board, sometimes a game may require smaller additional boards. These may be used for individual player boards, token storage areas, scoring boards, or any number of purposes. These non-folded boards are known as cardboard mats, they do not have wrapped edges. If your game requires a cardboard mat, making it square or rectangular will be the most cost efficient. Special shapes will require a diecut mold which will incur additional costs.
Bleed and Margin: All cardboard mat files must have 3mm of bleed and 3mm of margin.
Sometimes we need to hide our goods from the enemy! This is where a player screen, also known as a cardboard screen, may come in handy. Angled edges beyond the fold can make these stand up better.
Bleed and Margin: All player screen files must have 3mm of bleed and 3mm of margin.
Dieline File: Player screens require an uploaded dieline file indicating trim and fold lines. If you need a template, contact us.
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21
STIC
KERS
& S
PECI
AL EF
FECT
S
Submitted box artwork
Vector file showing special effect area
Final box with effect
Sticker Sheets: Sticker sheets are available from Panda for your game. Sticker sheets are “kiss cut,” meaning that the sheets that the stickers are on will be cut through the sticker part of sheet that has the artwork, but not through the backing paper. The stickers can then be peeled away and applied.
Layout: Sticker sheets are designed and laid out in a similar manner as punchboards, with the exception that the sticker sheet bleed and margin is 1.5mm instead of 3mm. If a template is required, Panda can provide one for simple shapes such as squares and circles. Sticker sheets can also have shared dielines for the individual stickers.
Box Stickers: Panda can also apply a sticker to the exterior of your game. This can come in handy if you have a special Kickstarter version.
Spot UV or Foil Stamping: To be extra fancy, Panda can add special printing effects such as Spot UV and Foil Stamping.
Format: Similar to dielines, please upload a separate vectorized PDF with the special effect areas indicated in pure black (K: 100%) or pure Magenta (M: 100%). The rest of the file should be either white or transparent.
STICKERS & SPECIAL EFFECTS
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22M
ANUFACTURED COMPONENETS
Use Panda’s online component spec sheet to submit your manufactured components specifications: pandagm.com/resources/
Panda MeepleWood
10mm
7579 C 3 Units
40 mm
Panda TokenPlastic
8 mm
Cool Grey 5 Black 6 C
INK
2 Units
Pantone Pantone
Pantone
16mm
8mm
Component Name & Type Front View Side View Pantone Colors
# per Game Copy
Panda has many different types of manufactured components.
Talk to your Project Manager about Panda’s many other components!
MANUFACTURED COMPONENTSManufactured components (wood, plastic, metal items) should be designed as though they are a flat icon, using Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors. Like the image below, clearly label the component with the appropriate dimensions and color codes. Talk to your project manager for more details about manufactured components.
Silkscreen Printing: A screen printed shape on a wooden component must be at least 1mm thick. We can print up to four colors on a component, but using fewer colors reduces the opportunity for complications.
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23
GLOS
SARYGLOSSARY OF COMMON TERMS
Black, BorderBorder black is the name of the CMYK color Panda suggests for black borders on cards. This border black color is very consistent and more easily matched between print runs. The color formula for border black is: C: 40%, M: 0%, Y: 0%, K: 100%.
Black, PurePure black is the name of the CMYK color Panda prefers for black text, icons, and the UPC symbol. The color formula for pure black is: C: 0%, M: 0%, Y: 0%, K: 100%.
Black, RichRich black should be avoided for text, small icons, and the UPC label. Rich black’s color formula is generally any combination of CMYK that looks like black.
BleedBleed is the zone outside of the trim/cut area. It is art that is printed beyond the trim line so that it can be cut off. This prevents unprinted white edges showing up on printed components.
Color, CMYKThe CMYK color model (process color, four color) is a subtractive color model used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. CMYK refers to the four inks used in color printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black).
Color, RGB The RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additive primary colors. Not all colors in the RGB colorspace can be reproduced in CMYK.
PPI PPI stands for Pixels Per Inch, and pertains to the resolution of an image. It is a metric that measures how much visual data is contained within a graphic. All images within files submitted to Panda must be at least 300 ppi, the industry printing standard
DielinesA dieline is a vector graphic used to convey to a machinist how to create a punch out. It can also be used by graphic designers to assist in the proper layout of a document that will be diecut.
Margin - (a.k.a. Inner Bleed / Safe Zone)Margin is the zone between the trim/cut area and the content/art. The margin prevents the art from being trimmed off of the document and the eye from tracking drift. In some instances, the margin is the border.
OverprintOverprinting refers to the process of printing one color on top of another in reprographics. Overprinting allows the printer to create crisp text and avoid visual drift.
RasterAn image or text made of individual pixels (not vector format). Raster graphics can be shrunk but not enlarged. Photoshop is a program that generates raster graphics.
Trim Size - The trim size is the final size of your component after the bleed has been trimmed off.
VectorVector graphics use mathematical formulas to describe shapes in computer graphics. Vector graphics are based on Bézier curves that allow the user to shape the graphic. Vector graphics can be infinitely scaled. Illustrator is a program that generates vector graphics.
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