Artwork

We encourage you to consider the following guidelines when designing and preparing your artwork. They will help to speed up your order and achieve a beautifully printed seed paper product.

We will do a test print of your artwork and email a photo for approval before commencing the full print run. We will also provide recommendations if changes are needed to your artwork. 

MARGINS + BORDERS

As seed paper is handmade and contains seeds, the texture of the paper can create some movement in alignment (1mm to 3mm) when printing and trimming. This should be considered when designing your artwork.

MARGINS 

A 5mm margin or clearance allowance from all edges should be included in your artwork. 

 

  • If printing to the edges, ensure that text or important details you don't want cut off are not in this 5mm margin/clear area. 
BORDERS
    • Vertical, horizontal and center alignment may not always be perfect in the finished product. Any movement will be more noticeable if artwork contains borders.
    • If printing both sides, we don’t recommend placing a border that follows all edges on the reverse side.

     

    BLEEDS AND PRINTING TO THE EDGE

      When your artwork runs right to the final cut edge, it’s considered printing to the edge.
      If even one side reaches the edge, your file must include a bleed.

      What is a bleed?

      A bleed is the extra artwork that extends past the trim line.
      Anything touching an edge should continue into this area.

      Think of it like this:

      • Trim size: 100mm × 100mm
      • Bleed added: +3mm on each side
      • Final artwork size: 106mm × 106mm

      Why is a bleed required?

      Cutting precisely on a line isn't always 100% accurate. This is especially relevant to seed paper which can move slightly more than regular machine made paper when printing and cutting.

      • Without a bleed, after cutting to size there will be small white lines next to the edges and this really doesn't look great.
      • Extending your artwork into the bleed area allows us to cut off the extra 3mm which results in a much nicer cut.
      • Text or important details you don't want cut off must not be placed 5mm inside of the trimmed edge. 
      The following image shows trim, clearance and bleed areas based on a standard business card – size 90mm x 55mm

      For tags or name cards with a hole, remember to keep text 5mm clear of the hole position. We have two standard hole sizes available – 6mm or 3mm. Other sizes may be available if needed. The hole position is flexible but should be located at least 6mm from an edge.

      • Things to consider – for holes not centered (example 3 below) the hole position will be on opposite corner when tag flipped over – keep text clear.

      Examples show 5mm clearance around punched holes (blue area)



      FONTS AND TYPE

      • For text to print clearly on the seed paper we recommend a minimum size of around 7pt. If you require smaller, ensure that it is not a very fine/light font.
      • Small, light coloured or fine text on a dark background may not print well on seed paper – avoid less than 10 pt text size.
      • Font styles that contain thin or fine lines should be avoided as they will not print clearly on the seed paper.
      • Ensure fonts are embedded in supplied PDF’s.
      • Convert text to outlines when providing files for products with die cut lines/guides.
      • Supply font files if you need us to make small text edits to your design.


      COLOUR MATCHING

      • As the seed paper is uncoated and made from recycled content, we are not able to precisely colour match to pantone or other colour matching systems.


      PAPER COLOUR AND THICKNESS

      • The seed paper thickness is between 180 to 200 gsm. As it’s handmade and uncoated, it feels thicker and is suitable for use as business cards, postcards and greeting cards.
      • Due to being made from reycled content, the colour of the paper varies from an off white to a slight cream colour. Seeds and some recycled content are visible in the paper.


      IMAGES

      • Images and photos should be saved or provided at a minimum of 150 dpi. If less, they may look fuzzy once printed.
      • Avoid thumbnail images as reproduction of the fine detail will be lost.
      • Seeds are visible in the paper, if artwork includes photos of a face, keep in mind seeds may hide details such as eyes etc!


      PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS

      The most important part in growing seed paper is to ensure it is watered regularly and not left to dry out.
      Don’t forget to include some planting instructions in your artwork design. Following are some suggestions….

      • This card is made from recycled paper and embedded with Swan River Daisy seeds. Soak card in water until soft. Place card on seed raising mix (in a pot or ground). Lightly cover with more mix, water and keep moist. Germination should take 7 – 21 days.
      • Plant me!  I’m made from recycled paper and embedded with Thyme seeds.
        Soak in water until soft. Place on soil and lightly cover with more soil. Water regularly until seeds sprout.


      FILE FORMATS

      • Artwork must be provided at the correct size.
      • If your design prints directly to the edge, please include a bleed allowance of 3mm beyond the trim size and crop marks.
      • Remember to extend your artwork into the bleed area.
      • If not printing to any edge, a bleed allowance is not required.
      • If printing both sides, supply each side as a separate page or as individual files.

      Files accepted: Print Ready PDF, Adobe Illustrator

      If artwork is supplied as an Illustrator file:
      • Convert fonts to outlines or supply fonts files.
      • Embed any images/logo’s or provide linked files.
      • Guides or information that is not to be printed must be on separate layers for us to edit.

      • Please note – word or powerpoint files are only accepted for A4 or A5 products. Ensure paper size is set to A4 or A5 size.

       

      INK COVERAGE

      What is ink coverage?

      Ink coverage refers to how much of your design is filled with printed colour.

      For seed paper, we recommend keeping ink coverage to 50% or less. This helps maintain healthy seed germination, preserves the natural texture of the paper, and is more economical than printing heavy, saturated designs.
      All our standard pricing is based on artwork that requires low to medium ink coverage (under 50%).

      How do I determine ink coverage?

      A simple visual check is usually the best guide. Ask yourself:

      • Is most of the page covered in ink?
      • Does my design use a full‑colour background?
      • Are there large blocks of solid colour?
      • Does the artwork include photographs?

      If you answer yes to any of these, your artwork likely requires high ink coverage. We can print high‑coverage designs, but it’s important to note that saturating the paper with ink may reduce seed germination.

      Ink coverage when printing on both sides

      If you’re printing double‑sided, only one side can have high ink coverage. The reverse side must remain very low coverage to allow for better seed viability and print quality.

      See below for ink coverage and bleed examples

      Example

      Low ink coverage

      This example shows a square postcard with low ink coverage.

      There is also no printing to any edges so a bleed is not required.

      Example

      Low ink coverage

      This example shows a square postcard with low ink coverage.

      The artwork requires printing directly to the trimmed edge so a bleed must be added.

      The bleed area is an extra 3mm added to trim edge (around all edges). The artwork design must be extended into the bleed area.

      Example

      High ink coverage

      This example shows a square postcard with more than 50% ink coverage.

      The artwork requires printing directly to the trimmed edge so a bleed must be added.

      The bleed area is an extra 3mm added to trim edge (around all edges). The artwork design must be extended into the bleed area.