Rules#
| Id | Rule | Why | Checked by |
|---|---|---|---|
| BB-PRINT-01Must | Build CMYK only from print.json for the job's stock; a printer's own profile replaces ours by regenerating the file.Applies to: Print | The builds are measured through ICC profiles with their colour difference recorded. A build guessed by eye prints a different colour on every press. | Testpnpm print:check |
| BB-PRINT-02Must | Print type and rules in K only; floods of 10 mm or more in the rich black of print.json, with CMY pulled back 0.15 mm from knockouts.Applies to: Print | Four-colour black on fine type misregisters into a coloured blur; rich black makes large floods deep, and the pullback hides any misregistration. | Testthe Ghostscript separations |
| BB-PRINT-03Must | Keep total ink within the profile's limit, and rich black at 260 % or less.Applies to: Print | Too much ink smears, dries slowly and offsets onto the next sheet. | Testthe Ghostscript separations |
| BB-PRINT-04Must | Print the Night side as a rich black flood with knockouts: inks print on paper inside them, and the K square knocks out to paper.Applies to: Print | CMYK inks are transparent, so a light ink printed on black disappears. Knockouts give every ink its own paper. | Testthe business card's separations |
| BB-PRINT-05Never | Simulate the fluorescent Night inks in CMYK; they print only as approved spot inks.Applies to: Print | Fluorescent inks have no CMYK equivalent; a simulation prints as a dull version and loses the point of the neon. | Manual review |
| BB-PRINT-06Must | Use a spot ink only after Max approves it against a current physical guide and a printer's drawdown.Applies to: Print | Spot candidates are matched by eye on a screen; only paper under real light shows whether they match (D-P9, DF-66). | Testthe spot entry's status in print.json |
| BB-PRINT-07Must | Send the press pipeline's CMYK PDF: fonts embedded, trim and bleed boxes, bleed, marks outside the bleed, no RGB objects, rasters at 300 ppi or more at size.Applies to: Print | That is what a print shop's preflight asks for; a file that passes it prints without a phone call. | Testpnpm print:check |
| BB-PRINT-08Must | Give stickers the CutContour spot path (0.25 pt, overprint), 2 mm of bleed past the cut and a 3 mm white border.Applies to: Print | The cutter follows the named spot path, and the border and bleed hide the cutter's drift. | Testpnpm print:check |
| BB-PRINT-09Must | Approve colour from a hard proof or a press check under D50 light, never from a screen.Applies to: Print | Screens emit light and paper reflects it. No monitor shows what the press will print. | Manual review |
| BB-PRINT-10Never | Imitate Bone with a printed tint; choose a warm white stock.Applies to: Print | A tint flood greys the paper and changes every ink printed on it. The stock is the paper colour. | Manual review |
| BB-PRINT-11Never | Print halftone dots under 0.3 mm or rules under 0.25 pt at size.Applies to: Print | Smaller dots and rules fill in or drop out on press. | Testthe press artwork tests |
| BB-PRINT-12Must | Print business cards with a Bone front at Studio and a Night back at Press, on the uncoated profile, from the press pipeline.Applies to: Print | The card is the brand in one hand: the calm front carries the contact lines, the back carries the mark. | Testthe business card tests |
Specs#
For printers, on one screen#
Everything a print shop needs is on this page and on the two-page spec sheet in the files:
- Profiles: the builds are made through the profiles below; if you print to another standard, send us your profile and we regenerate every build for your press (BB-PRINT-01).
- Inks: the builds per stock are in the table below, with their colour difference to the screen.
- Black: type and rules in K only; large floods in the rich black, with the CMY pulled back from every knockout (BB-PRINT-02).
- Files: the press pipeline's CMYK PDF, fonts embedded, trim and bleed boxes, marks outside the bleed (BB-PRINT-07).
- Proofing: colour is approved from a hard proof or a press check under D50 light, never from a screen (BB-PRINT-09).
| Stock | Profile | Conversion | Total ink limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coated | PSO Coated v3 (ECI, FOGRA51)PSOcoated_v3.icc | Relative colorimetric, black-point compensation | 300 % |
| Uncoated | PSO Uncoated v3 (ECI, FOGRA52)PSOuncoated_v3_FOGRA52.icc | Relative colorimetric, black-point compensation | 300 % |
The CMYK method#
Each ink's screen colour is converted through the stock's profile, relative colorimetric with black-point compensation, then cleaned: every channel rounded to a whole percent, channels under a few percent dropped unless dropping one makes the match worse. The colour difference to the screen is recorded for every build, and a build that cannot get close is flagged: it prints duller.
| Ink | Screen | Coated | Uncoated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process magenta | #C31A9D | C 34 M 93 Y 0 K 0ΔE2000 4.71 · total 127 % · prints duller | C 31 M 95 Y 0 K 0ΔE2000 11.70 · total 126 % · prints duller |
| Process aqua | #00B4EA | C 71 M 5 Y 0 K 0ΔE2000 0.66 · total 76 % | C 72 M 0 Y 0 K 0ΔE2000 2.68 · total 72 % |
| Process red | #F55E07 | C 0 M 73 Y 97 K 0ΔE2000 2.83 · total 170 % | C 0 M 69 Y 100 K 0ΔE2000 9.10 · total 169 % · prints duller |
| Key | #15131A | C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100ΔE2000 9.82 · total 100 % · prints duller | C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100ΔE2000 22.82 · total 100 % · prints duller |
| Yellow | #FFE500 | C 0 M 4 Y 88 K 0ΔE2000 1.17 · total 92 % | C 0 M 0 Y 92 K 0ΔE2000 3.75 · total 92 % · prints duller |
| Wood | #D9B27C | C 11 M 28 Y 52 K 5ΔE2000 0.91 · total 96 % | C 9 M 24 Y 49 K 3ΔE2000 2.64 · total 85 % |
| Go | #008A4E | C 78 M 9 Y 78 K 16ΔE2000 2.21 · total 181 % | C 81 M 5 Y 87 K 9ΔE2000 7.20 · total 182 % · prints duller |
Black#
| Use | Build | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Type and rules | C 0 M 0 Y 0 K 100 | K only: four-colour black on fine type misregisters |
| Rich black, coated | C 65 M 57 Y 36 K 100total 258 %, at most 260 % | Floods of 10 mm or more; CMY pulled back 0.15 mm from every knockout |
| Rich black, uncoated | C 73 M 55 Y 30 K 100total 258 %, at most 260 % | Floods of 10 mm or more; CMY pulled back 0.15 mm from every knockout |
| Ink 2 | K 82 | A K-only tint matched to the neutral's lightness |
| ink-3 | K 73 | A K-only tint matched to the neutral's lightness |
| Rules | K 61 | A K-only tint matched to the neutral's lightness |
Spot inks#
No spot-ink library ships with the brand. Each ink has a named candidate; none is used until Max approves it against a current physical guide and a printer's drawdown, and the approval is recorded with its date (BB-PRINT-06). The Night fluorescents print only as spot inks, on special runs (BB-PRINT-05).
| Ink | Fill | Candidate | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process magenta | Bone | Pantone 240 C · Pantone 240 U | Candidate |
| Process aqua | Bone | Pantone 2995 C · Pantone 2995 U | Candidate |
| Process red | Bone | Pantone 1655 C · Pantone 1655 U | Candidate |
| Yellow | Bone | Pantone 102 C · Pantone 102 U | Candidate |
| Wood | Bone | Pantone 7508 C · Pantone 7508 U | Candidate |
| Go | Bone | Pantone 348 C · Pantone 348 U | Candidate |
| Process magenta | Night, special runs | Pantone 806 C · Pantone 806 Ufluorescent, special runs only | Candidate |
| Process aqua | Night, special runs | Pantone 801 C · Pantone 801 Ufluorescent, special runs only | Candidate |
| Process red | Night, special runs | Pantone 805 C · Pantone 805 Ufluorescent, special runs only | Candidate |
| Yellow | Night, special runs | Pantone 803 C · Pantone 803 Ufluorescent, special runs only | Candidate |
| Go | Night, special runs | Pantone 802 C · Pantone 802 Ufluorescent, special runs only | Candidate |
| Key | Night, special runs | Opaque white ink (screen print)Night's white ink; the K square on the slab and on Night; in CMYK it knocks out to paper | Candidate |
Stocks and finishes#
| Stock | Paper | Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Bone | a warm or natural white uncoated stock, smooth or eggshell; business cards on 130 lb cover (about 350 g/m²) or duplexed | Mohawk Superfine Softwhite Eggshell; Neenah Classic Crest Natural White Smooth |
| White | a bright white coated or uncoated stock | Any that matches |
| Night | a rich black flood on the Bone stocktrue black paper only for screen print or foil | Any that matches |
| Stickers | white vinyl with a matte laminate | Any that matches |
The business card#
A Bone front at Studio with the horizontal lockup, the name, the role and the contact lines; a Night back at Press with the mark knocked out of a rich black flood, its inks printed on paper inside the knockouts (BB-PRINT-04, BB-PRINT-12). Uncoated stock, no coating.
/render/press/business-card/render/press/business-cardStickers#
Five designs and a kiss-cut sheet on white vinyl with a matte laminate, each with a white border, bleed past the cut and the cut path as a named spot colour (BB-PRINT-08).
| Artwork | Formats | Sides |
|---|---|---|
Business card: a Bone front at Studio, a Night back at Pressoverprint-gen press business-card | Business card, North America, 3.5 × 2 in; Business card, ISO, 85 × 55 mm | Front at Studio, Back at Press |
The mark, die-cutoverprint-gen press sticker-mark | Mark sticker, die-cut, 50 mm | Front at Press |
The horizontal lockup on a Bone faceoverprint-gen press sticker-wordmark | Wordmark sticker, pill, 76 × 25 mm | Front at Press |
Websites line stickeroverprint-gen press sticker-line-k | Line badge sticker, 38 mm square | Front at Press |
Growth line stickeroverprint-gen press sticker-line-r | Line badge sticker, 38 mm square | Front at Press |
Software line stickeroverprint-gen press sticker-line-a | Line badge sticker, 38 mm square | Front at Press |
Custom apps line stickeroverprint-gen press sticker-line-m | Line badge sticker, 38 mm square | Front at Press |
MAX//OS line stickeroverprint-gen press sticker-line-wood | Line badge sticker, 38 mm square | Front at Press |
POW! in the old-comic registeroverprint-gen press sticker-pow | POW! sticker, die-cut burst, 76 mm | Front at Press |
Made by MAKR Labs, the provenance stampoverprint-gen press sticker-made-by | Made by MAKR Labs sticker, 50 mm circle | Front at Press |
Every sticker on one kiss-cut sheet, 3 mm apartoverprint-gen press sticker-sheet-letter | Sticker sheet, 8.5 × 11 in, kiss-cut | Front at Press |
File preparation#
| Part | Spec |
|---|---|
| Page | The bleed plus a 12 mm slug on each side; trim and bleed boxes exact |
| Crop marks | 0.25 pt in the registration colour, 5 mm long, starting 1 mm outside the bleed |
| Slug line | File, version, profile and date, in K, outside the bleed |
| Cut path | A CutContour spot colour, 0.25 pt, set to overprint, on sticker files only |
| Finest detail | Halftone dots 0.3 mm or larger; rules 0.25 pt or heavier; rasters 300 ppi or more at size |
Caveats#
- Screens emit light and paper reflects it, so every build is the nearest match, with its ΔE shown.
- Coated and uncoated stocks give different builds, and both look duller than the screen.
- The Night fluorescents have no CMYK equivalent: they print only as approved spot inks.
- CMYK inks are transparent, so light inks never print on a black flood: they knock out to paper.
- Two inks printed over each other differ from the screen's multiply: the thirds are art, never meaning.
- Rich black on fine type misregisters, so type prints in K only.
- Monitors are never proofs.
- Spot candidates shift between guide editions: approve against a current guide.
Do and don't#
Do
K 100 type
Don't
Rich black type
Do
Don't
Do
Approved from a hard proof under D50 light on 4 November 2026.
Don't
Looks right on my monitor.
Files#
| File | What it is | Format and size | sha256 | Built by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
makr-labs-colours.zip/brand/downloads/makr-labs-colours.zip | Colour files: Adobe swatches, CSS variables, DTCG tokens and print.json | ZIP archive, 6 KB | cee4d585878da986040b3661136df8e9142cb53f02e5db95b1d617844d4bd09c | overprint-gen brand --only colours |
makr-labs-business-card-na.pdf/brand/downloads/makr-labs-business-card-na.pdf | Business card, 3.5 × 2 in, print-ready CMYK PDF (fictional sample) | PDF, 1.7 MB | fbd586b1e0c44ce9ac7523baa0937f9bdd73868cde8839cd9e6a6671ac868eac | overprint-gen press business-card --format card-na |
makr-labs-business-card-iso.pdf/brand/downloads/makr-labs-business-card-iso.pdf | Business card, 85 × 55 mm, print-ready CMYK PDF (fictional sample) | PDF, 1.7 MB | 9304e2198eaa2c14026a14df526892ae89181105280bf36a670f241609e951db | overprint-gen press business-card --format card-iso |
makr-labs-stickers.zip/brand/downloads/makr-labs-stickers.zip | Five stickers and the kiss-cut sheet, print-ready CMYK PDFs with cut paths | ZIP archive, 3.6 MB | 8deed5f4699c1618e49d0fd7141df465d1f33bde3bd6a43bca5c38aece94353e | overprint-gen brand --only stickers |
makr-labs-brand-spec-sheet-a4.pdf/brand/downloads/makr-labs-brand-spec-sheet-a4.pdf | The brand spec sheet for printers and contractors, A4 | PDF, 370 KB | 9d9853e80584ac2e906704701d512dd223ae5e4801caa80654f72831457e446e | overprint-gen doc spec-sheet --sheet a4 |
makr-labs-brand-spec-sheet-letter.pdf/brand/downloads/makr-labs-brand-spec-sheet-letter.pdf | The brand spec sheet for printers and contractors, Letter | PDF, 367 KB | b38d13b67865b41cca5fdbd66fa9176e83dc7d89b01e9241b2dcb6c10d87d8a3 | overprint-gen doc spec-sheet --sheet letter |
poster-fernlight-a3.pdf/samples/poster-fernlight-a3.pdf | Sample poster for Fernlight Bakery, A3 (fictional) | PDF, 373 KB | 85af2efe449c6fd6441da7721d2698b07659bd73d7d8e00c35b4e185745defbe | overprint-gen pdf |
poster-fernlight-tabloid.pdf/samples/poster-fernlight-tabloid.pdf | Sample poster for Fernlight Bakery, tabloid (fictional) | PDF, 373 KB | 3b26746097af25c2372b573ce8e40e150f3eba6c01887c6796fbdccb316e6511 | overprint-gen pdf |
one-pager-fernlight-a4.pdf/samples/one-pager-fernlight-a4.pdf | Sample one-pager for Fernlight Bakery, A4 (fictional) | PDF, 424 KB | f6ebce8feff8b6a5ea659d673e660b238dd4277ac1bea47645cd360cf0264c54 | overprint-gen pdf |
one-pager-fernlight-letter.pdf/samples/one-pager-fernlight-letter.pdf | Sample one-pager for Fernlight Bakery, Letter (fictional) | PDF, 433 KB | 72c23eb0969a65cec3cbf45c283c687425d5aebb7226d6b6fc05e8b650d3283a | overprint-gen pdf |