Vector question designing transparent stickers.

[Michael304383902vgd]

Ok so I have my text which should be automatically vector right?

I also have the image, which is a flat, rasterised image.

I am ordering them on transparent vinyl stickers, but the printer person is Chinese, and her English is quite bad.

She said something like the image needs to be vector otherwise there can't be a white ink base. Which I have since found out will make the colour less vibrant?

When she says vector, does she mean the image has to be fully vectorised with each colour converted into shaped layers, or does she just mean that the image needs its own separate "vector path line"?

I would highly appreciate help here, as I have already paid for the order and I am not really sure what I can do! The images are far too complex to fully vectorise IMO, atleast for me. But basically the stickers are just real life faces, with text around them. So not simple at all to vectorise. But hopefully she just means I need a vector path around the "head" as well as the outer kiss-cut line. 

Thanks!

[Scott Falkner]

You will probably need to add a spot white object to provide the opaque backing for the label. You can put it on top of everything else and set the fill to Overprint in the Attributes panel. The printer will need to know this is the opaque white and that it prints first.

[Michael304383902vgd]

Thanks! That is also what I was hoping she meant. I am used to Affinity and I'm a total newbie with AI so excuse me if I use the wrong terminology; So basically, I just need to trace around the object and turn that into a path layer then fill it with white and add the white colour to the document swatch along with the magenta I have for the "cut-line"? The magenta cut-line colour is in a swatch called "CutContour".

And will the same thing need to be done for the text, as I have assigned a "glitter" texture to my text?

If you can, please break it down into a step by step, as I started the project in Affinity, but now I am going to try to finish it in AI and I know absolutely nothing about the program!

Cheers!

[Scott Falkner]

The glitter for the text will probably require a spot colour as well. You need to comunicate clearly with the printer so they know what you want and you know how to provide the files. Assume nothing and, if you cannot be sure, deal with another printer or hire an intermediary you can both trust.

For the opaque white fill I would create the path by duplicating the dieine, putting it on a new layer, then adding bleed using Object > Path > Offset path. Create a new swatch, call it something like Opaque White, and make sure it is a spot colour. It does not have to be white since it will print as a spot colour. It might be useful to make it a different colour so you can see what is process white and what is spot white. You want to see no plain white areas in your label since the opaque white fill should print everywhere.

For the dieline makse sure the path has no fill, the stroke uses the CutContout colour, and the stroke is set to Overprint in the Attributes panel. Put the dieline on its own layer.

Duplicate the Dieline layer then give the duplicate layer a name like Opaque white. Fill with the Opaque White swatch and remove the stroke. Set the fill to Overprint in th Attributes panel. You will probably (but check with the printer) need a bleed on the fill. To do that use Object > Path > Offset Path.

The layer order should be Dieline (on top), Opaque White, label (on bottom).

In the View menu turn on Overprint Preview. I also like to turn on the transparency grid when I am working with white backgrounds. The label should look something like this…