Spec sheet with the printer
Open dieline, bleed, tolerance, printing and technical inks, PDF preset and file name, in one file that the designer and the printer approve.
Deliverable: versioned ficha_embalagem.jsonOcto for packaging and print in Illustrator
The dieline doesn't print, the white doesn't vanish, the flavor doesn't swap inks. Who approves the proof is the printer.
Illustrator has spot color swatches, per-object overprint, trapping, Separations Preview, bleed and marks, PDF/X presets and Package. Octo writes the spec sheet with the printer, checks the document without changing anything, saves one PDF per variant without overwriting, reads boxes, inks and coverage from the PDF and builds the package manifest. Artwork, brand color, proof and font licensing stay with people.
Current version30.8August 2026, according to Adobe Help
Bleed in the PDF0 to 72 ptthe value that counts is the one on the printer's spec
Inks in tiffsepup to 64process and spot, according to Ghostscript
Sources15listed at the end of the page
01
What Octo does with your packaging artwork.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the assessment. None changes ink or overprint in the file, all check by content, and all end with the proof approved by the printer.
Checked dieline
Stroke in the technical ink, no fill, on its own layer, with overprint; the dieline ink switched off for printing.
Deliverable: conferir_tintas.jsx and reportInks per variant
Each SKU with its flavor ink; a swatch with a similar name, an ink not on the spec and another flavor's ink become rows to review.
Deliverable: variantes_sabores.csv and checkPDF/X per variant
One PDF per artboard with the printer's preset, the document bleed and crop marks, without overwriting, with a log.
Deliverable: salvar_pdfx.jsx and registro_pdf.csvReading the PDF
TrimBox and BleedBox against the spec, the page's ink names and average C, M, Y and K coverage, using open tools.
Deliverable: conferir_pdf.sh and conferencia_pdf.csvPackage with a manifest
Package with links and report, font licensing checked by a person and the sha256 of every PDF sent.
Deliverable: package, report and manifesto.csv
02
Eight arms, a proof without surprises.
The same Octo cycle, applied to prepress. Each arm has a narrow role; the people approve artwork, color, proof and PDF.
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Discovery
Gathers the spec sheets
Which printers, which specs, which variants and which Illustrator version the team works on.
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Data
Writes the spec and variants
Printer spec and variant list in versioned files, with who approved each version.
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Security
Handles the files
PDFs read-only during the check, a new PDF per version, nothing overwritten, fonts only with checked licensing.
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Architecture
Chooses where to check
In the document, in the PDF or both, depending on what the printer receives: a closed PDF or an open file.
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Development
Writes the checks
Inks and dieline in the document, PDF per variant, reading boxes, inks and coverage, with the source noted.
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Review
Checks by content
TrimBox, BleedBox, ink names, version in the name. “Saved the PDF” is not a check.
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Release
Prepares the handoff
Package, report and manifest. Sending to the printer is approved by a person.
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Documentation
Records each printer
What each one asked for, who approved each proof and what changed from one version to the next.
Octo does not change ink, overprint or dieline in the file. It does not approve artwork or proofs, validate PDF/X in the printer's place or decide whether a font may be sent.
03
Each check, its own path.
The criteria Octo uses to choose, with the documented limit of each path.
| Task | Path | Note |
|---|---|---|
| See the plates on screen | Separations Preview | CMYK only; doesn't show trapping, marks or halftone |
| Dieline and inks in the document | ExtendScript (inkList, spots, overprint) | Read-only; a finding becomes a report row |
| White that vanishes | Discard White Overprint | On by default; doesn't affect spot white |
| Registration error | Pathfinder > Trap | Width and decision come from the printer |
| PDF per variant | saveAs with PDFSaveOptions | Printer's preset by name |
| PDF boxes | Poppler pdfinfo -box | Page 1 by default; others with -f and -l |
| PDF inks and coverage | Ghostscript tiffsep and ink_cov | Average coverage, not maximum ink load; up to 64 inks |
| Open file for the printer | File > Package | License warning; CJK fonts are not copied |
04
From “take a look” to a checked spec.
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.
A proposal, not a promise
Spec and PDF reading
Octo writes the spec with the printer and reads the PDFs that already go out, without changing how you work.
- TrimBox and BleedBox against the spec
- Inks present in each PDF
- Manifest of what was sent
Check in the document
Dieline, inks, whites and links read before the PDF, and one PDF per variant with the printer's preset.
- Dieline never printed
- No extra plate
- Designer present and deciding
Whole lines of variants
Variant list as the source of truth, cross-checks of ink and version, package with licensing recorded.
- Variant without a PDF flagged
- Current version in the name
- Font license recorded
05
Confirmed in a source.
Each point below has a source published by the vendor, the project or the responsible body. The sources are in the next section.
6
points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.
- ConfirmedWhite with overprint
- Discard White Overprint is in Document Setup and Print, is on by default and doesn't change the file; it doesn't affect spot white.Source: Adobe Help, White overprint (Oct 27, 2026)
- ConfirmedSeparations Preview
- CMYK documents only; doesn't show trapping, marks, halftone or resolution.Source: Adobe Help, Preview color separations (Oct 25, 2026)
- ConfirmedTrapping
- Pathfinder > Trap or Effect > Pathfinder > Trap; width recommended by the printer.Source: Adobe Help, Trap colors between objects (Oct 27, 2026)
- ConfirmadoPDF/X-4
- Preset with color management and live transparency (ISO PDF/X-4:2008); X-1a is PDF 1.3 with flattened artwork.Source: Adobe Help, Adobe PDF presets (Oct 22, 2026)
- ConfirmedPackage
- Copies links and fonts (except CJK), relinks, creates a report and shows a font licensing warning.Source: Adobe Help, Package files with fonts and linked images (Oct 25, 2026)
- ConfirmedReading the PDF
pdfinfo -boxprints the five boxes;tiffseplists spot inks (up to 64);ink_covgives the coverage.Source: pdfinfo manual; Ghostscript 10.09.0 documentation
06
What Octo does and what stays with you.
Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Octo prepares
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: files, artboards, proofs and reports.
Deliverable: material ready to checkYour team checks
The client or the art director checks what Octo delivered before approving. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the approverWho approves
Octo does not approve the artwork. Artwork carries no legal signature: approval of the artwork and the proof stays with the client or the art director.
Approval: client or art director
07
Sources.
Illustrator Help pages, the community scripting reference and the Ghostscript and Poppler documentation, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.
- What's new in IllustratorHelp; 30.8, August 2026
- Adobe PDF presetsHelp; X-1a, X-3, X-4
- PDF marks, bleeds and color outputHelp; bleed and marks
- Add printer's marks and bleedsHelp; printer's marks
- Package filesHelp; links, fonts, report
- Set up and manage overprintingHelp; Attributes, black
- White overprintHelp; discard on output
- Trap colors between objectsHelp; Pathfinder > Trap
- Transparency flatteningHelp; flattening
- Preview color separationsHelp; CMYK only
- Create spot color swatchesHelp; spot color
- Generate print bleedHelp; generative AI for bleed
- Scripting reference, PDFSaveOptionsCommunity; pDFPreset, artboardRange
- Ghostscript, devicesProject; tiffsep, ink_cov
- pdfinfoPoppler; -box
Your packaging in Illustrator, with a written spec and a checked PDF.
The assessment starts with the spec of a printer you already work with and a reading of PDFs already sent. You get what matched, what didn't and the questions only your team and the printer can answer, and you decide with that in hand.