FAQ

Production design, often called prepress, is the technical design phase that happens between conceptual and final art for a project. This phase involves layout, color separations, typographical treatments, addition of regulatory symbols and language, color management for the chosen output type and much more.

Finding the right printer for the job can be a gargantuan task. Moon House works with a large network of wonderful printers and can help you narrow down the right one based on your project scope, budget and timeline. Once a printer has been chosen, we take care of the technical communications and make sure that your files are built to perfectly suit your printer’s specifications, increasing the likelihood that your first proof will be exactly what you were hoping for.

IYKYK… but seriously, if you’re a CPG business with multiple SKUs, frequent launches and/or a regulatory environment, you likely should be looking to print your product labels in-house. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved in a variety of budget sizes but the options can get overwhelming quickly! We can help you find the right equipment to bring your label costs WAY down and give you the comfort and flexibility of just-in-time label capabilities. Trust us, it’s SO worth it!

While Moon House has big plans to bring presses in-house in the future, we are more than happy to broker projects through our trusted network of printers and packaging manufacturers.

For the most accurate quote, the more information you can send us, the better. We love to see a basic project description, dielines (if you have them), previous versions of the art (if any), assets and copy, and a due date! It’s also perfectly fine to say “I don’t know where to start,” and we’ll be glad to suggest some basic guardrails to keep the project focused and on track!

Rates vary on the type of project and may be hourly or project-based, depending on the scope. Sending a quote request is the best way to get a feel for the cost of your project and the quote is free!

Meredith will happily perform press checks in Northern California if needed. Federal standard mileage rates will apply, plus an hourly rate for the press check itself.

We’ve produced art for every commercial and fine art print process - please bring us your wildest ideas and we will find the best way to make it happen!

Absolutely! Production design isn’t just for print - we often design marketing assets, merchandise & swag, edit images, create 3D mockups etc… It might be easier to tell you what we DON’T do, which is logo/brand development, video and web design. There are plenty of people we know who are great at those things and we’re happy to make introductions!

Here’s the skinny: you send us your project overview, and we send you an estimate, usually with some options. Once your estimate is approved, we require a 50% deposit to begin work. During the work phase, we will reach out and keep close communication with you for any questions that may arise. Your “V1” or first draft will serve as a jumping-off point for revisions, iterations etc… If we think we are going to exceed the hours estimated for the project, we will let you know well in advance and give you the opportunity to approve or decline further work. If we finish an hourly project in less than the quoted number of hours, we will prorate the final invoice. Once work has begun, deposits are non-refundable.

Yes- please let us know up front if you will require a signed NDA to work on your projects, this is fairly common.