0.5 ptHairlines under 0.5 pt
A foil line finer than 0.5 pt either fills in or flakes off the sheet. We redraw thin strokes up to the floor rather than let them disappear.
Foil stamping →
Halyard · Identity drawn for print
Design services
We design for the die, not the screen.
Most artwork we receive is a render — soft edges, hairlines that taper to nothing, colours that touch. We rebuild it so it foils, presses and embosses cleanly, or draw something from the name that was always meant to be printed.
What does the Peppermint design studio do?
We prepare and draw artwork for specialty print: redrawing logos so they survive foil, letterpress and emboss, reinterpreting marks that nearly work, and drawing new identities from a name.
Every project is quoted. Guide prices start at $245.
- 20 yrs
- In specialty print production
- 1 day
- To tell you what can be saved
- $245
- Guide price for a redraw
- 50%
- Of the design fee credited to print over $600
Start here
Three ways in, depending on what you have.
Half of every design fee is credited against your first print order over $600.
You have a logo
Press-Ready Redraw
Your mark is already yours. We rebuild its curves, counters and separations so the actual die can hold it.
from $245 · per mark, one process→
Your logo nearly works
Logo Reinterpretation
Keep the silhouette people know; redraw the weak details as three directions you can judge on real stock.
from $1,450 · three directions, one round→
You have a name
Identity for Print
A mark, type and material language conceived together, from first name to finished printed piece.
from $3,200 · name to stationery system→
As supplied → as printed
Real client files, before and after.
The final mark. The sculptural feeling is carried by line weight instead of tone: each rule thickens into shadow and thins across a lit face, so one plate describes the whole form.
Read the Alvarez Stone case study →
Press floors
Six things we fix before it goes to press.
These are the numbers we hold, not general advice. Every redraw comes back with a spec sheet naming each one.
0.5 pt
1.5 mmCounters under 1.5 mm
The hole in an 'a' or an 'e' closes under pressure. Below 1.5 mm at final size it prints as a solid blob, so we open the counter or change the size.
Emboss and letterpress →
0.3 mmColours that touch
Two inks butted edge to edge show white at the join when registration moves. We pull them apart by 0.3 mm or trap them deliberately.
Spot ink library →
1 toneGradients on foil or metal
Foil is one flat tone — it cannot fade. A gradient is redrawn as flat facets, or the foil is dropped and the fade printed in ink.
Foil library →
0.6 mmIslands in a laser cut
Any cut that fully encircles an area drops the middle out. We bridge it at 0.6 mm so the counter stays attached, or we do not cut it.
Die-cut shapes →
DrawnInverted mono versions
A mark reversed out of a solid is not the same drawing — strokes gain weight and counters close. The mono version is drawn, not inverted.
Raised spot UV →How a project runs
You see it on paper before you approve it.
01Send what you have
A vector file, a PNG, or a photograph of a printed card. We tell you within a day what can be saved and what has to be redrawn.
02See it printed first
Directions arrive as brand sheets on the stock and finish we would specify — never as flat PNGs on white.
03Engineered to our floors
Separations, bleed, safety and tolerances set to the press floors above, handed over with a spec sheet naming each one.
04Half comes back
Half of every design fee is credited against your first print order over $600.
Artwork for a specific piece
You have the mark. We engineer the piece.
Guide prices. Every job is quoted, with stock and finish costed alongside the design.
Business Card Artwork
Two sides resolved against the exact trim, finish and stock, with every small detail set to survive the press.
from $295 · two sides, one finish
Stationery Suite Artwork
A card, letterhead and envelope with one consistent mark, thoughtful spacing and separations that make production simple.
from $650 · card, letterhead, envelope
Wedding Suite Artwork
Invitation, reply, details and envelope considered together so the whole suite arrives as one clear gesture.
from $950 · invite, RSVP, details, envelope
Label Artwork
Art laid against the real container and die, accounting for wrap, seams, bleed and the stock beneath the ink.
from $450 · one SKU
Packaging Artwork
A box designed across its actual panels, folds and board, not a flat graphic placed over a generic mockup.
from $1,200 · structure and artwork
Poster & Edition Artwork
A sheet made for the size it will hang at, with type, margins, grain and process worked out before print.
from $550 · one sheet, one finish
Who does the work
A small studio, on purpose.
We are a small team with twenty years between the file and the press. The people who draw your artwork are the same people who check the proof and talk to the pressman, so the standard holds whether it is one mark for a sole trader or a label range across dozens of SKUs.
It also means we have a finite number of hours. When the calendar is full we give you the earliest honest start date. When we don't think we can add value, because the file is already press-ready or the brief needs a different kind of studio, we say so and point you somewhere better. It is never personal.
Identity studies · invented brands
Drawn end to end, printed on one object.
Meander
Ferrum
a copper-foil Ferrum monogram on the card
pebble
a blue-and-white printed Pebble identity on the keepsake
Marrow
a debossed oxblood glaze stamp in the ceramic
Halyard
a navy single-colour screen print on the canvas
BLOC
a raised white BLOC mark printed on the climbing hold
The Ninth
a gold hot-foil stamp pressed into the leather
Quarter
an orange Quarter coffee mark printed on the tag
What changes the price
No calculator. We read the file.
One job is a single mark redrawn for foil. The next is a five-piece suite with the logo rebuilt from scratch. A fixed button would underprice one and frighten off the other.
Marks in the lockupProcesses it must surviveVector, raster or photo sourceMono drawn, not invertedLicensed face or drawn typePieces and finishes
Questions we get asked
Can you fix a logo for foil stamping?
Yes — a foil logo needs a minimum line weight of 0.5 pt and counters no smaller than 1.5 mm, and we redraw yours to those floors. Anything finer fills in with foil or flakes off the sheet within a few hundred impressions. The redraw comes back as separated artwork with a spec sheet naming every tolerance we held.
Why won't my AI-generated logo print?
Generated marks carry three things a die cannot hold: soft edges, hairlines that taper to nothing, and colours that touch. A press needs hard curves at a printable weight, with each colour on its own separation. We rebuild the idea rather than trace the image.
What is the minimum line weight for foil stamping?
0.5 pt, measured at final printed size. Below that the foil either bridges and fills the gap or fails to adhere and flakes. On a soft cotton sheet we hold 0.75 pt, because the die sinks further and the line spreads.
What file format do you need for letterpress?
Vector artwork with outlined type — PDF, AI or EPS — with each process on its own layer. A raster file will not cut a plate cleanly at any resolution, because the plate is made from the outline, not from pixels. If all you have is a PNG, we redraw it.
How much does a logo redraw cost?
A press-ready redraw starts at $245 for one mark on one process, and most land between $245 and $600. The number moves with how many processes the mark has to survive and whether the source is vector, raster or a photograph of a printed piece. Every project is quoted.
Do you take on every project?
No. We are a small team, so when the calendar is full we give you the earliest honest start date. If a file is already press-ready, or the brief needs a different kind of studio, we say so and point you somewhere better.
Have a logo that needs to survive the press?
Send the render. We will tell you what holds and what has to be redrawn before anything is quoted.