Print & Packaging covers design that has to survive production: packaging systems, page layout, large-format and mural artwork, cut-paper and physical pieces, and the file preparation that gets work from screen to printer. It is useful for designers moving into packaging or print, and for anyone who wants to see how others handled dimensions, resolution, vector conversion and what changed between concept and final piece.
Entries are short accounts of real projects and tools, written in 4TC's words and linked to their sources, with notes on what to check before relying on a method. Vendor-reported results and older examples are labelled. Start with a small brand's packaging system and guidelines, preparing a 100-foot mural for print, or a layered paper shadowbox.
A creative-systems consultant connects Claude to Illustrator, gets a 100 × 80 × 25 mm box with die line from his illustration, and lists what went wrong.
An agency generates flavour-by-flavour product and fruit imagery for a CPG client's site, then fixes label details by hand in Photoshop.
An October 2026 guide lists which logo variants and file formats to deliver, with caveats. Its author checked it against docs, not by testing.
Adobe’s 2026 story says Trek’s visualization team builds 1:1 bike twins and swaps meshes to reuse approved paint designs.
Reported October 2025: Affinity combines vector, photo and layout tools in one free app; Canva AI tools need Canva Premium.
A studio’s published guide covers choosing a traceable concept, hand-tracing, colour specs, a logo family, type licensing and file delivery.
Adobe’s 2024 account says Mattel explored packaging concepts with generated imagery, conventional editing and 3D presentation.
Adobe presents it as professional page layout for print and digital publishing.
According to Adobe, new releases include Photoshop Harmonize and Generative Upscale and Illustrator snapping and gradient tools.
Adobe presents it as apps for creating, texturing and rendering 3D models and materials.
Blender presents itself as free and open-source 3D creation software.
A designer’s portfolio project turns hand-drawn contour lines into cut paper layers stacked into a framed shadowbox.
Inkscape describes itself as a free, open-source SVG vector editor.
A Toronto mural artist explains splitting a wall into canvases at 300 DPI and having a vector artist trace them for printing.
A designer reports extending a small brand from a Canva logo into 51 packaging designs, guidelines and an AI photo workflow the client reuses.
Vectorizer.AI converts PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP and WebP images to SVG, PDF, EPS and DXF vectors. Previews are free; downloading results needs a subscription.