Graphic Designer

Company Overview

Specialty Printing creates custom labels and related products, including options for retail, food, and pharmaceutical applications. Its capabilities include high-quality color and flexographic printing, supported by an experienced design team.

Position Summary

We are seeking a creative, detail-oriented, and customer-focused Graphic Designer to join our label manufacturing team. This position is responsible for developing, modifying, and preparing artwork for printed labels used in the grocery, food and beverage, medical, and healthcare industries.

The ideal candidate combines strong graphic design and technical prepress skills with excellent customer service and communication abilities. This role serves as a key point of contact between customers and internal production teams, ensuring artwork meets customer expectations, industry requirements, and manufacturing specifications.

The Graphic Designer will work directly with customers to understand their needs, troubleshoot artwork concerns, recommend design solutions, and ensure projects move efficiently from concept through production.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Graphic Design & Artwork Development

• Create, modify, and prepare customer artwork for printed labels, packaging, and related applications.
• Develop new designs and adapt existing artwork to meet customer specifications and printing requirements.
• Utilize Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Creative Suite applications to create, edit, and prepare high-quality artwork.
• Review customer-supplied artwork for accuracy, resolution, color consistency, dimensions, and print readiness.
• Prepare production-ready files, including proper bleeds, dielines, color separations, and other technical specifications.
• Ensure artwork is compatible with the company's printing processes, materials, and equipment.
• Maintain consistent branding, typography, layout, and visual quality across customer projects.
• Make revisions to existing artwork based on customer feedback, regulatory changes, or production needs.

Customer Service & Communication

• Serve as a primary graphics-related contact for customers, providing professional, responsive, and knowledgeable support.
• Work directly with customers to understand design requirements, artwork specifications, and project expectations.
• Communicate artwork concerns, technical limitations, and recommended solutions in a clear and customer-friendly manner.
• Assist customers with artwork submissions, revisions, proof approvals, and design-related questions.
• Proactively communicate project updates, outstanding requirements, and potential delays.
• Build and maintain positive customer relationships through accuracy, responsiveness, and problem-solving.
• Collaborate with sales and customer service teams to support customer satisfaction and timely project completion.

Prepress & Production

Support

• Prepare, inspect, and release artwork files for label production in accordance with established procedures.
• Verify label dimensions, print specifications, barcodes, colors, and other production-critical details.
• Coordinate with production, quality, and prepress personnel to resolve artwork or printing concerns.
• Identify potential printing challenges and recommend adjustments before production begins.
• Review and manage digital proofs and customer approvals.
• Maintain accurate artwork versions, revisions, approvals, and production documentation.
• Support troubleshooting of print quality issues related to artwork, color, registration, or file preparation.
• Ensure artwork changes are properly documented and communicated to appropriate departments.

Quality & Industry Requirements

• Maintain a high level of accuracy when working with product labels containing ingredient lists, nutritional information, medical information, warnings, instructions, and other customer-supplied content.
• Verify that required customer-provided text, graphics, symbols, and barcodes are accurately reproduced in artwork.
• Follow established artwork review, document control, and revision management procedures.
• Support customer-specific quality standards and applicable labeling requirements.
• Recognize the importance of accuracy, traceability, and consistency when producing labels for food and medical applications.
• Escalate potential compliance concerns or discrepancies to the appropriate customer representative or internal quality team.
• Ensure customer approval is obtained before releasing applicable artwork revisions to production.

Qualifications & Experience

Required Qualifications

• Associate degree in Graphic Design, Visual Communications, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Creative Suite (Adobe Creative Cloud) is required.
• Demonstrated hands-on experience using Adobe Illustrator to create, edit, manipulate, and prepare professional artwork files is required.
• Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, and other relevant Adobe Creative Suite applications.
• Strong understanding of graphic design principles, typography, color management, and digital file preparation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to interact professionally with customers and internal departments.
• Strong attention to detail, organizational skills, and commitment to accuracy.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize competing deadlines, and work effectively in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to identify and resolve artwork-related issues.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and general computer applications.

Portfolio Requirement

All applicants must submit a portfolio of original work created using Adobe Illustrator and other required Adobe Creative Suite applications as part of the application process.

The portfolio should demonstrate:

• Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and relevant Adobe Creative Suite applications.
• Strong graphic design skills, including layout, typography, color management, and visual composition.
• Ability to create, modify, and prepare professional artwork.
• Attention to detail, accuracy, and consistency.
• Experience producing print-ready artwork, preferably for labels, packaging, or other commercial printing applications.

Applications submitted without a portfolio will not be considered.

Preferred Qualifications

• Two or more years of graphic design, prepress, or print production experience.
• Experience in label manufacturing, packaging, commercial printing, or flexographic printing.
• Familiarity with pressure-sensitive labels, roll-fed printing, and digital printing technologies.
• Knowledge of CMYK, Pantone color systems, spot colors, trapping, bleeds, and print registration.
• Experience with barcode creation, verification, and print requirements.
• Familiarity with food, beverage, pharmaceutical, or medical product labeling.
• Experience working directly with customers in a manufacturing or business-to-business environment.
• Familiarity with artwork management systems, proofing software, and production workflow processes.

Key Competencies

Customer Focus: Demonstrates professionalism, responsiveness, and a commitment to understanding and meeting customer needs.

Attention to Detail

Maintains exceptional accuracy when reviewing and preparing artwork, particularly for food and medical product labels.

Technical Proficiency

Understands the relationship between graphic design, prepress requirements, and manufacturing capabilities.

Communication

Effectively communicates with customers, sales representatives, production personnel, and management.

Problem-Solving

Identifies potential issues early and develops practical solutions that support quality and production efficiency.

Time Management

Successfully manages multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining accuracy and customer satisfaction.

Teamwork

Collaborates across departments to ensure smooth project execution and successful production outcomes.

Physical &

Work Environment Requirements

• Primarily office-based work in a manufacturing environment.
• Extended periods of computer use and detailed visual review of digital artwork.
• Occasional visits to production areas to review printing processes, inspect samples, or troubleshoot artwork-related concerns.
• Ability to work in a deadline-driven environment while maintaining attention to detail.
• Must follow all applicable workplace safety procedures when entering production areas.

Performance Expectations

Success in this position will be evaluated based on:

• Accuracy and quality of artwork submitted for production.
• Timeliness of artwork preparation, revisions, and customer proof approvals.
• Customer satisfaction and responsiveness to customer requests.
• Reduction of artwork-related production errors and rework.
• Effective communication and collaboration with internal departments.
• Compliance with established artwork approval, documentation, and quality procedures.
• Ability to manage multiple customer projects while meeting established deadlines.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to any status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or qualifications. Responsibilities may be modified based on business needs.

Pay: $65,000.00 - $80,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply

Work Location: In person