I’m interested in how other designers prepare packaging artwork for commercial printing. Do you usually set up the dieline, bleed, color mode, and overprint settings yourself, or does the printer handle some of these prepress steps? I’d especially like to hear how designers avoid issues with small text and fine details after printing.
Depends on if you are creating custom dielines or using templates.
Always talk to the printer before even beginning the design. Find out what their preferences are regarding bleed, color mode and overprint settings. I would never ask a printer to pull bleeds for me after the fact but it’s good to know how much they want. You might ask them for samples of small text or detailed art to see how their presses handle what you have in mind. They may have preprinted things or you can pay to have a proof sample done from your own art.
Small text and fine details are not dealt with after printing. If in doubt, print it out. I find it weird these days that designers don’t have access to a simple desktop printer to check fine details or image resolution.