Registration Mark Generator

Build a custom film-positive template — corner registration marks, crop marks, gradation strip, separation label — matched to your film size. Live preview, SVG download for Illustrator / CorelDRAW / Inkscape.

Add one artwork box per design on the film — each box gets its own four corner marks. Use single points for any extra spot. Coordinates are in mm, measured from the film's top-left corner.

The SVG uses real millimeters — it prints at exact size. Line weight is set in points as RIP software expects. Dashed artwork outlines print too — untick them before downloading if you only want the marks on the film.

What these marks are for

Registration marks are printed identically on every color separation. When you expose and tape up screens, you align the marks — not the artwork — because the marks are guaranteed to be in the same position on every film. Put one in each corner and any twist or stretch shows up immediately.

Center crop marks (top and bottom edges) give you a quick visual center line for positioning the film on the screen.

Gradation strip — a row of patches from 100% down to 10% or 5%. After exposure and washout it tells you how your film printer, emulsion and exposure time are really behaving: if the 20% patch washes away, your halftone shadows are gone too, no matter what the RIP promised.

Separation label — a small text area to write the color name and screen angle. Thirty seconds of labeling saves you from exposing the wrong screen at 11 pm.

Choosing line weight

Finer marks (0.5–0.75 pt) are easier to align precisely but can break up on coarse mesh or under-exposed screens. 1 pt is the safe default for general work; go 1.5–2 pt on coarse mesh below about 30T (77 mesh/inch). If a mark clogs or vanishes on the screen, it's telling you the mesh can't hold that line — go heavier, don't fight it.

Custom marks: multiple designs on one screen

Big screens often carry more than one design — two independent graphics gang-printed on one stencil. Corner marks alone won't help you here, because each design needs to register on its own. That's what the custom marks are for.

How to use them, step by step:

  1. Open your artwork file (CorelDRAW, Illustrator) and note each design's position and size — the X/Y of its top-left corner and its width/height, in millimeters. The origin is the film's top-left corner, the same default both programs use, so you can copy the numbers straight across.
  2. Click + Artwork box once per design and type in the four numbers. The generator drops a register mark at each corner of that box, pushed outward by the offset (default 8 mm — increase it if your squeegee or frame needs more clearance).
  3. Keep Artwork outlines ticked while you work: the dashed rectangle shows exactly where each design sits, so you can see at a glance that the marks surround the right area. Untick it before downloading if you don't want the outlines on the film — they print too.
  4. Need a mark somewhere a box doesn't cover — a center point between two designs, a punch location? Click + Single point and enter its exact X/Y.
  5. Check the preview, then download. Every mark lands at true scale in the SVG, editable like any other vector.

If a mark falls outside the film (a box too close to the edge), it's pulled back onto the sheet automatically — but the preview will show you the collision, so adjust the box rather than shipping a cramped mark.

Working with the SVG

The downloaded file opens directly in Illustrator, CorelDRAW and Inkscape with all elements as editable vectors. Place your artwork inside the marks, duplicate the template per color, and delete whatever your shop doesn't use. Everything prints at true scale — check once with a ruler against the gradation strip patches (5 mm squares) before trusting a new printer.

Need to sanity-check mesh specs for your films? The mesh count converter handles mesh/inch ⇄ T-count and theoretical openings.