Creative Artworker

Optima UK Inc Ltd; Leicester Forest East; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Optima UK Inc Ltd in Leicester seeks an experienced Artworker to prepare and check production-ready artwork for POS, packaging and display projects, turning client concepts into accurate artwork that meets brand and print specs.

You will create, adapt and proof artwork across formats, ensure cutter guides, bleeds and colour accuracy, and manage multiple jobs through the studio workflow to meet deadlines.

Qualifications

• Experience in artwork or pre-press for print/packaging.
• Advanced knowledge of Adobe CC: Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Acrobat.
• Strong print-production understanding: colour, bleeds, trapping, file prep.
• Excellent attention to detail and brand consistency.
• Clear communication and ability to work to deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Create and amend artwork for POS, display, packaging across formats.
• Apply cutter guides, bleeds, safe areas, folds, and joins correctly.
• Maintain consistency across variants and languages per brand guidelines.
• Retouch and resize images, ensure suitable resolution.
• Preflight, proofs, and final checks before release to production.
• Manage artwork jobs through studio workflow and deadlines.
• Coordinate with internal teams to confirm specifications.

Skills

Artwork production

Attention to detail

Time management

Communication

Tools

Adobe Creative Cloud

Illustrator

InDesign

Photoshop

Acrobat

Job description

Location: Leicester

Commutable from: Leicester, Blaby, Narborough, Enderby, Wigston, Countesthorpe, Broughton Astley, Lutterworth and Hinckley

Salary: 34k - 36k (DOE)

Hours: Full time, 39 hours per week - Monday to Thursday 08:00-17:00, Friday 08:00-16:00

About the Company:

Our client is a manufacturer of point-of-sale, retail-display and printed materials, working with clients to turn creative concepts into production-ready artwork and physical display solutions. The business places a strong emphasis on accuracy, brand consistency and quality control, working closely across Client Services, Design, Planning, Estimating and Production to deliver work that meets exacting print, finishing and manufacturing standards.

About the Role:

As Artworker, you will prepare, adapt and check production-ready artwork for point-of-sale, retail-display, packaging and printed projects, turning approved creative concepts and client-supplied files into accurate technical artwork that meets brand, material, print, finishing and manufacturing requirements before release to production.

Key responsibilities include:

• Creating, adapting and amending artwork for point-of-sale, retail-display, packaging and printed applications in line with approved briefs, across multiple formats, sizes and substrates.
• Applying cutter guides, keylines, bleeds, safe areas, folds, joins, panels and other technical production requirements correctly.
• Maintaining consistency across campaign variants, language versions, store formats and related artwork suites, following client brand guidelines precisely.
• Retouching, resizing and optimising images while maintaining appropriate resolution and quality.
• Preflighting all artwork before proofing or release, checking dimensions, scale, resolution, colour space, fonts, links, overprints, trapping and transparency.
• Preparing and issuing accurate proofs for internal and client approval, and completing final quality checks before releasing files to Production or external suppliers.
• Managing assigned artwork jobs through the studio workflow, prioritising tasks in line with production schedules and agreed deadlines.
• Liaising with Client Services, Design, Planning, Estimating and Production to confirm specifications and resolve technical queries.
• Supporting Production with artwork-related questions, first-offs and amendments, and escalating unresolved or high-risk issues to the reporting manager.
• Contributing to artwork reviews, first-off checks and continuous-improvement activity across the studio and production teams.

About You:

• Experience in an artwork, reprographics or pre-press role within print, packaging, point-of-sale or retail-display production.
• Advanced working knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and Acrobat.
• Strong understanding of print-production principles, including colour, resolution, bleeds, cutter guides, overprints, trapping and file preparation.
• Excellent attention to detail, with a disciplined approach to checking copy, dimensions, versions and technical specifications.
• Good understanding of typography, layout and brand consistency, with the ability to reproduce approved designs accurately.
• Strong organisational and time-management skills, able to manage multiple deadlines and changing priorities.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with confidence raising technical questions with colleagues at all levels.
• Able to work independently, follow approval controls and make sound day-to-day artwork decisions within agreed procedures.
• Proactive, flexible and calm under pressure, with a practical and solution-focused approach.
• Experience of large-format print, CAD cutter guides, workflow or preflight software and colour-managed production is desirable.