The specialist behind the projects
Alexandre
Cardial
Every project is built by someone. Meet the experience, the methodology and the thinking that drive every solution developed at inPressao.
Background
Where this way of thinking comes from
I started in graphic design during the shift from analogue to digital production. I learned to read a print job before I learned the software — and that order changed how I approach artwork permanently.
Over time, I realized the real problem was never creativity. It was the gap between what was designed and what could actually be produced. Files arriving with wrong bleeds, out-of-gamut colors, structures that could not be assembled. Every error had a real cost — material, time, trust.
That gap is what led me into structural packaging development: a discipline where engineering and visual communication have to work as one. Where every millimeter carries weight. And where understanding production is not optional — it is the starting point.
Over more than two decades, I have led Prepress and Packaging Development departments at several printing operations. Each environment brought a different set of problems — and solutions that had to be built from scratch, not borrowed.
When I founded inPressao, the goal was not to open another print shop. It was to build a place where printing and structural development are treated as parts of the same workflow — because in practice, they always have been.
Today I work with clients who need someone who understands both sides. Who does not separate the artwork from the die. Who does not treat packaging as a design problem disconnected from the production line.
Journey
An evolution built one problem at a time
Not a list of job titles. A sequence of challenges that shaped a way of thinking.
Design and the fundamentals of print production
The first years were total immersion in graphic design and production. I learned early that the screen lies — what matters is what comes off the press. Color, resolution, bleed, print direction: every detail has consequences when the file reaches the machine.
Prepress, color management and technical workflow
Prepress taught me that every file decision has a production consequence. I developed hands-on fluency in color management — not theory, but real press calibration, ICC profiles, proof sign-off. A well-prepared file prevents reprints. And reprints always cost more than the fee.
From flat artwork to three-dimensional packaging
I moved into structural development out of necessity — to solve problems no one else was addressing: packaging files sent to production without any consideration of board behavior, manual assembly that was physically impossible, unnecessary die costs. I learned ArtiosCad, EngView and Precision Package Designer to build the technical vocabulary the work demanded.
Technical management and systems thinking
Running Packaging Development and Prepress simultaneously is what locked in my integrated perspective. The dieline has to talk to the artwork. The artwork has to respect the dieline. When that flow works, the client gets exactly what they approved — without surprises on press.
inPressao — where everything converges
I founded inPressao to work the way I believe in: with technical discipline at every stage, without separating what the industry insists on treating as two different worlds. Print production and packaging development are parts of a single process. They always have been.
Philosophy
How I think about the work
Four principles that shape every technical decision.
"A package that cannot be manufactured is not a solution. It is a sketch."
Packaging starts in engineering, not aesthetics. The most elegant form that cannot survive transport, cannot hold the product, or cannot be assembled on a line — does not work. Good-looking is a result of a structure that functions.
"Print production starts long before the press. It starts in the file."
Prepress is not a bureaucratic checkpoint. It is where most errors are either caught or ignored until they become costs. Reviewing a file before production is respecting the client's investment and the press operator's time.
"Development is done when the supplier has no more questions."
A well-executed development package is one the supplier opens and understands without picking up the phone. Technical spec, assembly guide, approved dieline. Ambiguity in technical documentation is a cost that shows up in production, not in the quote.
"Separating structure from print is separating the product from its identity."
When the dieline and artwork are developed in parallel, both benefit. Bleeds respect the score line. Color accounts for the substrate. Finishing is planned from the start. That is the advantage of working with someone who holds both disciplines.
Competencies
Areas of deep expertise
Not a skills checklist — but the disciplines where two decades of hands-on work have accumulated.
Prepress
Technical file preparation and review for print production. Color specification, ICC profiling, imposition, digital proofing and output quality control.
Structural Packaging Development
Dieline engineering for cartons, folding boxes and custom structures. Score calculation, assembly tolerances and die optimization for industrial cutting.
Color Management
Applied color management across the production chain: press calibration, output profiling, proof approval and consistency between screen and substrate.
Print Production
Deep working knowledge of offset and digital printing processes, finishing techniques and the relationship between project specification and production feasibility.
Graphic Design
Solid foundation in visual communication applied to production — not as style, but as a tool for clarity between creative intent and printed output.
Technical Management
Experience leading Packaging Development and Prepress departments — team coordination, workflow design and delivery quality control across multiple simultaneous projects.