MANUAL OF TOP 10 TIPS WHEN DESIGNING FOR PRINT EMILY FAIRBANK
CONTENTS 1 - COLOUR MODES - CMYK vs RGB 2 - COLOUR MODES - Pantones, tints 3 - STOCK 4 - PAPER SIZE 5 - PRINT PROCESSES 6 - PRINT FINISHES 7 - FOLDING 8 - BINDING 9 - TYPE 10 - OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
COLOUR MODES CMYK
ADDATIVE PROCESS FOR PRINT Four colour process is created using the primary colours of pigment: Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black. Black is designated the letter K to avoid confusion with B for
RGB
REDUCTIVE PROCESS FOR SCREEN RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue. These are the three colours that create every other tone of colour that is visible on your screen.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
COLOUR MODES CMYK GAMET There are many more colours that can be seen on screen (created through mixing RGB) than can be printed (CMYK.) The whole circle show all the visible colours. The yellow area shows the RGB colours. The red area show all pantone colours The blue area shows all printable CMYK colours.
CONVERT TO CMYK There is a very visible difference when images / colours have to be converted to CMYK. On Adobe Illustrator the defult setting is CMYK, whereas Adobe Photoshop is automatically RGB - so you have to remember to convert. The colours will appear slightly muted after converting the colours.. TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
COLOUR MODES GREYSCALE
A range of whites, greys and blacks are used in a design or image.
MONOTONE
Only one colour is used throughout an image or deisng, darkers areas of colours occur where a higher density of colour is used.
DUOTONE
Where two colours are printed together to make and image richer and denser in colour
TRIOTONE
Where 3 colours are printed together to make and image richer and denser in colour
TINTS
Using a tint of a colour is a great way of using more colours without the added cost of spot colours. TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
COLOUR MODES PANTONE COLOUR BOOKS
There are 5 different books; - Coated - Uncoated - CMYK - RGB - Metalics & Neon Each of these pantone colours have a number. Once you have decided your stock you should choose and check the colour you want as depending on the stock and finish of the design, the colours will come out slightly different. For example, a coated colour will come out richer / denser than an uncoated colour.
SPOT COLOURS
A special colour not generated by the CMYK process. They are specifically assigned when using Adobe software. In the print process, this colour is made on a seperate printing plate from the original 4 plates (CMYK.) Be aware of spot colours, the more you use, the more expensive your design will be. Spot colours are used to ensure that a specific colour is used in every design / version that is made e.g. logos. TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
STOCK You should know what stock you are printing on before you start designing.
PAPER BASED
It is crutial for you to provide an alternative stock for the printer to act as a back up incase the print process you chose will not allow it.
PLASTIC BASED
Synthetics are a good choice for designers, many plastics are made to use for Offset printing. Care must be taken with ink, if the wrong ink is used it will never dry. You need to consider if the plastic is going to be flexible, foldable, waterproof, punched, die-cut or any other printing process.
GSM
Grams Per Square Metre - this is what paper is measured in. Normal paper you print from at home is 80 gms. Card is approximately 200 gsm. The higher the gsm, the higher the price of paper, however it can make the job look more professional.
PAPER TYPES - Matte paper - Gloss paper - Cotton Paper - Gloss Paper
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
PAPER SIZES ISO - International
Paper sizes A - UK Paper size B - USA Paper size C - envelope sizes
ECONOMICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
Before you start designing you should have an idea of the size / format that you are designing. If you are creating a book design, you should remember that an A3 page can fold into 8 A6 sized pages. And an A2 paper can fit 16 A6 size pages and so one. It is economical if you produce a publication that is a multiple of 8. It you want to be economical and save paper, it is best to stick to the ISO paper sizes, rather than creating an odd square design and removing the unprinded paper.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
PRINT PROCESSES ROTOGRAVURE - Roto
An ‘intaglio’ process; the image is recessed into a copper-coated plate/cylinder. Liquied fills the recessed cells and a doctor blade cleans the excess ink from the plate surface before the paper is pressed onto the cylinder by another rubber coated cylinder, creating an impression. Good for printing on the various materials used in packaging applications e.g. die-cutting, embossing & foil stamping.
FLEXOGRAPHY - Flexo
This process uses a flexible relief plate (contemporary version of letter press). It uses low viscosity, water-based ink that dry faster which makes it cheaper in comparison to other printing processes. It also means the production times is faster. The pates are cheap to make but the designs are of a lower quality and used for; packaging. This process can print on paper, cellophane, plastics, metal foils and now some newspapers.
OFFSET LIDIGITAL THOGRAPHY - PRINTING This is great for short Litho print runs as no This is what most printing professionals use. It is arguably the most widley used. This process is good for high volume print jobs; magazines, newspapers, books, catalogs and brochures. It can be web-fed (paper fed from a continuous reel) and much faster than sheet-fed. This process is cost effective for large print runs as the life of the printing plate is prolonged (no direct contact between the plates and print surface.) Most offset presses can handel 6 colours (CMKY + 2 additional spot colours or special ink finishes) and can also print on a variaty of surfaces other than paper.
platemaking is involved (the whole set up of plates is the time consuming and expensive part) meaning the start up costs are low. It is important to work out the number you want to of designs you want to print as you will be paying per sheet, and currently the inks are more expensive.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
PRINT PROCESSES PAD
This type of printing is used to print a design onto anything that isn’t a flat surface e.g. stationary, merchandise, builders hats. The design is printed onto a rounded surface and it is pressed onto the material / surface. This print process is designed to print onto impossible shaped surfaces.
SCREEN
This is the most versatile of all the print processes because you can print on pretty much anything. Stensils can be hand-cut or produced photographhically for much finer details. This process is perticuarly well suited for the clothing industry as this process makes the prints more durable. It is also good for plastic and metal signage, CD’s and DVD’s and even electronic circuits can be printed on. This process can be had done where screens are made up and you place the ink on with a squeegie. It can also be done by machine where the CMYK screens can be set up as well as the additional spot colours.
LETTER PRESS
This is the original and traditional print process for type. It started as a result of the Industrail Revolution and changed the face of print as it meant that books could be mass produced. Each character is acts as a single block stamp made from wood or metal, and a word is created by alligning the stamps together in reverse. Ink is rolled onto the stamps and the paper is pressed onto this.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
PRINT FINISHES MATTE LAMINATE
This involves bonding a matte plastic film directly to a sheet of paper using head and pressure. Laminating protects the printed sheet and prevent the ‘cracking’ that can occur when large areas of in are printed accross folds.
UV VARNISH
A plastic-based varnish applied by screen printing, and available in matte, sating and gloss finishes. It can be applied over the entire surface or treated as a spot varnish, enabling the designer to print elements purely as a varnish or to highlight selected elements on the page.
THERMOGRAPHY
This process is similar to foil stamping. It can add a shine to a design. The process produces a raised images that are visible and tactile. Thermal powders are applied to wet ink and then heated. The powder melts into a solid mass, adhering to the printed surfaces. Finishes include dull, matte, semigloss and gloss. Thermography can only be done on one side of the sheet and the effect should not be applied over folds.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
PRINT FINISHES EMBOSS / DEBOSS
A graphic effect that depends on the dimensional quality of the imprint. Any impression made can be flattened by an aggressive laser printer. It is crutial to select the right materials to emboss otherwise the stock will tear / break or the impression will be inadequate. Long fibered papers are the best, particularly for deeper dies. Also papers that are uncated, heavy and have a felt finish work best.
FOIL STAMP
Also called ‘foil blocking, hot stamping, foil imprinting and leaf imprinting.’ This process uses heated die strikes to apply a coloured clear, metalic, matte, pearlescent, marbled, shily, holographic or otherwise tinted foil to another surface. This process can be combined with embossing for a dimensional effect. For this process, smtooth, coated stocks work best. Uncaoted or textured surfaces present an irregular surface that may brake the foil. Ask your printer for laser safe resins as foils do not often survive the heat rigors of laser printers.
DIE CUT
This process uses a die to partially / completely cut out shapes or areas of a substrate, usual after printing but before the assembly of the design. Die-cutting can be as simple as cutting two slits in a piece of paper to hold a business card in place or as complicated as special packaging designs or pop-up books. Many materials other than paper can be die-cut for example; metal, rubber, cloth and many more.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
FOLDING FRENCH FOLD
This involves a multiple fold in which the paper is folded in half in one direction, folded again perpendicular to the first fold, and bound along the open edges .
SCORING
Required on heavier paper (200gsm and above)to allow folding to work properly. On thicker card, scoring is required otherwise the edges can crack badly and ruin the printed design.
PERFORATED FOLD
Printed sheets are perforated prior to folding the sheets down to the final page size. This allows the French-fold pages to be torn open easily.
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
BINDING JAPANESE BINDING
Thread is bound from the back to the front of hte book around the outside edge of the spine. Use primarily for binding loose sheets.
PERFECT BINDING
Pages are glued to the cover and held together with a strip of adhesive, giving the spine of the brochure a completely flat appearance.
SADDLE-STITCHING
This is the standard method of binding for literature; pages are secured with stitches or staples placed through the centerfold of nested signatures
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
TYPE TYPEFACE
The typeface is one of the most important aspect of your text. It will decide the tone of voice your text is coming accross in and chosing an appropriate typeface will make all the difference to your design. Think about if you want it light, bold, italic, low or high X height, upper case or lower case.
HEIRARCHY
Think about which part of the text you want to be seen first. Remember the middle part of the page is where the eye is initially drawn two. Think about the orientation and layout, which piece of the type in your desing is the most important.
CONTENT
Think about the type of language you want to use as well as the tone of voice. What type of document are you designing? Who is your audience? Where will you find them? How can you attract their attetntion? Is your design going to instruct, inform, educate, persuade?
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS EXTRA COSTS
You will have been given a quote by your printer before you start. Make sure you are clear about the additional close of changes after that sign off, (it does happen.) Ensure you tell the client about the extra cost of print finishes and processes, they can sometimes be the same price in total as the printing.
WORKING WITH PRINTERS
Always talk through your design, stock, finishes with the printer before you start designing. Listen to their advice about stock. Make sure that when your print job is done, you get a proof copy, then get that signed off by the customer. It will serve as insurance incase the client decides to change their mind at the last minute.
SELECTING A PRINTER
You should have an idea about the quality and volume of the design you want to print because different printers will have different limiations. Look for a wide net of suppliers who can meet a top 3 criteria for buying print You should get a quote for your project from 3 different printers and then decide which of the printers you want to chose from that. Make sure that your specifications that you gave each of the printers are the same. Talk to the printers and see what options as far as finishes, binding and extras they have - some printers will not have the facilities e.g. die-cut and binding. Find a printer than you can talk to - someone that can work efficiently on your deadlines and who can advise you on the best materials and processes for your job
TOP 10 TIPS FOR DESIGN FOR PRINT