Designing for Print
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This book is for: Professionals who wear too many hats and the casual designer who wants to design more successfully for print.
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Who I am, Why I am Writing this Book I started in the printing world when dinosaurs roamed the earth, well maybe not that long ago. I did actually start in the field in 1976. We used huge cameras that filled two rooms, drew by hand and only used a so-called “computer� to set type in long galleys (photo-sensitive paper that had to be developed in chemicals) that had to be cut up and pasted to a board. Yes, printing has come a very long way in a short time. 4
Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with replaceable/movable wooden or metal letters in 1436. (www.inventors. about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Gutenberg.) This set the wheels in motion in the Western world. Books were available to the masses; books equaled knowledge. Yet it took until 1947 for phototypesetting to become practical. That is over 500 years. In a mere 30-something years, I have personally seen the entire face of printing change. The mechanical processes of the offset press has remained basically the same, but computers have been added to them that makes the work easier for the operators and the quality has improved dramatically. What has been completely turned on its
head is the design and pre-press fields. The skills I obtained 35 years ago are completely obsolete. Much of the mystery and the artisanship have been replaced by technology that is more accessible to the masses, like Gutenberg’s invention of movable type. There are always trade-offs however. The myriad of acronyms involved in getting a poster or invitation ready for a commercial printer is a foreign language for most people. The pitfalls are many and they can turn an inexpensive flyer into a money pit. That is why I decided to write this how to manual. Granted, it will be changing consistently as technology has a tendency to do. When in doubt, Google it. That is what I do.
Table of Contents Who I am, Why I am Writing this Book.....................................................4 Table of Contents.....................................................................................5 Learning to crawl... .................................................................................6 Boring but important definitions:.............................................................6 Digital Graphic Design definitions...........................................................7 What is graphic design..........................................................................10 Fonts......................................................................................................12 Color.......................................................................................................14 Software................................................................................................18 Paper, what you don’t know can hurt you.............................................24 A bit about Marketing............................................................................28 Desktop vs Offset printing ‌................................................................30 Finally! The nitty gritty...........................................................................34 Even after the Nitty Gritty...Screen printing...........................................46 Digital Art Requirements for Screen Printing. .......................................48 Definitions for Print Design....................................................................51
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Learning to crawl... boring but important definitions:
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Digital Graphic Design definitions Anti-Aliasing - the smoothing of jagged pixel edges in an image or graphic. Bevel - applying a beveled effect – giving a 3-D appearance to an otherwise flat looking graphic. This is achieved by adding highlights and shadows to an object’s edges. Bleed - when creating a design for print, a “bleed edge” needs to be added to the document’s page size. For example, a brochure with the dimensions 8″ x 10″ needs to be created at something like 8.25″ x 10.25″. This leaves room for the design to extend past the cut area. CMYK - a very common color mode used for printing, also known as “process colors”. The CMYK stands for the colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The letter K represents black. When printing in CMYK, not all colors are achievable (ex bright blues). For this reason, spot colors (pantone colors) can be used to add shots of necessary colors (see “spot colors” to learn more). DPI (dots per inch) - represents the resolution of an output device such as a printer. The higher the DPI, the more pixels (dots) fit into each inch of the image. In other words, the higher the DPI, the better an image will look in print. 300 dpi is sufficient for many print jobs, but it’s all-dependent on the detail required and
the material being printed on. DPI is often confused with the term “PPI” (see “ppi” to learn more). Duotone - an image consisting of 2 colors. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - ability to transfer files from one computer to another using the Internet. FTP programs (also referred to FTP clients) are commonly used tools for uploading and updating sites on the web. GIF (Graphics Interface Format) - web browser friendly -small file size is great for web pages. -support background transparency -limited to only 256 colors -photos don’t look good saved as GIF. Gradient - a gradual transition of colors. The way the sky fades from one color to another during a sunset is an example of a gradient. JPG/JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) - the most commonly used web format when it comes to photos or detailed imagery. JPGS are a “lossy” format, meaning some quality is lost to achieve their smaller file size. -look great on a monitor, despite “lossy” format -support a higher number colors than gifs, however larger file sizes -web browser friendly -ok for print if saved as highest quality -Saving jpg images at high quality will result in better picture quality but longer loading times on the internet. Saving at low quality will result
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in lower picture quality but fast web page loading times. Unlike “PNG” and “GIF” file formats, JPG’s don’t support background transparency Kerning - the horizontal spacing between a pair of letters in a word. Examples of how spacing varies with various letter combinations - AV, PA, AT, and AY. Kerning is often confused with the term “tracking” (see “tracking”). Tracking is used for spacing larger groups of letters or text.
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Pantone matching system (PMS) - a color matching system allowing designers and print shops to more easily match colors. This is accomplished by referencing Pantone swatch books (guides) for the proper recipe of colors. -good way to select spot colors (see “spot colors”) for print projects. -spot colors can be expensive -no two color guides are printed exactly the same PDF (portable document format) - a document format that allows for the reading and writing of multi-page documents or articles. It’s possible to keep the same format, layout, and fonts of a document across any computer setup. A free software program like Adobe Acrobat is needed to read PDF’s. Pixilation - raster images (see “raster”) are comprised of tiny dots. The more dots that fit into a certain area (1×1″ for example), the higher the resolution. Often time’s images with low resolution appear “blocky” or pixilated because of their lack of pixels per
inch (see “ppi”). This blocky appearance is referred to as pixilation. PNG (Portable Network Graphic) - a common image format used for displaying images on the web. -offers background transparency (great for web) -larger in file size than a gif, but still reasonable for web use -display many colors -display text more crisp than jpg images. PPI (pixels per inch) - specifies the resolution of an input device (digital camera, scanner, monitor). Web pages run at a resolution of 72-96 PPI. PPI is often confused with the term “DPI”. Raster - an image that is made up of pixels (tiny dots). Raster graphics or images are resolution dependent, meaning they cannot scale to arbitrary size without apparent loss in quality. Photographs are raster images. Resolution - The detail of an image is based on how many pixels (dots) are included in 1 square inch of space. The more pixels (see “pixels”) included in that space, the higher the resolution. RGB - the color mode that is read by computer screens and the web. The RGB mode consists of red, green, and blue color combinations. Anything created for web use should be created in RGB color mode, while anything for print should be created in CMYK color mode. San Serif - A kind of font type that is void of the strokes on the end of letters that can be found on a “serif” typeface.
Serif - A type of font that has exaggerated strokes or details at the end of its letters (unlike “san serif” typefaces). Spot Color - When printing in CMYK color (see “CMYK”), often times certain colors cannot be achieved. This is when “spot colors” are called upon. An extra printing plate with the spot color is added to the printing process (costing extra money). Spot colors are also used for limited color print jobs, since it’s sometime cheaper to print just the single or double spot colors rather than the entire 4 used in CMYK process printing. TIFF/TIF (Tagged Image File Format) image format commonly used when printing of high quality is necessary. Unlike the “JPG” format that sacrifices quality for file size, TIFF’s sacrifice file size for quality. -very large file sizes -great format for printing (not “lossless” like JPG) -not web
friendly due to large file size Tracking - the adjustment of space between a group of letters or entire blocks of text. A change in tracking can result in easier to read text, making it feel more “airy” and open. Tracking is often confused with “kerning” (see “kerning”). Kerning is more the spacing between 2 letters that appear to close together. Vector - a graphics format that uses shapes and paths (lines) to form graphic images. Vector graphics are resolution independent and regardless of how magnified, all edges will remain crisp, clear, and smooth. This ability to stay crisp at any size means vector graphics are great for logos, line art, and other designs that don’t require complicated coloring or textures.
(www.designbuddy.com)
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What is graphic design... Graphic design is a creative process—most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form (i.e., printers, signmakers, etc.)—undertaken in order to convey a specific message (or messages) to a targeted audience. The term “graphic design” can also refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines that focus on visual communication and presentation. The field as a whole is also often referred to as Visual Communication or Communication Design. Various methods are used to create and combine words, symbols, and images to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use a combination of typography, visual arts and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which are generated. (www.wikipedia.org)
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Break out It all boils down to this: • Will it attract attention? • Does it get your message across to your chosen audience? • Do they know where and when to go to your event? • If they have a question, can they reach someone?
When you can answer these questions, you are ready for the nitty gritty.
…To convey a specific message…that sums up what I have done for the past 30+ years. Conveyed messages. I could go on about the rules and the grid (a systematic division of a page into areas to ensure consistency) but that would take you only so far. You are artistic and you know as well as I do that the rules are made to be
broken. See figures 1 and 2 for a couple of examples. Both are crowded with images and text. I can hear you. You might like the poster I chose as an example of not so good. Graphic design as with all things creative is a matter of taste. I like something, you don’t think it is so hot.
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Figure 1. Good design. Summer Priority Room Selection campaign, 2011. Silver Addy.
Figure 2. Not so good design. Fall Priority Room Selection campaign, 2011. Nada.
The Nitty Gritty: But first, A word about fonts Fonts have personalities. Some are funny, they make us happy and so the message is happy
Figure 3. Kaufman. Then there are the scary fonts. They make us want to put on costumes and beg for candy at the neighbor’s house
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Figure 4. Wolf’s Bane. And the time capsule fonts that conjure up times long ago.
Figure 5. Seaside Resort NF.
Figure 6. Bauhaus.
Figure 7. Percival.
If you want to completely ruin a perfectly good design, use the wrong font. What is the right font you ask? Glad you asked.
There are some rules of thumb. One of my design professors went as far as giving us a list of acceptable fonts. There was also the bad list, i.e. “Use one these fonts and I will give you an F.” (personal conversation, F. Chetham. 1977)
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Break out -
I won’t give you a list, only words of caution • If you use a decorative font, use it for the headline only and make it very big. • Use a readable font for the important information. • Make sure your font’s personality fits your message
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, use script fonts in all caps • And don’t use Comic Sans if you want anyone to take your design seriously. You can never go wrong using Helvetica, or Times New Roman. I know, how •
boring! Let your image(s) get the attention. If you use the correct font, the design will look like million bucks.
Now for the nitty gritty. Oh wait, let’s talk about color. There are all kinds of research about the psychological effects of color. Who better to talk about color in the context of printing than Pantone. For those of you not familiar with the Pantone Matching System (PMS): In 1963, Lawrence Herbert, Pantone’s founder, created an innovative system for identifying, matching and communicating colors to solve the problems associated with producing accurate color matches in the graphic arts community. His insight that the spectrum is seen and interpreted differently by each individual led to the innovation of the PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM®, a book of standardized color in fan format. (www.pantone.com)
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Breakout • PMS is the color matching system that all printers in the United States use • Color is very important and can set the tone for your design • Colors can react to each other in unexpected ways • Beware when placing text on color backgrounds. Communications can be diminished
Since color is their business, I will let PMS do the talking:
as opposed to a blue light. That’s why Las Vegas is the city of red neon.
Color Psychology
For most people, one of the first decisions of the day concerns color harmony. What am I going to wear? This question is answered not only by choosing a style and fabric appropriate to the season, but by making the right color choices. And it goes on from there. Whether you’re designing a new kitchen, wrapping a present or creating a bar chart, the colors you choose greatly affect your final results.
Our personal and cultural associations affect our experience of color. Colors are seen as warm or cool mainly because of long-held (and often universal) associations. Yellow, orange and red are associated with the heat of sun and fire; blue, green and violet with the coolness of leaves, sea and the sky. Warm colors seem closer to the viewer than cool colors, but vivid cool colors can overwhelm light and subtle warm colors. Using warm colors for foreground and cool colors for background enhances the perception of depth. Although red, yellow and orange are in general considered high-arousal colors and blue, green and most violets are low-arousal hues, the brilliance, darkness and lightness of a color can alter the psychological message. While a light blue-green appears to be tranquil, wet and cool, a brilliant turquoise, often associated with a lush tropical ocean setting, will be more exciting to the eye. The psychological association of a color is often more meaningful than the visual experience. Colors act upon the body as well as the mind. Red has been shown to stimulate the senses and raise the blood pressure, while blue has the opposite effect and calms the mind. People will actually gamble more and make riskier bets when seated under a red light
How often have you caught your breath at the sight of a flowerbed in full bloom? Most likely the gardener has arranged the flowers according to their color for extra vibrancy. Have you ever seen a movie in which a coordinated color scheme helps the film create a world unto itself? With a little knowledge of good color relationships, you can make colors work better for you in your business graphics and other applications. Color is light and light is energy. Scientists have found that actual physiological changes take place in human beings when they are exposed to certain colors. Colors can stimulate, excite, depress, tranquilize, increase appetite and create a feeling of warmth or coolness. This is known as chromodynamics.
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An executive for a paint company received complaints from workers in a blue office that the office was too cold. When the offices were painted a warm peach, the sweaters came off even though the temperature had not changed. The illusions discussed below will show you that sometimes combinations of colors can deceive the viewer, sometimes in ways that work to your advantage. They can also cause unfortunate effects in your graphics, so be sure to watch out for these little traps.
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Sometimes colors affect each other in unexpected ways. For example, most colors, when placed next to their complements, produce vibrating, electric effects. Other colors, in the right combinations, seem quite different from what you’d expect. The most striking color illusions are those where identical colors, when surrounded by different backgrounds, appear to be different from each other. In a related effect, different colors can appear to be the same color when surrounded by certain backgrounds. When you look at a colored object, your brain determines its color in the context of the surrounding colors.
In this picture, the two bows are the same color, but because the surrounding areas
are strikingly different in contrast, it seems to our eyes that they are different. Keep this effect in mind when creating graphics where color matching is critical. If you attempt to match your corporation’s official colors, you may find that even if you achieve an exact match, it may look wrong in context. In the same way that one color can appear different in different surroundings, two similar colors may appear to be identical under some conditions. Even though the two symbols are actually slightly different tones, the contrasting backgrounds cause our brains to think that they are the same color. This effect is harder to control, but be aware of it because it can affect your graphics in hidden ways. The feeling you get when looking at bright complementary colors next to each other is a vibrating or pulsing effect. It seems that the colors are pulling away from each other. It’s caused by an effect called color fatiguing. When one color strikes a portion of the retina long enough, the optic nerve begins sending confused signals to the brain. This confusion is intensified by the complementaries.
Mixing brilliant complementary colors gets attention, but it should be used with restraint. The effect is disconcerting and
can make your eyes feel like they’ve been shaken around. If you want to use complementary colors without causing discomfort, you can outline each of the colors with a thin neutral white, gray or black line. The outlines separate the two colors, which helps your brain keep them separated. When two very similar colors touch in an image, both colors appear to wash out and become indistinct. This is because the borders between the colors are difficult to distinguish and your brain blurs the colors together.
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If you outline each of the colors with a thin neutral white, gray or black line, the colors become easier to distinguish. This is called the stained glass technique and is a way to reduce this blurring of the colors. (www.pantone.com)
Figure . Color psychology. www.lifehacksinfo.com
Before we get to the Nitty Gritty, let’s talk about Software
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Breakout • Use the correct software for the job • NEVER use Word, PowerPoint, Publisher or Excel to design anything to be printed • Usable software doesn’t have to cost a lot of money • If you can afford it, get Adobe’s Creative Cloud. it is worth every penny.
The software professionals use is some what expensive. Creative Cloud by Adobe Systems International® is the pinnacle software for design. • InDesign page layout program • Photoshop photo touchup and manipulation program • Illustrator vector drawing program. Adobe® offers Educational discount subscriptions for $19.99 per month currently. If you have the budget for it, by all means buy it, learn it and use it. It will make your life (and the life of your commercial printer) easier. There are downsides to using the professional software: • The actual software takes up a great deal of space on your computer • The learning curve for a beginner is steep Page layout software As a beginner in designing for print, the most important software that you will need is a page layout software. The reason this is the most important one is because this is where it all comes together. I want to emphasis the difference between two file types, Vector and raster.
Vector - a graphics format that uses shapes and paths (lines) to form graphic images. Vector graphics are resolution independent and regardless of how magnified, all edges will remain crisp, clear, and smooth. Raster - an image that is made up of pixels (tiny dots). Raster graphics or images are resolution dependent, meaning they cannot scale to arbitrary size without apparent loss in quality. • Fonts = vector • Photographs = raster If you use the type tool for more than a word or two in a photo manipulation software, it will be raster and VERY fuzzy, illegible even. This is the mark of an unprofessional design and an amateur designer. The solution is to use a page layout software for text. This will keep the vector properties of the font. It can be as big as you like without losing any clarity. The photo can be imported into the page layout and cropped, rotated and some effects can be applied. It also keeps its raster properties. Likewise logos can be imported and manipulated. After the design is perfect, a PDF can be exported that meet all the requirements of a commercial printer. There are alternatives to InDesign. Many how-to-books will tell you to use Word, Publisher, PowerPoint or (gasp), Excel to
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design a file to give to a commercial offset printer. I have one word for this crazy talk, WRONG! If you want the commercial offset printer to curse your name and charge you more, MUCH more to print your file, go ahead, use one of those software programs that makes their lives miserable. There are freeware alternatives: Scribus (www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus). I have tried this software and it seems to have a lot of the features that are similar to InDesign. It has a huge amount of tutorial support. This is very important for even the most experienced designer.
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If you want to search for other freeware or low cost options in software, here are some tips: Page Layout Software: What to Look For Text Tools It’s important to have a wide variety of text design elements available. Many text tools are a matter of convenience, like:
• visual effects • converting letters to editable shapes... ...all help you create a more visually engaging design. Graphic Tools Look for: • photo and vector graphic editing capabilities • artistic filters • Bézier drawing tools • vector shape creation tools. If you’re designing an eBook, PDF presentation or web page, look for interactivity tools that let you add hyperlinks, page transitions, audio and video. Layout & Organizational Tools These are the tools that make page design easier. • layers • grouping objects
• text reflowing
• arranging them in front of one another within a layer
• widow and orphan controls
• grids and guides
• column formatting
• objects that “snap” to a grid or guideline
Other tools, like: • text wrapping • drop caps • open type font functionality
• bleed marks • master pages and templates. • prepress and soft proofing tools • a wide variety of export options
Ease of Use Page layout software can get quite complicated. Look for an application that has an intuitive workflow and navigation, and any bugs or other broken features should have fixes already made for them. Remember: If you struggle to use your software, your design will reflect your difficulties. Help & Support If you do run into problems, there should be a wide array of support options available. • a working and easy-to- navigate user manual online • make sure the company provides a contact email address or phone number • Self-help options like tutorials and troubleshooting guides
Photo manipulation software Photoshop has many features beyond just making photographs lighter/darker for publication and even has the potential to be a creative tool by using its many brushes and effects. However, if you are on a budget (and who among us isn’t), there are many low cost/ free alternatives. Any will do the basics, even the software that came with your digital camera. You can make it lighter, darker get rid of red eye in any of them.
Some examples of freeware: • GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) (http://download.cnet.com/ GIMP/3000-2192_4-10073935.html) • Paint.net (www.getpaint.net) • Free Digital Camera Enhancer (www.mediachance.com/digicam/ enhancer) Vector Graphic Software I want to make a confession. I LOVE Illustrator. I create reasons to use it. I find joy and ecstasy in making shaded, glossy, wet, realistic illustrations in it. It is the single software that I would grab when running from a burning building. Yes, I am very biased. I like all the software and use them in appropriate fashions, except for Illustrator. I am a vector girl. Now that I have fully disclosed my affliction with Illustrator, I will be realistic about the importance of vector graphics to you, the casual user. You can make single page designs in it, like a poster or a one sided flyer. Even though the developers of Illustrator have seen fit to add the feature of multiple pages, a page layout software is the place for multiple page documents like books if for nothing else than the way Illustrator handles photos. It handles photos (raster images) in an
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acceptable, but clunky way. It is not easy for a casual user to crop. Unless you will be creating logos with hard lines, maps, or other files that will be potentially printed VERY large, you probably can design happily and successfully without possessing a vector graphic software. But because I love vector, here are some freeware alternatives: • Inkscape (www.inkscape.org) • Scribus (yes, the page layout software) (www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus) If you have the right software for your project, the battle is 99% won.
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The Nitty Gritty…no wait, there is one more thing Paper, what you don’t know can and will hurt you
Breakouts: 24
• paper also has a parent (sheet) • be informed on the parent sheet size your commercial printer uses • exotic paper will cost so much more • light paper is generally the right choice • when in doubt, call your commercial printer
Paper sizes There are standard sizes that make printing more economical. When you get a box of letterhead printed, the paper the commercial printer used to create it is not 8.5 x 11. The parent sheet (the paper they buy from the paper supply house and which is sold by the paper mill) is much larger. It all depends on the size the press they use will accept. Common sizes used by commercial printers are: • 17.5 x 22.5 often cut to 11.25 x 17.5 • 19 x 25 often cut to 12.5 x 19 • 20 x 26 • 23 x 35 • 25x38 • 26x40 Your best bet is to talk to your printer first, before you decide on the size of your project. What this means is the more images that fit on a sheet, the cheaper your project will be for you. An example: your printer uses a 23 x 35 sheet, and your project is 12 x 18. Two posters can be printed on each sheet. If you changed your poster size to 11 x 17, the printer can put four posters on each sheet, cutting the price of printing in half.
The sales person at your commercial printer has plenty of other cost saving ideas they would love to share with you. Yes, they are there to make money, but if you print nothing at all, they make no money. Call and ask for a tour through their printing operation. I guarantee they will roll out the red carpet for you. The craftsmen/artisans that work in the commercial printing industry are very proud of their shops and welcome tours. Opening a dialog with your printer will open an avenue of creative and cost effective ideas that will increase the success of your projects. Pretty paper Another huge part of the cost of your printing job is the paper type. There are inexpensive papers and there are incredibly, outrageously expensive papers that take weeks, sometimes months to obtain. One rule of thumb, if the printer doesn’t stock the paper, it is going to cost you. Yes, paper can make a good project a phenomenal project; but will your audience care? Will it make the message clearer? If you said no to either question, forget the special paper. Unless you are angling for an Addy, it will not be worth the extra expense.
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In addition to the cost, there are some papers that don’t accept ink very well and will create headaches for the printer and extra dollars to your bill. Again, call your printer. They are experts concerning availability, cost and quality of the finished product.
Paper has a system of designations, for example, 20# bond is the typical laser printer paper you use in your office printer. Quite frankly I know the feel of the different ‘weights’ of paper, but the following explains it better than I can:
It ain’t heavy, it’s my cardstock When is it appropriate to use heavy paper (cover or card stock)? When mailing a postcard, there are specific USPS regulations and they change also constantly, so check with your mail service (most printers have them in-house) or the Post Office when choosing the weight of the paper required for postcards.
Paper is measured in pounds per 500 sheets (one Ream of paper) of a standard size of sheet based on the group or category of papers the grade. The different types of grades are Bond, Book, Text, Cover, etc. Each group of th e grade of paper is assigned a standard size that all weights are referred to. The basics of this standard are as follows:
In most other cases when designing pieces for events, light paper (text or book stock) is the ideal choice. The only exception would be for a program, the cover is generally printed on a heavier paper than the inside, but it is not completely essential. On most projects, a heavy paper is over-kill only adding an extra cost with little or no added value.
Bond has a standard size of 17 x 22” and this is the size that is measured for 500 sheets. If 500 sheets of this size weigh 20lbs., then the paper is classified as a 20lb. bond.
What Does a Paper’s Weight Mean?
Bond stocks (often referred to as “Writing”) traditionally are uncoated stocks and are normally used around the office such as letterheads, photocopier and laser printer paper. The standard weight utilized is 20lb., with 24lb. being the heavier alternative, and 16lb. being the lighter alternative.
Uncoated offset is made specifically for the rigors of commercial offset presses and is often used for the same applications as bond. The basis size of bond papers is 17 x 22”, whereas offset papers are 25 x 38”. Book. Both Coated and Uncoated stocks are available under the category of Book Papers. Weights vary from 30lb. bible stock (very thin - mostly utilized for bibles) to a maximum around 115 lbs. This classification is the most common for posters, catalogs, booklets and publication magazines. The basis size of Book papers is 25 x 38” Text. Gaining on quality above the book grades, Text stocks are utilized in projects requiring a better grade of paper and usually range from a low of around 60lb to a high of 100lb. The basis size of Text papers is 25 x 38” Cover. Cover papers, as the name denotes, is heavier and is utilized for post cards, business cards, rack cards, door hangers etc. The ranges of weights for Cover are from a low of 60lb. to a high of just over 100lb. The basis size of Cover papers is 24 x 36” www.printoutlet.us/stockweight.php
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Before we get to the Nitty Gritty, a bit about Marketing
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It is best to think twice and design once. Think about: • Audience - age - interests - language/vernacular • Budget - can you use the mail (can be costly) - offset printing vs desktop •
Environment - where are posters allowed - competition, are there lots of competing messages on the bulletin board
The goal of marketing is to get noticed. There are many ways to get noticed. Not all are desirable or even legal. So choose a way that won’t shock the board or your boss.
It could be: • Repetition • Posters, flyers, announcements, emails • A continued message like the old Burma Shave signs on the highway (wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma-Shave) • Placement One idea is on the inside of the bathroom stall door …a captive audience • Be the only poster in the area • Be unique, Heart origami below
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Housing Applications for fall 2013/spring 2014 begin on Monday, November 5, 2012. On-campus Housing is self-selected and is available on a first-come first-serve basis.
Before you get started:
• Read the Contract Guide for information about University Student Housing and Hospitality Services at www.housing.ttu.edu/contract-guide. • Learn about our residence halls and dining plans at www.housing.ttu.edu/halls. • You must be admitted to Texas Tech University. For more information visit: www.admissions.ttu.edu. • Make sure your eRaider username and password are activated at www.eraider.ttu.edu. • You are encouraged to sign up for a Learning Community. Learn more at www.housing.ttu.edu/learningcommunities. Complete Priority Room Selection by logging into www.myhousing.ttu.edu and following these steps in order: Step 1 - Confirm your personal information. Step 2 - Sign your housing contract (online recommended). If you are under 18, you will need to print the contract so your parent/guardian can sign it Fold on dotted andthe return it tolines. the address below. Learn more at 1 www.housing.ttu.edu/contract-guide. The Contract Guide is part of your 2 contract.
Texas Tech
♥’s You!
Step 3 - Pay the advance payment and application fee (online recommended). Learn more at www.housing.ttu.edu/payment. Step 4 - Once University Student Housing has received your contract, and payment, you will then be able to select your room and dining plan. Learn more at www.housing.ttu.edu/halls.
Box 41141 | Lubbock, Texas 3 79409-1141 | T 806.742.2661 | F 806.742.2696 | housing@ttu.edu | www.housing.ttu.edu
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Before we get to the nitty gritty… Desktop publishing vs. high-end publishing Before you design anything, decide where your project is going to be printed.
Breakouts: Criteria for Desktop printing: • Very small budget • Small quantity • You need them in the next five minutes 30
Criteria for offset printing: • Modest to healthy budget • Large quantities • Need high quality • Larger size than letter or legal size • Deadline at least one week away Criteria for Digital printing: • Modest to medium budget • Small quantities • Need high quality • Smaller than 11 x 17
Desktop printing Desktop printing refers to using your laser or inkjet printer. High-end printing is a commercial printer.
are still viable options today. Sheet fed offers the highest quality and web the lower per piece price in high volume.
There are costs, ink and paper, when printing on your inkjet printer, so don’t think that way is totally free. If your school has a copy machine, it might be more economical to print one perfect copy on your desktop printer and then copy the bulk of the project on the copy machine.
I don’t want to bore you, but there are a few things that you should know about sheet fed and web presses. The machines have a series of rollers and cylinders set up against each other in a specific way. There is a great deal of chemicals, oils and water that have to be in a perfect balance.
The downsides to this type of printing are the size restrictions and quality. Most office printers and copy machines print letter and legal size paper. Also the color, if you are fortunate enough to have color, is not high quality. One other restriction is that desktop printers do not print all the way to the edge and important things will be cropped off if they are too close to the edge of the paper.
A metal plate that has been exposed to light (today the plate setters use lasers) and your printing project is on the plate in positive. The plate is placed on the plate cylinder and held in place with built in clamps. The ink that corresponds to the plate is placed in the specified trough on the ink rollers. There is one plate per color.
High-end printing Before Xerox introduced Xerographic office photocopying in 1959, there were two mainstream printing options: sheet fed and web printing. Sheet fed presses use cut paper that we discussed in an earlier chapter and is the most common type of printing for the non-professional designer. Web presses use a humongous roll of paper, prints both sides, cuts and folds the project all in one continuous line. This is how newspapers, magazines, phone books and other high quantity books are printed. Those
If the project is full color, there is one plate and one corresponding unit of rollers and cylinders for each of the four colors, CMYK. If there is also a PMS color, it has a separate unit. Most commercial printers today have presses with at least four units and some up to eight units. When the press is turned on, all the rollers and cylinders begin turning. The paper is stacked at the end of the press and levers plus vacuum draws it in one sheet at a time. In the case of a web press, the roll of paper is mounted on a spool and threaded into the press.
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The cylinders turn, pick up ink and thanks to a chemical repulsion the ink to gets onto the paper. The complexity of offset printing accounts for the higher cost. First, you need highly trained operators to run the machine, in some cases two. There is the cost of the chemicals, the metal plates, highly trained people who get the plates ready for the press. Time is money and one of the things you pay for in your offset printing project is set up and cleanup time.
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Another thing in the cost is proofing. To get a proof for offset, it is printed on a large format inkjet printer. A high quality proof for color is a contract proof. A lower quality type is an in-position proof just for checking folds and other non-color items. You can forgo the proofs, but I don’t advise it. It is hard to proof on your computer screen and a proof is your last chance to catch errors. There is another proof called a press proof. Unless you have lots of money don’t ask for one. The press operators set up the press and run long enough to get the registration correct and then the customer looks at the sheet and approves it. It gets very costly to make changes at this point. If you are not
on the premises when the proof is ready, the meter runs until you get there. Everything grinds to a halt. I recommend this type of proof only if your very life hangs in the balance. The price per piece grows smaller when you print more. Due to all the setup charges, 100 copies could cost almost the same as 500 copies. If you need a lot, this is the most economical way to print. There is a new kid on the block… digital printing. Quality-wise it is between photocopying (low end) and sheet fed (high end) and it is getting better everyday. The technology is like photocopying, using mostly dry toner. There is one model that uses liquid ink. The digital printers differ from sheet fed because they don’t use metal plates. They receive the project electronically. One advantage to digital printing is that the proof is actually a finished piece. What you see is truly what you get. There are restrictions to digital printing; limited paper choices; the size of the printed piece is usually 11 x 17 and under. The cost for small quantities is cheaper than offset, but the price per piece is static. It is not economical to print high quantities digitally.
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Finally! The nitty gritty
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edge of the paper: 8.5” x 11”
margin
.5”
OUSING
largest element
DENT H
y t r a P l Poo TY STU NIVERSI
U
Come join the fun! Sunday, June 3, 2012 7:15 – 9:15 pm at the Rec Leisure Pool
All Housing employees and their immediate families are invited. contact info
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Appropriate swim attire is required as outlined by the Rec Sports guidelines. Read full guidelines at www.recsports.ttu.edu
RSVP to housing.marketing@ttu.edu by May 28.
Figure 15. Layout of a flyer for desktop printing.
smallest element
edge of the paper: 8.5” x 11”
safe area
bleed
.25”
.125”
UDENT SITY ST
G
HOUSIN
largest element
y t r a P l Poo UNIVER
Come join the fun! Sunday, June 3, 2012 7:15 – 9:15 pm at the Rec Leisure Pool
smallest element
All Housing employees and their immediate families are invited. contact info
Appropriate swim attire is required as outlined by the Rec Sports guidelines. Read full guidelines at www.recsports.ttu.edu
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RSVP to housing.marketing@ttu.edu by May 28.
Figure 16. Layout of a flyer for high-end printing.
Checklist for desktop printing;
Checklist for high-end printing
o Check your margins
o Get the file requirements from the printer
o For two-sided printing, check the back up
and follow them
o Make sure there is plenty of ink!
o Give them a to-scale mocked up example
of the project if possible o Give a detailed description of the project
complete with fold instructions Steps for setting up a print file: • open a new document in your page layout program • make the document the same size as you want your finished project -don’t design a business card in the middle of an 8.5” x 11” document • adjust your margins and columns (these can be re-adjusted) • for desktop printing: leave a margin of .5” on all sides -Most ink jet and laser printers don’t print all the way to the edge of the paper
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• for high-end printing: in the case of a bleed (graphic or photo continuing off the page), but sure to extend it no less than .125” past the trim edge • for high-end printing: items like text should be no less than .25” to the edge to assure it is not trimmed off •
for high-end printing: set your color swatches to correspond to your end product -black ink only, choose process black that has no other colors -two color printing, choose PMS spot colors -four-color printing, make sure all the colors are CMYK and process
• remember from our previous discussion of fonts, use no more than two different fonts in the same project. • Establish a hierarchy in your design -most important element (head line or title) largest -vary the size of elements according to importance • One photo or graphic very large or small elements grouped together with a circular flow. • Remember to put contact information! Check the phone numbers, the websites and the email addresses to assure their correctness. • RUN SPELL CHECK • Have someone else proof read your work.
Basic Requirements: 1. Document Size Settings Single Sheet Documents:
The Document Size entered in all programs for single sheet items, such as business cards, postcards, brochures, posters, etc., should be set to match or equal the final trim size. (Exception: The one exception would be Photoshop files where bleed is required, in which case the document size must be 1/4” larger in both dimensions to accommodate 1/8” bleed on all four sides.) Multi-Page Documents:
The Document Size on all multi-page documents, such as magazines, booklets, calendars, stitched newsletters, etc., should be set to match or equal the final folded size. (Exception: The one exception would be Photoshop files where bleed is required, in which case the document size must be 1/4” larger in both dimensions to accommodate 1/8” bleed on all four sides.) 2. Bleed
Any document without a clear white border requires bleed. That includes photos, fills, tints, rules or any graphic element that extends to the trim line so it can be successfully trimmed in bulk by our bindery department. The standard bleed required is 1/8” or .125” on all four sides. 3. Bleed Settings
Bleed values of .125” must be set on the document setup page in all programs where that option is available, such as InDesign, Illustrator, etc. When files are converted to PDFs to run through our system, they may not generate bleed without those values. The exception is Photoshop where both the horizontal and vertical dimensions must be increased by 1/4” to allow 1/8” on all sides for trimming. The same is true for single page and multipage documents. We suggest setting up guidelines in Photoshop 1/8” from each side to help visually anticipate where the document will be trimmed. 4. Multiple Documents on the Same Page
Multiple documents on one page, such as 3 business cards placed on an 8.5 x 11 file are not acceptable. We require individual page PDF files with trim marks to properly run through our prepress system. So in that case, we either have to place and crop multiplecopies of your file in another program to generate accurate PDF files, or request revised files from you in order to process the order. Either way, you may experience unnecessary delays in your job. The solution is covered in item #1 above: Document Size Settings.
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Layout Considerations: 1. Marginal Margins
Text or graphics placed too close to outside margins run the risk of being trimmed off during bulk trimming. Outside margins measuring less than the recommended 1/8” minimum as shown on our templates, run the risk of appearing uneven when trimmed in bulk. Templates are available for almost any item you can print with us, and each one shows the recommended minimum margin and bleed in relation to trim or die lines. With six different file types to choose from, it’s very easy to download a template to build your document correctly from the beginning. Just remember to remove it before sending in your final file. Smaller Documents: Outside margins on small documents, such as business cards, tickets, etc., should be a minimum of 1/8“. Increase margins to 1/4” for slightly larger items such as postcards and invitations. Documents such as door hangers and similar die-cut items benefit from margins of 1/4 to 3/8 inches. Larger Documents: Outside margins on larger documents should be increased in proportion to their size. Brochures and rack cards benefit visually from margins of 1/4” or more. Increase the margins for posters and banners accordingly. 40
Envelopes & Small Spot Color Documents: Full Color or Process Color envelopes require a 3/8“ clear margin at the top of the envelope for the press to grip the envelope. Most spot color documents, such as forms, invitations, letterhead, etc., require a 3/8” clear border at the top for the press to grip the paper. Spot color envelopes also require a 3/8” border at the top for a gripper. Envelope designs requiring full bleed on all sides have to be printed on larger flat sheets that are then converted into envelopes afterwards, so please specify this when placing your order as both prices and turnaround are greater. 2. Thin Borders on Trim Lines
A thin rule border along the trim of the document is virtually impossible to print and trim consistently, so we do not guarantee the outcome of such a design. If your document must have a continuous color border, please provide 1/8” minimum inside the trim plus 1/8” bleed outside the trim. If you use a ruled box to visualize the size of your piece while creating it, please remove the box before submitting the final file so it doesn’t print. 3. No Crop Marks
The only real instance where having no crop marks is an issue is if a smaller document is placed within a larger document making it difficult to determine where to trim the final art. For example, if one or more business cards without backgrounds were to be submitted
floating on an 8.5 x 11 with no trim marks, it would be difficult to tell where to trim them. The best solution is to make the document size equal the intended trim size and to add 1/8” bleed on all sides as needed. See Basic Layout Requirements: #1. Files, Fonts & Links: 1. Application Preferences
We prefer files created in InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop or QuarkXPress. We will accept files from Corel Draw, Publisher, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, however these files may be subject to additional charges. 2. Missing Links
We cannot process files with missing links because lo-res preview images are all that remain to print in their absence. The following techniques offer a few quick ways to get past this problem. When finished, compress your files with Zip or Stuffit to reduce the size and to protect the data during internet transfers. InDesign: Select “Package” from the File Menu to gather all of the files and fonts used to create your job. This will create a folder with all the files needed to print your job. Compress and send this new folder. QuarkXPress: Select “Collect for Output” from the File Menu to gather all of the files and fonts used to create your job and place them in a new folder. Compress and send this new folder. Illustrator: Convert all fonts to outlines so you don’t have to send them separately. Then select “Save As” under the File Menu, choose Format “Adobe Illustrator” and check the “Include Linked Files” option in the Illustrator Options window before saving. We can accept either Adobe Illustrator .ai or .eps files. Other Programs: Most other programs automatically embed images and vector art. To be safe though, gather everything and send it all. That way we can edit your files if problems are encountered without delaying your job. 3. Missing Fonts Most font problems can be avoided either by converting text to outlines, using the “Package” or “Collect” methods listed above, or by including the fonts used along with your files. We do not recommend converting text to outlines or curves in QuarkXPress as type tends to shift position without warning.
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4. Damaged Files
Occasionally, files are damaged when transferred over the internet, but sometimes they do come damaged from the source. Avoid unnecessary delays by opening your final file as a test before sending it, then compress your file(s) with Zip or Stuffit to protect them during transfers...even as email attachments. 5. Damaged Fonts
If you encounter a damaged font on your system, don’t use it in files you send us even if it looks good on screen. There is no guarantee it will work on our system unless you can convert the type to outlines/curves. 6. Lo-Res PDFs
If you are able to create press-ready PDF files, please download our PDF Preset File to avoid lo-res output, or try our interactive checklist for FastTrak Priority Proofing. Images, Color Modes & Rich Black: 1. RGB Images
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We use CMYK Process Color on all of our HD Waterless Presses, Digital Presses and Large Format Imagers. Please do not use RGB or Index images as they are blind converted to CMYK by our RIP software, sometimes with unpredictable results. Please convert RGB images to CMYK so you can make color adjustments if you are unhappy with any color shifts resulting from the conversion. In Photoshop, work in CMYK mode. The only exception to CMYK would be a Spot Color job specifically designed to use Pantone PMS inks. Please note that RGB images cannot be converted to spot colors. 2. RGB Preview (Adobe Illustrator)
Illustrator files created in RBG/Preview will be blind converted to CMYK by our RIP software and color shifts can occur. The same applies to Illustrator files placed within other programs. When setting up Illustrator files, choose CMYK as the Document Color Mode under the File menu and work in CMYK/Preview only. 3. RGB Black Type
RGB Black type becomes multi-color type when converted to CMYK. Small, multi-color type can be difficult to register over a large sheet on the press, and may even present a color halo effect. We recommend setting small type in 100% Black, especially in Photoshop. Be aware that programs limited to RGB palettes, such as Word and most versions of Publisher can cause problems in this regard and may require reformatting at an extra charge. 4. Heavy, Rich Black
Rich blacks are most commonly used to create rich looking backgrounds, large black accent areas and large headline type. Our recommended mix for rich black is 40% Cyan, 30%
Magenta, 20% Yellow and 100% Black (40,30,20,100). In Photoshop, use our mix rather than the default black (88,76,69,96) for large backgrounds to avoid excess ink coverage and associated problems. Avoid using rich black for small type for the reasons mentioned in #3 above. 5. Resolution Should Equal 300 ppi at 100%
When working with acquired or existing images in Photoshop, make sure they are at least 300 ppi resolution at 100% of the final printed size. When purchasing photos from internet photo banks, select a size and resolution equal to or greater than the size needed in your document. 6. 72 ppi Images
72 ppi images at 100%, such as those appearing on or copied from websites, are not acceptable because they will appear severely pixelated on your final printed document. Photos taken with digital cameras may be 72 ppi, but as long as they are at least 4 times larger than the final printed size they can still be perfectly acceptable when reduced. Spot Colors & Special Effects: 1. Duplicate PMS Names
On spot color jobs, multiple Pantone names used for the same color can result in the output of extra plates and additional charges to you. Example: PMS 300 C and PMS 300 U used in the same file generates two plates. Use one or the other, not both. Try printing separations from your file to check for duplicates. 2. Spot Color Names
For spot color jobs, use PANTONE PMS colors only. Avoid spot color names like “Red” or “Color 1” and “Color 2.” Using Pantone colors helps us identify the ink color you wish to use. PANTONE 485 C tells us you want to use Pantone’s PMS 485 ink on coated paper. 3. Duotone PMS Color Names ≠ File PMS Color Names
An example of this is placing a duotone created in Photoshop with a Pantone name containing “C,” such as PANTONE 5425 C, into an InDesign or QuarkXPress file that already contains PANTONE 5425 U. It’s easy to use both colors from such a palette without noticing it, and then end up with extra charges for added plates. 4. CMYK and/or RGB Colors or Images used in Spot Color Jobs
You cannot use CMYK or RGB images, or elements, in spot color jobs. They separate into multiple colors that have nothing to do with the PMS inks intended for your printout. Clear your palette of anything but Black and your chosen Pantone colors, and use only monotones, duotones or tritones with PMS colors. Hover here to see a visual example if PMS vs CMYK color.hover image - pms to cmyk conversion
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5. Spot Colors used with Adobe Effects
Some special effects do not work in combination with spot colors. If your job is printing in full color anyway, you can convert any spot colors to CMYK to avoid problems such as missing drop shadows, etc. The “Warning” you sometimes get regarding spot colors when saving files applies here. 6. Overprint Issues
The most common problem we encounter with overprinting is white type set to overprint on color backgrounds. It basically disappears. The same effect can be seen by applying the Multiply effect to white type over a color background. Check your Attributes window in most programs to see if the Fill or Stroke is set to overprint. Some programs like InDesign and Illustrator let you preview overprinting. When in doubt, check it out. 7. Gradient Issues
Gradients covering large areas with minimal % changes can result in banding. Color-to-Black gradients work better if you add the same color values to process black on the other end. Spot-to-Spot blends work best if you create 2 different Spot-to-White gradients and position one to overprint on top of the other. Booklet Basics & Folding Issues: 44
1. Page Counts For Booklets
The total number of pages in any stitched booklet must be divisible by 4, including the cover signature. For example: an 8.5 x 11 booklet is—for all practical purposes—several 11 x 17 sheets folded in half and stapled together. Each 11 x 17 represents 4 pages total so that two sheets equal 8 pages, three sheets equal 12 pages, etc. Files for loose-leaf binding, such as coil-binding, are divisible by 2 (front and back single sheets). 2. Include Blank Pages
Position blank pages within your document as needed so the total number of pages in your file equals the total number of pages in the finished, printed booklet. This applies to both stitched and loose-leaf booklets. If you have a loose-leaf booklet that is printed only on the front of each sheet you can avoid blank pages for the backsides, but please specify this when ordering.
3. Booklets in Spreads
We cannot accept files in “Printer Spreads.” It’s perfectly acceptable to work in “Facing Pages” or reader spreads when creating your booklet so you can extend photos and other elements across the fold as the design dictates, however, it’s critical that your document Page Size equals the Folded Size of the booklet, not the spread size. The pages in your file must appear in the same order as they appear in your booklet, including the covers, even if your cover signature is printed on a different stock or different weight than the rest of the book. That way, your digital proof will be in order and there will be no confusion as to which pages represent the covers when the booklet is composed on larger sheets for printing by our prepress department. 4. Inaccurate Folds
Panel sizes on folded brochures can vary from piece to piece. For example: panels sizes are different on a standard trifold brochure than a comparably sized Z-fold brochure. Copy Craft Printers has built a huge library of templates to assist you in laying out or doublechecking files for accurate folding. To avoid any folding problems, please visit copycraft.com/ templates and select the template best suited for your job. There are six different file formats to choose from. Most brochures have separate templates for each side and some brochure templates make a distinction between paper weights. If you are not sure which paper weight applies to your order, please check with your sales representative. Please remove templates before submitting files.
From Copy Craft
http://www.copycraft.com/support-center/file-setup
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Even after the Nitty Gritty... Screen printing Screen printing is something that is important to be familiar with. That is the most common way to print t-shirts. Students love to receive them and they serve as a walking billboard for events. They also can add to school or community spirit. And wouldn’t you just know it, the file set-up for screen printing is completely different than the set-up for printing on paper!
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Figure 25. screenprintingvideotutorials.com
First a word about the process: Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharpedged image onto a substrate. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink into the mesh openings for transfer by capillary action during the squeegee stroke.
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Screen printing is also a stencil method of print making in which a design is imposed on a screen of polyester or other fine mesh, with blank areas coated with an impermeable substance, and ink is forced into the mesh openings of the mesh by the fill blade or squeegee and onto the printing surface during the squeegee stroke. It is also known as silkscreen, serigraphy, and serigraph printing. A number of screens can be used to produce a multicolored image. wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_printing
Digital Art Requirements for Screen Printing. Digital artwork must be submitted in accepted formats only. • All files must be in .EPS (encapsulated postscript) format. • All fonts must be converted to outlines. See the ‘Type’ menu. • All colors must be converted to spot colors with correct Pantone numbers. • Please submit files with images SIZED for printing. • Flatten all files. Do not leave your file in layers • Send additional .JPG or pdf version of file to communicate color representation if file does not display color the way you want it printed. Applications Accepted: • ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR - Create outlines for fonts. Save as .EPS • FREEHAND - Convert text to paths. Save as .EPS. 48
• COREL DRAW - Convert text to paths. Save as .AI file. • ADOBE PHOTOSHOP - Should be used only for photographic images, not great for type or logos. Resolution should be 300 dpi • Placing a scanned image (or an image created in another program) into an Illustrator file does not make the file a vector image. Applications NOT Accepted: The following programs do not allow us to create proper separations: • POWERPOINT • WORD or any word processing program.
The number one thing to remember is that on a dark shirt, the screen printer will put down a white ink pass to insure the colors will show up. That counts as one color. Figure 26 is an example of a three color project. Each color represents a pass under the screen and all the setup cost that goes with it. So, a multi-color project can get expensive. Figures 25 and 26 have a story to go with them. My shirt design was rather limited until I began my current job. Now we have t-shirts for just about every occasion. Sometimes my designs don’t translate well to screen printing. The shirts below were for the 2012 Fall move-in event. The image was originally created for a poster which was printed with an off-set press. It worked work very well in that project. I
Figure 25. Results of a bad file.
sometimes have requests to reuse some of my popular illustrations and that was the case with the shirt. The illustration was already an Illustrator vector file, so that was good. However, I used a filter in Illustrator called ‘Multiple’ which allows colors from beneath to show through. I felt uneasy about how that was going to translate to screen printing. I followed my own advice and talked to the printer. I sent the file and a pdf to show what they were going to be facing SIX weeks before the order was placed just to make sure the file would work and to give me ample time to make any adjustments necessary. They said it was fine and even sent a pdf proof that was fine, but Figure 25 showed up to my dismay. They quickly reprinted, but it just goes to show that even preparing early doesn’t sometimes doesn’t work.
Figure 26. Results of a correct file.
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Adding value I worked in a print shop that blamed everything on the designers. If a line crossing over the gutter onto the opposing page didn’t line up after a magazine was saddle-stitched, the production manager would come to me fix it. Long story short, my files were not to blame, but we were easy to blame because they didn’t understand the digital world. I made it my mission to see to it that the others had at least a basis understanding of how the digital world worked. Mainly I focused on how I could help them, but in a back door way, made it clear that not all blame should be laid at the feet of the designers. 50 50
I was a graphic artist in the old paste-up days before computers. Due to circumstance, I didn’t make the transition to computers until several years after the big change came to pass. I worked for an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) as a marketing/everything-including-thekitchen-sink person. The owner was vehemently against computers. He didn’t understand them and didn’t think they were of value beyond word processing. Even though graphic art was not a part of my job any longer, when someone found out I was creative, I found myself doing brochures, illustrations and general art. The key to adding value to art is listening…listening and breathing life into someone else’s vision.
Definitions for Print Design 51 51
~A Acetate - a transparent sheet placed over artwork allowing the artist to write instructions or indicate where second color is to be placed. (See Mylar and Overlay). Accordion Fold - A bindery term where two or more parallel folds open like an accordion. Acid Free - A paper that has no acidity and no residual acid producing chemicals. Papers manufactured to a pH of higher than 7.0 (neutral). Adhesive Bound - Book binding technique that uses glue or hot melt glue to hold each page or signature together and into the cover of the book. AF & PA (American Forest & Paper Association) - An organization that coordinates the many different needs of the broad- based paper and paperboard industry. Against The Grain - Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain direction of the paper. Air - an amount of white space in a layout. Align - to line up typeset or other graphic material as specified, using a base or vertical line as the reference point. 52
Anti-Aliasing - the smoothing of jagged pixel edges in an image or graphic. Antique Finish - A very rough uncoated paper finish, can also serve as a prefix to other finishes, implying a rougher than usual finish, such as antique or vellum.
~B Backing up - to print the second side of printed sheet. Backslant - letters that slant the opposite way from italic characters. Baseline - the line on which the bases of capital letters sit. Bevel - applying a beveled effect – giving a 3d appearance to an otherwise flat looking graphic. This is achieved by adding highlights and shadows to an object’s edges. Binding - the various methods used to secure loose leaves or sections in a book; e.g. saddle stitch, perfect bound. Bindery - A department in a book manufacturing or printing plant that takes the paper after printing, folds it, collates the signatures and binds them. Blanket - A fabric coated with rubber or other synthetic material which is clamped around the blanket cylinder and which transfers the ink from the press plate to the paper. Bleed - when creating a design for print, a “bleed edge” needs to be added to the document’s page size. For example, a brochure with the dimensions 8″ x 10″ needs to be created at something like 8.25″ x 10.25″. This leaves room for the design to extend past the cut area. Blind emboss - a raised impression made without using ink or foil. Block in - to sketch in the main areas of an image prior to the design.
Apex - the point of a character where two lines meet at the top, an example of this is the point on the letter A.
Body - the main text of the work but not including headlines.
Archival Paper - A paper that has long-standing qualities: acid free, lignin free, usually with good color retention. Archival papers must meet national standards for performance. The expected life of archival paper is more than 100 years.
Bond Paper - Originally referred to paper used for printing BONDS and other certificates, but now a generic term applied to business papers. Bond paper normally used in any office for copier, laser printer, and general typing or writing.
Art - in graphic arts usage, all matter other than text material e.g. illustrations and photographs.
Bristols - Is a heavyweight paper that possesses higherthan- average quality characteristics.
Ascender - any part of a lower case letter extending above the x-height. For example, the upper half of the vertical in the letters b or h.
Bullet - a large dot preceding text to add emphasis.
Bold type - type with a heavier darker appearance.
Brightness - The brilliance or reflectance of paper.
~C C1S - Coated one side. C2S - Coated two sides. Caliper - the thickness of sheet of paper or board expressed in microns (millionths of a meter). Also the name of the tool used to make the measurement. Camera ready - artwork or pasted up material that is ready for reproduction. Caps - an abbreviation for capital letters. Caps and small caps - a style of type that shows capital letters used in the normal way while the body copy is set in capital letters which are of a slightly smaller size. Caption - the line or lines of text that refer to information identifying a picture or illustration. Carbonless - paper coated with chemicals and dye which will produce copies without carbon paper. Also referred to as NCR (No Carbon Required). Case bound - a hardback book made with stiff outer covers. Cases are usually covered with cloth, vinyl or leather. Chipboard - Paperboard made primarily from waste paper. CMYK - a very common color mode used for printing, also known as “process colors”. The CMYK stands for the colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. The letter K represents black as a way to not confuse with blue. When printing in CMYK, not all colors are achievable (ex - bright blues). For this reason, spot colors (pantone colors) can be used to add shots of necessary colors (see “spot colors” to learn more). Coated - printing papers, which after making have had a surface coating with clay etc, to give a smoother, more even finish with greater opacity. Collate - to gather separate sections or leaves of a book together in the correct order for binding.
by the press, the registration, and the densities across the press sheet. Column inch - a measure of area used in newspapers and magazines to calculate the cost of display advertising. A column inch is one column wide by one inch deep. Condensed - a style of typeface in which the characters have an elongated appearance. Continuous tone - an image in which the subject has continuous shades of color or grey without being broken up by dots. Contrast - the degree of tones in a photograph ranging from highlight to shadow. Converted Paper - Paper changed from its original state into a new product such as envelopes, gummed tape, labels, etc. Copier/Laser Paper - Lightweight grades of good quality and dimensionally stable papers used in photocopying. Copyright - The right of copyright gives protection to the originator of material to prevent use without express permission or acknowledgment of the originator. Cover Paper and Cardstock - Heavyweight paper used for cover and cards. Cromalin - The trade name for DuPont color proofs. Crop - To cut off parts of a picture or image. Crop Marks - The printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet. Crossover - Printing across the gutter or from one page to the facing page of a publication. Cutscore - In die-cutting, a sharp-edged knife usually several thousandths of an inch lower than the cutting rules in a die, made to cut part way into the paper or board for folding purposes.
Color separations - the division of a multi-colored original or line copy into the basic process colors of CMYK (yellow, magenta, cyan and black).
Cut-Size Paper - Refers to any lift of paper, which is 17” x 22”, or less in dimensions. Generally, specific to business papers which are generally 8 1/2” x 11”, 8 1/2” x 14” (legal size), 11” x 17” or A4A size.
Color Bars - Printed bars of ink colors used to monitor a print image. These bars show the amount of ink to be applied
Cwt - a unit of measurement to denote 100 lbs. for pricing or weight purposes.
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~D Dash - a short horizontal rule used for punctuation.
Drop cap - a large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the line or lines of text below.
Deckle Edge - The feathery edge that is the result of the natural run-off of wet pulp when making handmade and mould made paper, or the result of sheets being torn when wet. The edge is simulated in machine made papers by cutting them with a stream of water when still wet.
Dull Coated - A finish with a low gloss. With respect to coated box paper, a finish with a glare test less than 55 percent.
Descender - any part of a lower case letter that extends below the x-height, as in the case of y and j.
Duotone - an image consisting of 2 colors.
Die - Sharp specially shaped blades are used in die cutting. The blade is bent into the desired shape and mounted to a strong backing. This is used for special shapes. Die Cut - The method of cutting paper into irregular shapes by metallic dies to specified dimensions. Digital On-Demand (Print On-Demand) - Refers to the ability to print very small quantities (50-500 copies), quickly and cost- effectively. Display type - larger type used for headings etc. Normally about 18 point or larger. 54
Dot Gain - The gain in size of the printed dot, as a result of the ink, paper, printing pressure, prepress operation, or any combination of these. Since the dots printed are larger than planned, this can be a defect evidenced by darker tones and/ or different hues. DPI (dots per inch) - represents the resolution of an output device such as a printer. The higher the DPI, the more pixels (dots) fit into each inch of the image. In other words, the higher the DPI, the better an image will look in print. 300 dpi is sufficient for many print jobs, but it’s all-dependent on the detail required and the material being printed on. DPI is often confused with the term “PPI�. Double page spread - two facing pages of newspaper or magazine where the textual material on the left hand side continues across to the right hand side. Abbreviated to DPS. Drilling - Using a hollow point drill to pierce a stack of paper in a precise manner. Loose-leaf notebook paper is an example of drilled paper.
Dummy - A preliminary mock-up to show the style, form, size or shape of a printing job.
Duplex - Using two different stocks or it may also be obtained by pasting (laminating) together two papers or boards of different texture. ~E Eggshell Finish - Usually refers to book grades of paper that have a finish similar to the surface of an egg. A special felt is used to mark the surface before the paper is dried. Em - a square unit with edges equal in size to the chosen point size. It gets its name from the letter M which originally was as wide as the type size. Em dash - a dash used in punctuation the length of one em. Embossing - An impression of an image in relief to achieve a raised surface; either over printing or on a blank paper (called blind embossing). En dash - a dash approximately half the width of an em dash. En - a unit of measurement that is half as wide as an em. End papers - the four page leaves at the front and end of a book which are pasted to the insides of the front and back covers. EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) - In digital prepress, a file format used to transfer graphic images within compatible applications. A file containing structured PostScript code, comments and a screen display image. ~F Felt Finish - A finish applied to the paper at the wet end of the paper machine by using felts of a distinctive weave. Fiber - The small strands of wood, cotton or other cellulose product that is used to make the paper.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - ability to transfer files from one computer to another using the Internet. FTP programs (also referred to FTP clients) are commonly used tools for uploading and updating sites on the web. Feel - Term expressing an individual’s impression of a paper’s finish and stiffness or suppleness. Finish - The physical look and feel of the paper’s surface. These include smooth, felt, laid, linen and others. Fluorescent Paper - Paper that has been manufactured with the addition of fluorescent dyes that give the brilliance that appears brighter when viewed in natural daylight.
Golden ratio - the rule devised to give proportions of height to width when laying out text and illustrations to produce the most optically pleasing result. Grade - The classification given to paper due to its unique characteristics, which includes brightness, opacity, cotton content, etc… Gradient - a gradual transition of colors. The way the sky fades from one color to another during a sunset is an example of a gradient. Grain - Directional alignment of fibers in a sheet of paper.
Flush right - copy aligned along the right margin.
Grain Long - Term used to designate that the grain of the paper is parallel to the longest measurement of a sheet of paper.
Flyer - an inexpensively produced circular used for promotional distribution.
Grain Short - Opposite of grain long. The grain of the paper runs at the right angles to the longest dimension of the sheet.
Foldout - A page that exceeds the dimensions of a single page. It is folded to page size and included in the book, sometimes bound in and sometimes tipped in (pasted).
Gray scale - a range of luminance values for evaluating shading through white to black. Frequently used in discussions about scanners as a measure of their ability to capture halftone images. Basically the more levels the better but with correspondingly larger memory requirements.
Flush left - copy aligned along the left margin.
Font - a complete set of characters in a typeface. Four color process - printing in full color using four-color separation negatives - CMYK, yellow, magenta, cyan and black. ~G Gatefold - an oversize page where both sides fold into the gutter in overlapping layers. Used to accommodate maps into books.
Greeking - placeholder text used for rough layout. Grid - A systematic division of a page into areas to enable designers to ensure consistency. The grid acts as a measuring guide and shows text, illustrations and trim sizes. Gripper - A row of clips that holds a sheet of paper as it speeds through the press.
Gathering - the operation of inserting the printed pages, sections or signatures of a book in the correct order for binding.
Gripper Margin - Unprintable back edge of a sheet of paper on which grippers bear, usually ½ inch or less.
Ghosting - Ghosted images are unwanted images (often faint) that appear in the printed piece.
~H
GIF (Graphics Interface Format) - one of the most widely used graphic image file formats on the web. -web browser friendly -small file size is great for web pages. -support background transparency -limited to only 256 colors -photos don’t look good saved as GIF
Halftone - an illustration reproduced by breaking down the original tone into a pattern of dots of varying size. Light areas have small dots and darker areas or shadows have larger dots.
Gloss - The attribute of paper that causes it to be shiny and lustrous. The “shininess” (“glare”) reflected from a surface.
Gutter - the central blank area between left and right pages.
Hairline rule - the thinnest rule that can be printed.
Hanging punctuation - punctuation that is allowed to fall outside the margins instead of staying within the measure of the text.
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Hardback - a case bound book with a separate stiff board cover.
Italic - type with sloping letters.
Head - the margin at the top of a page.
Jog - To align sheets of paper into a compact pile.
Head To Head - An imposition that requires that pages be laid out with the top of a page (head) positioned across the top of the page (head) opposite it on the form.
JPG/JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) - the most commonly used web format when it comes to photos or detailed imagery. JPGS are a “lossy” format, meaning some quality is lost to achieve their smaller file size. -look great on a monitor, despite “lossy” format -support a higher number colors than gifs, however larger file sizes -web browser friendly -ok for print if saved as highest quality -Saving jpg images at high quality will result in better picture quality but longer loading times on the internet. Saving at low quality will result in lower picture quality but fast web page loading times. -unlike “PNG” and “GIF” file formats, JPG’s don’t support background transparency
Head To Tail - An imposition which requires that pages be laid out with the top of a page (head) positioned across from the bottom (tail) of the page opposite on the form. Helvetica - a sans serif typeface. Hickies - a dust particle sticking to the printing plate or blanket which appears on the printed sheet as a dark spot surrounded by an halo. Highlight - the lightest area in a photograph or illustration. ~I Icons - pictorial images used on screen to indicate utility functions, files, folders or applications software. The icons are generally activated by an on-screen pointer controlled by a mouse. 56
Imposition - refers to the arrangement of pages on a printed sheet, which when the sheet is finally printed on both sides, folded and trimmed, will place the pages in their correct order.
~J
Justify - the alignment of text along a margin or both margins. This is achieved by adjusting the spacing between the words and characters as necessary so that each line of text finishes at the same point. ~K K (Kilobyte) - 1024 bytes, a binary 1,000. Kerning - the adjustment of spacing between certain letter pairs, A and V for example, to obtain a more pleasing appearance.
Impression - Pressure of type on blanket as it comes in contact with paper.
Kiss-Cut - Partial cut through.
Ink Jet Printing - In digital printing, a plateless printing system that produces images directly on paper from digital data using streams of very fine drops of dyes which are controlled by digital signals to produce images on paper.
Label - Paper coated on one side, used for labeling applications.
Insert - an instruction to the printer for the inclusion of additional copy. Interface - the circuit, or physical connection, which controls the flow of data between a computer and its peripherals. PPI (Pixels Per Inch) - the measurement of resolution. See DPI. ISBN - International Standard Book Number. A reference number given to every published work. Usually found on the back of the title page.
~L
Laid - Term describes the finish imparted by a dandy roll which features wires parallel to its axis that impress the paper during manufacture to produce a permanent watermark. Laminated - Paper that is created by fusing one or more layers of paper together to the desired thickness. Often other substances like thin sheets of metal, plastic are fused to paper. Landscape - work in which the width used is greater than the height. Also used to indicate the orientation of tables or illustrations which are printed ‘sideways’. See Portrait.
Laser printer - a high quality image printing system using a laser beam to produce an image on a photosensitive drum.
Matte Finish - A coated paper with a low level of gloss compared to enamel or gloss finishes.
Layout - a sketch of a page for printing showing the position of text and illustrations and giving general instructions.
Metallic ink - printing inks which produce an effect gold, silver, bronze or metallic colors.
Lead or Leading - Space added between lines of type to space out text and provides visual separation of the lines. Named after the strips of lead which used to be inserted between lines of metal type.
MoirĂŠ pattern - the result of superimposing half-tone screens at the wrong angle thereby giving a checkered effect on the printed half tone. Normally detected during the stage of progressive proofs.
Ligature - letters which are joined together as a single unit of type such as oe and fi. Lightface - type having finer strokes than the medium typeface. Not used as frequently as medium.
Mouse - a handheld pointing device using either mechanical motion or special optical techniques to convert the movement of the user’s hand into movements of the cursor on the screen.
Lightfastness - The degree to which a paper or printed piece will resist a change in color when exposed to light.
Mylar - a transparent sheet used in the preparation of multicolor artwork showing the color breakdown.
Line gauge (pica pole) - a metal rule used by printers. Divided into Picas it is 72 picas long (11.952in).
~N
Linen Finish - A paper embossed to have a surface resembling linen cloth. Lithography - (see offset) a printing method whereby the image is transferred from a plate onto a rubber covered cylinder from which the printing takes place. Logo - short for logotype. A word or combination of letters set as a single unit. Also used to denote a specially styled company name designed as part of a corporate image. ~M M - Symbol in the paper industry designating 1,000. Usually used to designate 1,000 sheets or two reams of fine paper. M (Megabyte) - one million bytes. Making ready - the time spent in making ready the level of the printing surface by packing out under the form or around the impression cylinder. Manila - A tough brown paper used to produce stationery and wrapping paper. Margins - the non-printing areas of page. Mask - opaque material or masking tape used to block-off an area of the artwork.
Newsprint - Low quality, absorbent paper used for printing newspapers. ~O OCR (Optical Character Recognition) - a special kind of scanner which provides a means of reading printed characters on documents and converting them into digital codes that can be read into a computer as actual text rather than just a picture. Offset lithography - (see Lithography)a printing process based on the principle of the natural aversion of water to grease. The photographically prepared printing plate when being made is treated chemically so that the image will accept ink and reject water. Opacity - term used to describe the degree to which paper will show print through. Opaque Ink - An ink that conceals all color beneath it. Orphan - line of type on its own at the top or bottom of a page. Out-Of-Square - Sheet paper which is cut or trimmed with other than 90 degree corners, or that is cut non-parallel or not at right angles to the grain of the paper (cut on the bias). Outline - a typeface in which the characters are formed with only the outline defined rather than from solid strokes.
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Overlay - a transparent sheet used in the preparation of multi- color artwork showing the color breakdown.
Point - the standard unit of type size of which there are 72 to the inch (one point is approximately 0.01383in).
Overprinting - printing over an area already printed. Used to emphasize changes or alterations.
PDF (portable document format) - a document format that allows for the reading and writing of multi-page documents or articles. It’s possible to keep the same format, layout, and fonts of a document across any computer setup. A free software program like Adobe Acrobat is needed to read PDF’s.
Overrun - A quantity of paper made in excess of the amount ordered. ~P Page proofs - the stage following galley proofs, in which pages are made up and paginated. Pagination - the numbering of pages in a book. See Imposition. Pantone matching system (PMS) - a color matching system allowing designers and print shops to more easily match colors. This is accomplished by referencing Pantone swatch books (guides) for the proper recipe of colors. -good way to select spot colors (see “spot colors”) for print projects. -spot colors can be expensive -no two color guides are printed exactly the same Parallel fold - a method of folding; e.g. two parallel folds will produce a six-page sheet. 58
Paste up - the various elements of a layout mounted in position to form camera-ready artwork. Perfect binding - a common method of binding paperback books. After the printed sections having been collated, the spines will be ground off and the cover glued on. Picking - the effect of ink being too tacky and lifting fibers out of the paper. Shows up as small white dots on areas of solid color. Pixilation - raster images (see “raster”) are comprised of tiny dots. The more dots that fit into a certain area (1×1″ for example), the higher the resolution. Often time’s images with low resolution appear “blocky” or pixilated because of their lack of pixels per inch (see “ppi”). This blocky appearance is referred to as pixilation. PPI (pixels per inch) - specifies the resolution of an input device (digital camera, scanner, monitor). Web pages run at a resolution of 72-96 PPI. PPI is often confused with the term “DPI”.
PNG (Portable Network Graphic) - a common image format used for displaying images on the web. -offers background transparency (great for web) -larger in file size than a gif, but still reasonable for web use -display many colors -display text more crisp than jpg images. Portrait - an upright image or page where the height is greater than the width. Positive - a true photographic image of the original made on paper or film. Post Consumer Waste - Paper products that have served their intended end uses and have now been separated or diverted from solid waste for the purpose of recycling. PostScript - a page description language developed by Adobe Systems. Preview mode - a mode where word processing or desktop publishing software which doesn’t operate in WYSIWYG fashion can show a representation of the output as it will look when printed. The quality ranges from acceptable to worse than useless. Print On-Demand - Refers to the ability to print very small quantities (50-500 copies), quickly and cost-effectively. Process Color - A four-color reproduction. In four-color printing, the process colors are yellow, magenta, cyan and black. Proof - a copy obtained from inked type, plate, block or screen for checking purposes. Proof correction marks - a standard set of signs and symbols used in copy preparation and to indicate corrections on proofs. Marks are placed both in the text and in the margin.
~R Rag paper - high quality stationery made from cotton rags. Ragged - lines of type that do not start or end at the same position. Rag left/right - successive lines of type which are of unequal length and which are aligned at either the right or left hand column. Raster - an image that is made up of pixels (tiny dots). Raster graphics or images are resolution dependent, meaning they cannot scale to arbitrary size without apparent loss in quality. Photographs are raster images.
Runaround (see also Text wrap) - the ability within a program to run text around a graphic image within a document, without the need to adjust each line manually. Running head - a line of type at the top of a page which repeats a heading. ~S Saddle stitching - a method of binding where the folded pages are stitched through the spine from the outside, using wire staples. Sans serif -A kind of font type that is void of the strokes on the end of letters that can be found on a “serif” typeface.
Raster Image Processor (RIP) - the hardware engine which calculates the bit-mapped image of text and graphics from a series of instructions.
Scanner - a digitizing device using light sensitivity to translate a picture or typed text into a pattern of dots which can be understood and stored by a computer
Ream - 500 sheets of paper.
Score - The process and the resulting crease mechanically impressed in the paper to facilitate folding while guarding against cracking of paper and board. Scoring is essential when heavyweight papers are to be folded across the grain.
Register - the correct positioning of an image especially when printing one color on another. Register Mark - Mark placed on a form to assist in proper positioning of after-printing operations. Bulls-eye marks placed on camera-ready copy to assist in registration of subsequent operations. Resolution - The detail of an image is based on how many pixels (dots) are included in 1 square inch of space. The more pixels (see “pixels”) included in that space, the higher the resolution. Resolution - RGB - the color mode that is read by computer screens and the web. The RGB mode consists of red, green, and blue color combinations. Anything created for web use should be created in RGB color mode, while anything for print should be created in CMYK color mode. Retouching - a means of altering artwork or color separations to correct faults or enhance the image. Reverse out - to reproduce as a white image out of a solid background. Right reading - a positive or negative which reads from left to right. Rough - a preliminary sketch of a proposed design.
Screen - The ruling used to determine the dots per unit area in developing tonal values in the printed piece. Screen Printing - Printing process uses a screen of finemesh silk stretched across a frame. A squeegee is drawn across the screen forcing ink through the open image areas. Serif - A type of font that has exaggerated strokes or details at the end of its letters (unlike “san serif” typefaces). Sheet - a single piece of paper. Sheet fed - a printing press which prints single sheets of paper, not rolls. Signature - Section of book obtained by folding a single sheet of printed paper in 8, 12, 16 or 32 pages. Size - a solution based on starch or casein which is added to the paper to reduce ink absorbency. Slip Sheeting - Placing pieces of paper between folded sections prior to trimming four sides, to separate completed books. Slurring - a smearing of the image, caused by paper slipping during the impression stage.
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Small caps - a set of capital letters which are smaller than standard and are equal in size to the lower case letters for that typesize. Smooth Finish - A finish on paper that has been made smooth by passing through various rollers.
Style sheet - a collection of tags specifying page layout styles, paragraph settings and type specifications which can be set up by the user and saved for use in other documents.
Snap-to (guide or rules) - a program feature for accurately aligning text or graphics.
Subscript - the small characters set below the normal letters or figures.
Soft back/cover - a book bound with a paper back cover.
Swash letters - italic characters with extra flourishes used at the beginning of chapters.
Spec’d (specified) - Spec’d instructions gives details of items such as paper, bindery techniques, type, etc., which have been determined for a given job. Spectrophotometer - Sophisticated instrument that measures color across a visible spectrum and produces data describing the color of a given sample in terms of the three parameters in color space. Spell check - a facility contained in certain programs to enable a spelling error check to be carried out. Spiral Binding - Wires in a spiral form inserted through specially punched holes along the binding edge. Spine - the binding edge at the back of a book. 60
Strike-through - the effect of ink soaking through the printed sheet.
Stem - the main vertical stroke making up a type character. Spot Color - When printing in CMYK color (see “CMYK”), often times certain colors cannot be achieved. This is when “spot colors” are called upon. An extra printing plate with the spot color is added to the printing process (costing extra money). Spot colors are also used for limited color print jobs, since it’s sometime cheaper to print just the single or double spot colors rather than the entire 4 used in CMYK process printing.
Swatch book - A sample book. A grouping of papers, usually in bound form, that displays the weights, colors, finishes and other particulars of a collection of papers to aid in the selection of grades. ~T Tabloid - an 11 x 17 inch page. Tabular setting - text set in columns. Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) - image format commonly used when printing of high quality is necessary. Unlike the “JPG” format that sacrifices quality for file size, TIFF’s sacrifice file size for quality. -very large file sizes -great format for printing (not “lossless” like JPG) -not web friendly due to large file size Template - a standard layout usually containing basic details of the page dimensions. Text - the written or printed material which forms the main body of a publication. Text Paper - A general term applied to various grades of printing paper designed for deluxe printed booklets, programs, announcements and advertising.
Spot Varnish - Press varnish applied to a portion of the sheet, as opposed to an overall application of the varnish.
Text type - typefaces used for the main text of written material.
Stet - used in proof correction work to cancel a previous correction. From the Latin ‘let it stand’.
Thermography - a print finishing process producing a raised image imitating die stamping. The process takes a previously printed image which before the ink is dry is dusted with a resinous powder. The application of heat causes the ink and powder to fuse and a raised image is formed.
Stochastic - A digital screening process that converts images into very small dots (14-40 microns) of equal size and variable spacing. Also called Frequency Modulated (FM) screening.
Text wrap - see Runaround.
Tint - the effect of adding white to a solid color or of screening a solid area.
publication should carry the copyright mark ©, the name of the originator and the year of publication.
Tooth - Characteristic of paper. A slightly rough paper which permits acceptance of ink readily.
Up - A term used to describe how many similar sheets can be produced from a larger sheet: two up, four up, etc.
Tracking - the adjustment of space between a group of letters or entire blocks of text. A change in tracking can result in easier to read text, making it feel more “airy” and open. Tracking is often confused with “kerning” (see “kerning”). Kerning is more the spacing between 2 letters that appear to close together.
UV Coating - A slick, glossy coating applied to the printed paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet (UV) light.
Transparency - a full color photographically produced image on transparent film. Trapping - The ability to print a wet ink film over previously printed ink. Dry trapping is printing wet ink on dry paper or over dry ink. Wet trapping is printing wet ink over previously printed wet ink. Trim -Excess of the paper allowed a printed sheet for gripper and bleed. Trim Marks - In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page where to cut or trim. Trim Size - The final size of a printed piece after trimming.
~V Varnish - a finishing process whereby a transparent varnish is applied over the printed sheet to produce a glossy finish. Vector - a graphics format that uses shapes and paths (lines) to form graphic images. Vector graphics are resolution independent and regardless of how magnified, all edges will remain crisp, clear, and smooth. This ability to stay crisp at any size means vector graphics are great for logos, line art, and other designs that don’t require complicated coloring or textures. Vellum - the treated skin of a calf used as a writing material. The name is also used to describe a thick creamy book paper. Vignette - Halftone whose background gradually fades away to blend with the surface of the paper.
Two Up - Printing the same page or group of pages from two sets of plates, thereby producing two impressions of a piece at one time.
~W
Typeface - a complete set of characters forming a family in a particular design or style.
Watermark - an impression incorporated in the paper making process showing the name of the paper and/or the company logo.
Typo - an abbreviation for typographical error. An error in the typeset copy. Typography - the design and planning of printed matter using type. ~U U&lc - an abbreviation for UPPER and lower case. Uncoated - Paper that has not been coated. Nevertheless a given coated sheet can be made in a variety of finishes. Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) - gives protection to authors or originators of text, photographs or illustrations etc, to prevent use without permission or acknowledgment. The
Waterless Offset Printing - Refers to lithographic printing, where no fountain solution is used.
Web Offset - a continuous roll of printing paper used on web-fed presses. Weight - the degree of boldness or thickness of a letter or font. Widow - a single word left on the last line of a paragraph which falls at the top of a page. Wire stitching - see saddle or side stitching. Whiteness - Whiteness of pulp and paper is generally indicated by its brightness.
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Word wrap - The automatic adjustment of the number of words on a line of text to match the margin settings. The returns set up by this method are termed “soft”, as against “hard” returns resulting from the return key being pressed. Work and turn - a method of printing where pages are imposed in one form or assembled on one film. One side is then printed and the sheet is then turned over and printed from the other edge using the same form. The finished sheet is then cut to produce two complete copies. Work and tumble - a method of printing where pages are again imposed together. The sheet is then printed on one side with the sheet being turned or tumbled from front to rear to print the opposite side. WYSIWYG What-you-see-is-what-you-get (pronounced “wizzywig”) - used to describe systems that preview full pages on the screen with text and graphics. The term can however be a little misleading due to difference in the resolution of the computer screen and that of the page printer. ~X 62
X-height - the height of a letter excluding the ascenders and descenders; e.g. ‘x’, which is also height of the main body. ~Y ~Z Zig Zag Fold - Folding used with continuous forms with alternating position (head and foot).
Exerpts from: (www.designbuddy.com) (www.okpaper.com/toolbox/paper-glossary) The Desktop Publishing Company Ltd
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