for the love of art
art work 01
In printing terms, art work is an image, text or both, based design. The first thing that you need to consider before starting to design any art work is to ask some questions about why it is being produced. Think about things such as; what is the purpose? , who are you trying to speak to? where is it going to be distributed? These small questions will be the basis of the works outcome. Another important thing before starting any artwork is to look into what’s already out there in the design world as a source of influence. Look at ‘For the love ofdesign’ book for more intormation about influential designers in print.
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Cont ents 03
setting up 06 Images 07 Text + font 08 Uses for print
Serif + san serif Outlines 09 File formats
printing
experiment
11 Print considerations 17 Artwork paper 13 Margins
Slug area Grids + guides Bleed 15 Cost
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set up 05
Setting up your work ready for print is really important as it will effect the final outcome.
Indesign: When importing images in Indesign always create a box and place the image within it, Also to make your work more printer freindly, scale down your image to the size of the box which is explained in the resolution explanation.
This chapter will introduce some simple tips to go by to make sure your artwork comes out effectively.
File format: To save images for print use a JPEG or TIFF file are okay to use. However it is important to save the files as TIFF’s for Indesign work to maintain quality.
IMAGES When working with photographic images as artwork. Photoshop: This is the main software to work with photographic images. When creating an image consider. Resolution: All images have to have a 300 resolution to keep the quality of the image. To check a resolution of an image is found through Photoshop located through the Image bar and then image size.
Resolution: 300
Colour Mode: Always work in CMYK, so that the colour is printed out effectively for design for print. Resolution: 50
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Text + font When working with text or vector based work. Illustrator: This is the main software to work with for text and vectors. Indesign: Indesign also is used for vector and text based work and can easily be transfered from Illustrator to Indesign without saving. Colour Mode: Always work in CMYK, so that the colour is printed out effectively for design for print. File Format: When saving vector or text based work it’s most effective when saved as the software’s file, PDF or TiFF to maintain high quality.
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USES FOR PRINT Using truetype font’s allows users to see type as it will be printed on paper and is safe and consistent use. True type fonts are installed on all mac and windows computerd.
T
Serif + san serif Serif fonts are usually easier to read in printed works because the serif makes the individual letters more distinctive and easier to read.
t
San serif font’s are most commonly used for headlines and titles as they create legibility in print
outlines Outlined fonts highlight the shape around a letter form. This style of font is comonly used for an alternative design aspect
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file formats 09
File formats are simply what a piece of design work is saved as when working in an Adobe design suite. This chapter introduces some of the most commonly used saving formats that work across Adobe Photoshop, Illustratot and Indesign.
how to save files Name
Description
Uses
JPEG
A file format most comonly used for saving images ready to print.
Photoshop designs.
TIFF
A file format most comonly used for saving high resolution images and vector work.
Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign designs.
PSD
A Photoshop file format that allows your save art work that you can go back and edit.
Photoshop work.
AI
A Illustrator file format that allows your save art work that you can go back and edit.
Illustrator work.
INDD
A Indesign file format that allows your save art work that you can go back and edit.
Indesign work.
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prin ting 11
Weather printing through offset lithography, digitally, by hand or any of the processes shown in ‘For the love of print’. It’s important that you consider what your printing. If you are priting with a company, speak to the printer about specfic sizes, colours, stocks, and finishes. Also to save time and money, print your work out yourself before sending it off to see if all your work comes out as it should. Printing maybe a long task. It can also be a trial and error process but it’s good when you get it right.
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Margins
The slug area is basically the printing marks that show your where to cut. Some include registation and crop marks, That help deifine the format of the page when it is printed.
Margins are used to enable you to have an even space around your work. Margins are used for finger space for the user or for when folds are created within books.
Below is a diagram of a page spread. The margins are in purple. The slug area is in blue. The page is in black, the grids are in light blue and the bleed is in red.
slug area The slug area is the outside area of the page that is cut off when printed.
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Bleed
grids + guides Another thing to consider when creating your artwork digitallly is the way it will be laid out evenly. Rulers: Are located at the sides of a document on each of the adobe software. They work well with making artwork symmetrical and in proportion. It’s imporant to use rulers to make sure you work is laid out correctly Grids: Also known as guides are used to make the layout of a page. Using a grid can help make a intial design look inproportion and desirable. Grids are used in a lot of design work but mainly in editorial work. This feature can be found in Indesign through the layout bar.
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When setitng up a document it’s important to include a bleed around your work. A bleed is a cornered line, similar to the one it the corner or the page that indicates where the page ends. By including a bleed it prevents any neccesary work being cut off when being sent to print. Size: In industry the standard size for a bleed is 3mm. Indesign: A bleed is most comonly used in this software as it works with double page spreads and editorial work. It can be done when setting up a file in Indesign and going onto advanced settings to achieve this.
cost ings 15
commercial costings Comercial costings vary on printing companies and stock. These prices are based from popular printing companies in Leeds and minimum orders. Business Cards No. 250 £45 - 159 Envelopes No. 1,000 £159 - 218 Postcards No. 1,000 £129 - 398 Booklets No. 250 £254-1680 Posters No. 50 £599 - 1561
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your artwork 17
Now the basics for your artwork have been explained, it’s now up to you to create something innovative for print. The rest of this book is filled with blank pages for you to experiment with and develop. Start your thumbnails, logo’s type and illustrations and get ready to have a love for print.
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