TOP TOP TOP TEN TEN TEN TEN TIPS TIPS TIPS TIPS WHEN DEIGNING FOR PRINT
PRINT PROCESSES PRINT PROCESSES PRINT PROCESSES PRINT PROCESSES THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT PRINTING INTERESTING PRINTING PROCESSES. HERE ARE A FEW....
LITHOGRAPHY
/OFF SET TECHNIQUE /INK NOT DIRECTLY APPLIED FROM THE PLATE. /CONSISTS OF AN ENGRAVED IMAGE /ONCE THE IMAGE HAS BEEN CREATED VIA CARVINGS OR ETCHINGS YOU CAN THEN MAKE PRINTS FROM IT
SCREEN PRINTING
/ TECHNIQUE THAT USES A WOVEN MESH TO SUPPORT AN INK BLOCKING STENCIL /CAN BE PRINTED ONTO A WIDE RANGE OF STOCKS AND MATERIALS /USED FOR PRINTING ON /HAS AN ADVANTAGE OVER PLASTIC, FOIL, ACETATE FILM, BROWN PAPER, OTHER PROCESSES - CAN BE AND OTHER MATERIALS USED IN PACKAGING PRINTED ONTO SUBSTANCES /USES FAST-DRYING INKS, ANY SHAPE , THICKNESS OR /A HIGH-SPEED PRINT PROCESS, SIZE. /CAN PRINT ON MANY TYPES OF ABSORBENT /A WIDE RANGE OF INKS AND AND NON-ABSORBENT MATERIALS DYES..
FLEXOGRAPHY
GRAVURE
/COPPER PLATES (WIT /TRANSFER INK DIRECTLY TO PRINT SURFACE, /USUALLY ON ROLLS. /MORE DURABLE AND SO ARE GOOD FOR LONG PRINT RUNS. /OFTEN USED FOR HIGH-VOLUME PRINTING OF PACKAGING, WALLPAPER, AND GIFTWRAP USING FAST-DRYING INKS.
COLOUR WAYS COLOUR WAYS COLOUR WAYS COLOUR WAYS
C MY K DUOTONE AKA - PROCESS COLOUR -CONTINUOUS TONE THE COLOURS IN ANY PHOTOGRAPHIC -PRINTED WITH TWO OR MORE SPOT COLOURS IMAGE CAN BE MADE BY OVERLAPPING CMYK
GREYSCALE -AGAIN CONTINUOUS TONE -TWO COLOURS BLACK AND WHITE USED TO MAKE DIFFERENT SHADES OF GREY -
MONOTONE -THE SAME AS GREYSCALE BUT WITH A CMYK COLOUR -DIFFERENT SHADES OF ONE COLOURED INK -PLUS STOCK
COLOUR MODES COLOUR MODES COLOUR MODES COLOUR MODES THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COLOUR MODES THAT ARE WELL KNOWN IN THE DESIGN INDUSTRY....
C
M
Y
K
CYAN
MAGENTA
YELLOW
BLACK
- SUBTRACTIVE COLOUR MODE THAT IS USED FOR PRINT BASED DESIGN. THESE FOUR COLOURS ARE THE BASE OF MANY COLOURS WHEN PRINTING. THE CMYK GAMUT ON THE NEXT PAGE DISPLAYS A VISUAL SPECTRUM OF THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO COLOUR MODES.
R RED
G GREEN
B BLUE
- AN ADDATIVE COLOUR MODE THAT IS USED FOR SCREEN BASED DESIGN. RGB USES THE LIGHT OF THE MONITOR OR SCREEN TO DISPLAY ITS COLOUR. IT IS LIKE THE ON SCREEN VERSION OF CMYK, THEY ALWAYS APPEAR BRIGHTER ON SCREEN.
COLOUR MODES COLOUR MODES COLOUR MODES COLOUR MODES S U BT R A CT IV E
CYAN + MAGENTA + YELLOW = BLACK
A D D AT IV E
RED + GREEN + BLUE = WHITE
COLOUR PERCEIVED BY THE HUMAN EYE
PRINT COLOURS CMYK
ON SCREEN COLOUR RGB
PANTONE SWATCHES PANTONE SWATCHES PANTONE SWATCHES PANTONE SWATCHES PANTONE MATCHING IS A CRITICAL STEP WHEN DESIGNING FOR PRINT! THE COLOUR ON SCREEN IS ALWAYS DIFFERENT WHEN PRINTED AND EVERYONE HAS MADE THE MISTAKE OF FORGETTING TO CHECK THE PANTONE COLOURES BEFORE YOU SEND IT TO BE PRINTED. PMS ‘PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEMS’ ARE AVAILABLE ON MOST ADOBE APPLICATIONS. PANTONA IS A POPULAR SYSTEM FOR THIS AND MOST PRINTERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH IT. PANTONA COLOURS LET YOU USE COLOURS THAT CANNOT BE USED IN CMYK. THERE ARE THREE STOCK TYPES WHEN CHOOSING PANTONES
C
COATED
U
UNCOATED
M
MATTE
COMMUNICATE WITH THE PRINTERS - THEIR PANTONS MAY BE DIFFERENT TO YOURS AND INCLUDE THE REFERENCE NUMBER OF EACH COLOUR
STOCK STOCK STOCK STOCK STRENGTH - \THE DURABILITY OF THE PAPER ‘STRONG PAPER IS ALWAYS ADVISED E.G WATERCOLOUR AS OPPOSE TO NEWSPRINT. OPACITY - HOW TRANSPARENT THE STOCK IS, IT IS ALWAYS HELPFUL TO KNOW THE OPACITY OF THE PAPER , ESPECIALLY WHEN PRINTING SOMETHING DOUBLE SIDED E.G A BOOK OR MAGAZING.
THING TO REMEMBER AND TERMINOLOGY THE WEIGHT OF THE PAPER - THE GSM ‘GRAME PER SQUARE METER’ FINISHES ‘SPECIAL AND STANDARD’ - GLOSS/SILK/COATED AND UNCOATED PLASTICS AND ACATATES - SEE THROUGH AND SHINY STOCKS MAY CHALLENGE THE WAY IT IS PRINTED LAID OR WOVE - THE WAY THE PAPER IS MADE
FORMATS FORMATS FORMATS FORMATS STANDARD ISO BROADSHEET TABLOID E N V A L O P E - C SIZES B E R L I N E R - BETWEEN TABLOID AND BROADSHEET A STANDS FOR THE MEASURMENT USED IN NORTH AMERICA. AND SRA IS THE WORLD WIDE
MEASUREMENT. IT IS USUALLY LARGER THAN THE A SIZES THAT WE ARE USED TO SO KEEP THIS IN MIND WHEN WORKING WITH OTHER COUNTRIES.
COSTS COSTS COSTS COSTS
£$ £$ £$ £$
IT IS ESSENTIAL TO BE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT AROUND HOW MUCH YOUR JOB WILL COST BEFORE YOU JUMP INO IT! A GOOD TIP IS GATHERING QUOTES FROM DIFFERENT PRINTERS SO YOU HAVE SOME IDEA OF WHAT TO CHARGE AND SAVE, DOING THIS WILL SAVE YOU MONEY AND TIME WHEN WORKING WITH VARIOUS CLIENTS. ANOTHER GOOD THING ABOUT GETTING QUOTATIONS IS THAT YOU CAN SEE THE COMPARISONS IN PRICE , ENSURING YOU GET THE BEST DEAL THAT IS OFFERD.
- GET THE QUOTE’S FOR PRINTING IN BULK AND INDIVIDUALLY
FINISHING FINISHING FINISHING FINISHING UV VARNISH
FOIL BLOCKING
WITH BOTH GLOSS AND MATT FINISHES AVAILABLE UV VARNISHING GIVES A SIMILAR EFFECT TO LAMINATION ALTHOUGH THE PROCESS IS MORE AKIN TO PRINTING A SPOT COLOUR. WITH NOT QUITE THE SAME FEEL AS A LAMINATE IT HAS BENEFITS IN THAT IT IS GENERALLY CHEAPER TO EMPLOY AND CAN BE PRINTED ON TO DISCREET SECTIONS OF A PAGE SUCH AS A LOGO OR IMAGE. METALLIC INKS THESE ARE AGAIN SPOT PRINTED ONTO A PAGE AND CAN ADD A BIT OF OOMPH TO A BROCHURE WHEN USED JUDICIOUSLY. THEY HAVE A REFLECTIVE QUALITY DUE TO THE METALLIC CONSTITUENT IN THE INK. AVAILABLE IN A VARIETY OF PANTONE COLOURS THEY ARE BEST EMPLOYED FAIRLY SIMPLE DIE AREAS DUE TO THE VISCOSITY OF THE INK
A TECHNIQUE WHERE METALLIC FOIL IS APPLIED TO A PAGE USING HEAT AND PRESSURE TO CREATE A REFLECTIVE AREA. THE EFFECT IS USUALLY MORE EYE CATCHING THAN A METALLIC INK AS THE FOIL HAS A GREATER REFLECTIVE PROPERTIES AND SITS ON TOP OF THE PAPER RATHER THAN BEING PARTIALLY ABSORBED AS IS THE CASE WITH THE INK. THE DOWN SIDE OF THIS IS THAT IT IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN METALLIC INK REQUIRING A SPECIAL DYE TO BE MADE..
CUTTING
EMBOSS
THE TECHNIQUE OF RAISING UP A PORTION OF THE PAGE TO CREATE A SHADOW. THIS, LIKE FOIL BLOCKING, REQUIRES A SPECIAL DYE TO BE MADE AND SUBSEQUENTLY CAN ADD SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE OVERALL COST OF A JOB.
A METAL TOOL WHICH PUNCHES IS HOLE OR EDGE INTO A PIECE OF ARTWORK ITO CREATE A IRREGULAR SHAPE IN THE SUBSTRATE, USUALLY CARD OR PAPER. LIKE A PIE CUTTER IN APPLICATION, A DIE CUTTER IS OFTEN USED USED TO CREATE PACKAGING FROM A REGULAR SHEET, BUT CAN ALSO BE USED IN BROCHURE DESIGN TO CREATE AN UNUSUAL COVER OR TO KNOCKOUT A HOLE FOR A IMAGE TO SHOW THROUGH. THE CUTTER IS A SERIES OF BLADES SET IN A BLOCK TO CREATE A SINGLE UNBROKEN BUT IRREGULAR EDGE AND CAN BE COMBINED
PRE FLIGHT PRE FLIGHT PRE FLIGHT PRE - FLIGHT CHECKING ALL OF YOURE ARTWORKS AND SETTING ARE CORRECT WILL SAVE YOU TIME AND MONEY WHEN PRINTING MANUALLY. ALSO CHECK ALL OF YOURE FONTS AND IMAGES ARE SENT WITH YOURE ARTWORK! YOU CAN DO THIS BY PUTTING ALL OF YOURE IMAGES AND FONTS INTO A FOLDER NEXT TO YOURE DESIGN , ENSURING THEY ARE NOT LOST.
REMEMBER TO CHECK SPELLING AND GRAMMER BEFORE SENDING TO PRINT! CHECK FOR FORMAT AND SIZE OF YOURE DESIGN - BLEEDS/CROP MARKS/PRINTERS ETC. IMAGES SHOULD ALWAYS BE SET TO 200DPI!!
BY O L IV I A C H A P M A N