A basic guide to
Design For Print Including quotes, tips, and the key considerations to help you produce your ideal print outcome.
“Design is not the narrow application of formal skills, it is a way of thinking.� Chris Pullman
Who, What & Why
Audience In print, you are trying to get your audience to stay on a page long enough to get a marketing message across. You are often faced with a limited area in which to achieve this, such as a one-page magazine ad. In some cases, you are trying to catch their attention and have them dive deeper into your product, as with a book cover or the first page of a brochure. One of the benefits of print design is that you are dealing with a physical product, so physical properties such as texture and shape can help you achieve your design goals. As an example, paper companies will take out magazine ads printed on their own paper, allowing the audience to feel the weight and texture of their product.
WHO Who are you designing for?
WHAT what are you designing?
WHY What is the purpose?
Layout In print, your space is generally measured in inches. You can be dealing with anything from a business card to a billboard. You know the space allowed from the start and that your finished product will look the same to everyone who sees it. You must have bleed and safety areas to guarantee print results. Colour Consider the difference between your colors on screen and on paper. Again, a “proof” can help ensure you are getting the desired results. You often choose “spot” or “process” colors for your printer to use. These are colors you choose from a palette and identify with a code that you provide to your printer.
“Good design is obvious..
..Great design is transparent.�
Joe Sparano
Paper Stock
Paper thickness is measured in grams per square metre (gsm). This is the weight of one square metre of the paper. Most paper is manufactured from recycled boards and paper. Virgin paper is made from 100% wood pulp and contains no recycled material.
Layout paper - lightweight, thin white paper - used for initial ideas - takes colour media well - low cost
Tracing paper - thin, translucent paper - making copies of drawings - high cost
Cartridge paper - good quality white paper - available in different weights - general purpose work - can be used to make simple models - medium cost
Bleedproof paper - smooth, hard paper - used with water-based and spirit-based felt-tip pens - medium cost
Coloured paper - many different types - available in different thicknesses - used for mounting finished work - used to apply coloured surfaces to models - low to medium cost
Grid paper - printed square and isometric grids in different sizes - a guide for quick sketches and model-making - low cost
“Bad design is smoke..
..While good design is a mirror.�
Juan-Carlos FernĂƒndez
Print Processes
Letterpress - the original Guttenberg process (hardly done anymore) Screen - This process uses a stencil which is mounted on to a fine screen material. The ink is passed through the stencil and screen onto the substrate. Screen printing can be used on virtually any substrate and any shape using any kind of ink. Flexography - usually used on packaging, such as can labels. This process uses a rubber plate and very thin inks and is similar to the original letterpress printing techniques. This is a specialist process and is used most commonly on plastic carrier bags. Gravure - used for huge runs of magazines and direct-mail catalogs. This process uses an engraved image which is flooded with ink and the surplus is scraped off with a blade, the plate is then pressed onto the paper.This process can produce very intense colour on very low grade paper and so is a popular process for long runs like Sunday newspaper supplements. Large Format Printing - This process uses inkjet printing machines that can print widths up to 3.5m and virtually any length. Large format printing is usually used to produce short run posters, banners and point of sale material and the end results can be lightfast and permanent.
Offset lithography - planographic process where the image and non-image are on the same flat printing plate. The image areas are processed to accept ink and repel water.The non-inage areas are processed to accept water and reject the greasy ink. So by wetting the plate and then inking it, the image area is able to transfer the ink to a blanket cylinder and then from there to the paper (the offset principle). The printing plate never comes into contact with the paper. Engraving - used for fine stationery. Thermography - raised printing, Also used in stationery. Reprographics - copying and duplicating. Digital printing - Artists who create their works digitally or use digital manipulation in order to create a print may print them from a computer using a largescale ink jet printer. The ink is dispersed by a sophisticated print head in a fine mist of minute droplets in order to deliver a continuous tone image. Monotype/Monoprint - A monotype is made by drawing a design in printing ink on any smooth surface, then covering that matrix with a sheet of paper and passing it through a press.The resulting image will be an exact reverse of the original drawing.
“Design is as much an act of s p a c i n g as an act of marking.” Ellen Lupton
Grids & Layout
In graphic design, a grid is made up using a range of different layout features.
Grids: invisible lines of support. Center Marks: Where to fold in the midde
Columns: a vertical page layout feature for images and text.
Bleed: no margin Guides: non-printing lines Gutter: where two pages meet at the middle Crop Marks: where to cut. Ruler Guides: Non-printing guidelines that help precisely place elements.
Rows: a horizontal page layout feature for page breaks, text and images.
Margin Border
S
PA C E
“Design is intelligence
made visible.� Alina Wheeler
Novelty Ink & Paints
Balloon Ink Solvent based screen printing ink for printing on Balloons and other Latex Rubber products. ScratchSolve Solvent based scratch off ink for printing on scratch lottery tickets - available in gold or silver Heat-Sensitive (Thermochromatic) colour-changing paint, changes colour with temperature. Spot Varnish Screen printed process where certain areas of a design are ‘picked out’ and the varnish is applied only to these areas Disappearing Ink thymolphthalein turns blue when mixed with the base sodium hydroxide. This reacts with carbon dioxide and its pH drops. Eventually the blue disappears.
Fluorescent Appears a bright neon color under normal daylight or other visible light,
Glow in the Dark phosphors (a type of chemical) absorb energy and reemits it as visible light.
Metallic Adds professional and attention-grabbing shine to any printed piece without the higher cost of foiling UV Ultraviolet paint becomes radiant when placed beneath UV lighting. Invisible Ink Any acid (as long as it dries clear) will work as an invisible ink. The acid is then oxidized through application of heat, revealing the hidden content.
“Behavioral design is all about feeling in control. Includes: usability, understanding, but also the feel.� Don Norman
Usability & Function
A successful product is one which is approproate to its requirements.The audience, purpose, function and context are all key elements which need to be considered in creating a new product. Once these elements have been addressed, the development process begins to take shape. If you are designing a publication, what is the publication about? Who is the publication going to be read by? What is the purpose of the publication; to entertain? to inform? to advise? The more informed a design response is, the clearer it becomes to its target market. This means the product is easy to use and understand, therefore functional and appropriate. Preparing for print is only the beginning. There is an extremely vast amount of options to consider when printing. Whether the product is to be printed digitally, through traditional printing methods or simply by hand, there are endless ways to experiment through print.
K
E
C
E IT E
L
K
P A
E
R
E
P
IT S
K
I
M
E
P
L
E
E
P
IT E F F E C T I V E
“Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.� Steve Jobs
Lizzy Gosney