10
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things to know in order to produce successful print.
Contents. Colour Modes Paper Sizes/Formats
Different printing methods Paper finishes
Print Finishes Folding
Paper stocks
Screen Print Pad print & digital print
Halftone and overprinting
Colour Modes RGB The RGB color model is an additive color model, the three colours red, blue and green –which make up colours which you see on a computer screen.
Grey scale Grayscale is a range of shades of gray without apparent color. The darkest possible shade is black, which is the total absence of transmitted or reflected light.
Monotone A single tone is used, usually printed as a halftone (a serious of repeated dots) to communicate an image using a higher density of colour.
Duotone Duotone is a halftone image that is printed with 2 colours to make the overall image richer in colour.
Triotone Triotone is a halftone image that is printed with 3 colours to make the overall image richer in colour.
Tints A tint is a shade of a colour that has been diluted through the addition of white, in order to create a paler variation of it.
CMYK The CMYK color model is a subtractive color model, used in color printing. The four colours – cyan, magenta, yellow and black – are used in four-colour process printing. Every other pigment made is mixed from CMYK.
Paper Sizes/Formats When sending a document for print you need to know what format your printing to, is you始re design for an a6 flyer or a full billboard. ISO paper sizes categories a series of different formats of paper size in a universal fashion that's used all over the world.
Different printing methods If you donʼt understand the processes behind printing, then pushing your work to its full potential is going to be be difficult.
Rotary printing
-Rotary printing is the process of wrapping image printing plates around a cylinder. This is an automated print process and the material to be printed can be sheet fed or on a roll..
There are 3 main types of Rotary printing;
Offset Lithography (Litho) Rotogravure (Gravure) Flexography (Flexo) Offset Lithography Aluminium plates engraved/etched with a specific design are wrapped around a cylinder to transfer ink to an ʻoffsetʼ rubber blanket roller, and then to a sheet fed/web fed print surface. This process runs at a very high speed and is usually used for large amounts of commercial print.
Rotogravure Copper plates (with mirror image) transfer ink directly to print surface, usually on rolls. The Advantage being, the plates are more durable and so are good for long print runs.
Flexography A positive, mirror image rubber polymer plate, on a cylinder, transfers ʻstickyʼ ink directly to print surface. Usually roll feed. It is basically an updated version of letterpress that can be used for printing on almost any type of substrate including plastic, metallic films, cellophane, and paper. It is widely used for printing on the nonporous substrates required for various types of food packaging. For example fizzy drinks bottles.
Paper finishes One distinguishing property of printing paper is its coating or lack thereof. Paper coating, usually made up of a vehicle and clay or pigment, can be gloss- or dull-coated, or somewhere in between such as satin-coated. Coating allows the pigment of the ink to sit up on the surface of the substrate as it dries rather than soaking in, bleeding, and spreading. This property, called holdout, allows for very sharp halftones (black and white and color), good color fidelity, fine screen rulings, etc. Dull coating is easier on the eyes since it diffuses light reflected off the paper. Gloss coating enhances photographs by making them very crisp, so crisp they often seem to jump off the page.
Linen
Linen finished paper resembles linen cloth. Felt
Felt is a soft texture on uncoated paper. The felt finish does not affect the strength of the paper. Laid
A laid finish has the appearance of translucent lines running horizontally and vertically in the paper. Parchment
A paper finish that has an antique appearance. Parchment is very durable and grease resistant. Smooth
A smooth finish is the result of the paper passing through sets of rollers during the paper making process. Vellum
A vellum finish has an eggshell appearance and is consistent and even but not as much as a smooth finish. Vellum has a high ink absorbency rate. Wove
An even finish in uncoated paper with a slight texture made by a felt roller covered in woven wire.
Print Finishes Varnishes A varnish is a colourless coating that is often applied to a printed piece to protect the substrate from scuffing, wear of smudging. Varnish can also be used to enahnce the visual appearance of a design, or elements within it, Varnish can produce three finished- Gloss, dull, and satin - and, while not strictly a varnish, UV coating can also be used to add decorative touches to designs. Gloss
A gloss varnish reflects black light and is frequently used to enhance the appearance of photographs or other graphic elements in brochures, as it adds to the arpness and saturation of images. Matt or Dull
A matt varnish is typically used with text-heavy pages to diffuse light, reduce glare and so increase readability it gives a non glossy, smooth finish to the printed page. Satin
A satin varnish is a middle option between the gloss and matt varnishes. It provides some highlight but is not as flat as the matt finish. UV Varnish
UV varnish is a clear liquid that is applied like ink and cured instantly with ultraviolet light. It can provide either a gloss or matt coating, Increasingly, UV varnish is used as a spot covering to highlight a particular image because it provides more shine that varnish. Spot UV
The varnish is applied to highlight discrete areas of a printed design, both visually and by imparting a different texture. The effect of spot UV can by maximised when it is applied over matt-laminated printing.
Die Cut Die cutting is a process that uses a steel die to cut away a specified section of a design. It is mainly used for decorative purposes and to enhance the visual performance of a piece. In addidition to altering the shape of a design for visual enhancement, a die cut can serve a functional purpose such as creating an aperture that allows a user to see inside through a publication.
Embossing and Debossing An emboss or deboss is a design that is stamped into a substrate with ink or foil, which results in a three dimensional, raised, decorative or textures surface to provide emphasis to certain elements of a design. Generally, a paper stock with a thicker caliper holds an emboss or deboss much better than thinner stocks. Embossing A raised impression made in conunctionwith ink or foil on the embossed image. Blind embossing A raised impression made without using ink or foil on the embossed image Debossing A recessed impression made in conjunction with ink or foil on the debossed image
Folding It seems simple but simply folding your paper stock can push your design to being interesting and innovative. Different folding methods will produce different creative effects and give more functionality to what was just a piece of paper.
Throw Outs A throw out is a folded sheet of paper that is bound into a publication to provide extra space to showcase a particular image or visual element. To open a throw out, the extra panel is extended horizontally. The sheet will have a slightly small dimension than the overall publication so that it can sit comfortably when folded.
Costing When negotiating with your Printer you need to have a good knowledge of estimating how much you job is going to cost. After all you don始t want to end up out of pocket, if you始re working to a budget.
Paper stocks Stocks Paper types refer to any stock or substrate that can be printed with one of the conventional printing processes. Below is a brief paper glossary with a couple of lists of specific types of stock. Bond (17" x 22"): writing papers, including ledger, that accept ink readily and can be erased Coated (25" x 38"): book paper with a clay coating ensuring smoothness (dull, satin, gloss, matte) Text (25" x 38"): uncoated book paper used for announcements. Offset (25" x 38"): uncoated book paper treated with sizing to resist moisture Opaque (25" x 38"): uncoated book paper treated to be less transparent Cover (20" x 26"): coated and uncoated; used for book covers, brochures, etc. Mill Bristol (22.5" x 28.5" and 22.5" x 35"): a board grade receptive to folding, embossing, and stamping Index Bristol (25.5" x 30.5"): an inexpensive, stiff board grade, with a harder surface than Mill Bristol Tag (24" x 36"): water resistant and foldable, used for tags Newsprint (24" x 36"): used for printing newspapers; highly acidic, degrades quickly
Below is another list of common paper types and their main uses; Newsprint - newspapers comics Antique - to add texture to publications Uncoated woodfree - Office paper, photocopy paper Mechanical - Newspapers/directories Art Board - Cover stock Cast Coated - High quality colour printing Chromo - Labels, wrappings, and covers. Cartridge - To add texture to publications such as anual reports
Screen Print Silk-Screen printing Screen printing is not a high-volume printing method because each colour that is applied to the substrate has to dry before another can be applied, but it is a flexible method which can be used to apply a design to virtually any substrate. Silk-screen printing allows more viscous inks to be used, which can provide additional tactile qualities to a piece of work. The pattern to be reproduced is fixed to a screen using ultra violet light in such a way that the ink can pass through the areas that have been exposed. A squeegee is used to draw the printing ink over the screen pressing it through the design and on to the substrate. The screen is carefully removed to reveal the design that has been applied to the substrate.
Pad print & digital print Pad Printing A printing process that can transfer a 2d image onto a 3d object. This is accomplished using an indirect offset printing process that involves an image being transferred via a silicone pad onto a substrate. Pad printing is used for printing on otherwise impossible products in many industries including medical, automotive, promotional, apparel, and electronic objects, as well as appliances, sports equipment and toys. It can also be used to deposit functional materials such as conductive inks, adhesives, dyes and lubricants.
Digital Printing The reproduction of images by translating the digital code direct from a computer to a material without an intermediate physical process. Ideally suited to short run or specials on a range of print media from paper to metal. The savings in labor and ever increasing capability of digital presses means digital printing is reaching a point where it will match or supersede offset printing technology's ability to produce larger print runs at a low price.
Halftone and overprinting Halftone A halftone is an image composed of different sized dots, which reproduce continuos tones of a photograph. The dots, which can be formed from various shapes, can be manipulated in terms of their size, spacing and screen angle. Half tone is a technique heavy linked with screen printing because of the nature of the image you are dealing with. It is easy to reproduce a photograph via the screen printing process if the image has been converted to a halftone.
Overprinting Overprinting, surprinting and reversing out can all be used to great creative effect. An overprint describes the printing of one colour on top of another. A surprint is where a percentage or tone of a colour is used; and reverse out is where the white of the page or substrate is used and the printed colour forms the background or base colour.
WILLIAM COTTERILL