Design for Print:10 need-to-knows.

By Ben Harwood

Considering and Selecting Stock

1

Coated - Available in Satin, Gloss or Matt. Sharp, Bright, Reflective e.g. Brochures.Uncoated - Not as smooth, available in a range of finishes, colours and weights. Wove - Uniform surface. Faint mesh, patterned paper for stationary/books.Laid - Premium quality, similar to hand made paper. Common business stationary stock.Bond - Economic paper for copying or laser printers.Weight - GSM: Grams per square meter. Photocopier: 80 Letterhead: 120.

Paper TypesA0 841 x 1189mm A1 594 x 841mm A2 420 x 594mm A3 297 x 420mm A4 210 x 297mm A5 148 x 210mm A6 105 x 148mmSRA0 900 x 1280mm SRA1 640 x 900mm SRA2 450 x 640mm SRA3 320 x 450mm SRA4 225 x 320mm

Considering and Selecting Stock

1

Coated Stock

Laid Stock

2

Duotone

Colour Systems

Terminlogy

CMYK - cyan, magenta, yellow and black (key). Process Colours, subtractive and used with litho printing.RGB - red, green, blue. Screen. Additive.Grey scale - Black, white and con-tinuous grey. E.g. Black and White photoDuotone - Continuous tone image in 2 or more spot colours.Spot Colour - Not cmyk/rgb but specifically mixed.Mono - Greyscale but with a coloured ink. One colour with tints plus stock

2

Colour Systems

CMYK & Spot Colour

RGB

3

RGB vs CMYK

RGBUsed for web based design. Larger spectrum.The more colours mixed the lighter it becomes.Additive.

CMYKUsed for print based design.The more colours layered the darker the colour becomes. Eventually it will become black.Subtractive.

4

Printing Systems

Rotary Printing

Offset Lithography (Litho)Etched plates wrapped around a cylinder transfer ink to a roller and then onto print surface. e.g Flyers.RotogravureInk strait to print surface. Very durable so ideal for long print runs. E.g. NewspapersFlexographyRubber reverse image rolled onto print surface with ‘sticky ink’ E.g. Crisp packets.

Rotogravure

4

Printing Systems

Digital PrintingIdeally suited to short runs or specials. For example the side of a builders van would be a digital print.Screen PrintingUses a woven mesh to support an ink blocking stencil. E.g. T shirts.Pad PrintingA method that can transfer a 2D image onto a 3D objects. E.g. usb sticks.

Further Print Techniques

Digital Printing

4

Printing Systems

Flexography

Pad Printing

5

Tints

How and when to use tints.

Tints can be very useful as all tints can be created from the same printing plate. This can be economically beneficial as if you are using a spot colour(specifically mixed and non cmyk)a seperate plate has to be made. But you can use all the various tints of that spot colour on the piece of design and use the same printing plate. This allows you to keep costs down but still be visually effective.

Tints are also useful when keeping to a colour scheme and adding consistency.

6

File Format

What resolution should I be working in? 300 Dots Per Inch (dpi)

What colour mode do I need?CMYK

What format should images coming into inDesign be?.tiff/.psd

What format should illustrator images be coming into inDesign?.ai

Remember...

Colour Seperations in Print

File>Print>Output>Colours>Separations:This shows you the effect of what printing does to each component.Deleting any unused spot colours will avoid accidents.

If you intend to print in overprint you must check with the printer the maximum print limit. This lets you know how many layers of ink can be put down before the stock becomes too wet.

To check this: Window>Output>Attributes>Overprint fillthen Seperation Preview>Ink Limit Red indicators show whichc areas are exceed-ing the print limit

In InDesign

7

Print Finishes

Emboss - Embossing is where an image is pressed into the material so that the image raises from the surface. Deboss - Debossing refers to an effect that is opposite of embossing.An uncoated stock usually gives the best effect.Die Cut - When a piece needs to be cut to a specific shape a die needs to be made from which the piece is stamped out. Foil Varnishing - The process is achieved by pressing coloured foil onto a substrate with a heated die, which causes the foil to separate from its backing, leaving the design of the die on the paper.

Deboss

Various Finishes

8

Early Quotes - Make sure you acquire an early quote so when you approach a client you have an idea of costs.3 Quotes - Always compare and contrast quotes to get the cheapest.Learn rough costs! - This will allow you to seem knowledgeable qwith the client.Minimum quantities - Find out the price for the smallest quantitiesAuthor Corrections - Be weary of the client making alterations. This can be costly.Delivery - Make sure you take in to ac-count how much it will taker to deliver the prints.

Costing

How to deal with costing of print

9

Don’t be a know it all!

Although your knowledge may now be at a whole new and incredible level regarding print processes and design for print, never walk into a printers thinking you know every-thing because that is a printers nightmare.

They are the professionals; take their advice and listen and you will develop a strong, reliable re-lationship.

Now get printing!

The printer vs the graphic designer

10