DESIGN PRINT

FOR

:AN INTRODUCTION

BY HEATHER BRADLEY

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CONTENTS1. Colour Processes CMYK & RGB (2-3)

2. Multi-tones Monotone (4-5)

Duotone & Tritone (6-7)

3. Tints & Overprinting (8-9)

4. Pantone & Spot Colours (10-11)

5. Print Processes (12-13)

6. Print Finishes (14-17)

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Cyan Magenta Yellow Black

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CMYK VS RGBColour is essentially different wavelengths of light. It is described through values

of hue, saturation and brightness by designers. There are two main colour models,

that which relate to work on screen (RGB), and that which is printed (CMYK).

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yel-

low and Key (Black). This process is

aslo known as the full-colour proc-

ess. These colours are overlapped to

produce the existing primary colours,

i.e Cyan and Yellow overlap to create

Green. All colours overlapped creates

black as no light is able to escape.

RGB works on a similar basis only

starting with primary colours. Where

red and green overlap, yellow is creat-

ed and so on. Each primary represents

a component of white light, so where

all colours overlap, white is produced.

RGB is specifically for on-screen use.

Colour management is a process that

governs how colour is translated from

one piece of equipment in the printing

process to another. Every device re-

sponds to colours differently, so colour

management is needed to ensure accu-

rate and predictable colour reproduc-

tion.

Designers and printers use gamut and

colour spaces to calculate the range

of colours that can be produced. The

common gamuts are RGB and CMYK.

A gamut is the range of spectral colours

visable to the human eye.

Colour printing systems cannot repro-

duce the full colour gamut that the hu-

man eye can see. The RGB gamut can

produce about 70% of these colours,

and the CMYK gamut is even less than

this.

A way around this is using Spot col-

ours, as explained on pg 11.

MONOTONEMonotone is a tonal image limited to

using only one colour, along with all the

tints of that colour. Any colours can be

used including Pantone spot colours. It

can, however, be sometimes confused

for greyscale, as that is what the latter

is correctly known as.

Though it restricts colour, it can prove

a very cheap printing job as it’s only

using one printing plate as apposed

to the four-colour process. You can, of

course, add in colours through clever

use of stock. This process is most com-

monly used in disposable producs such

as newspapers.

To create a monotone image from a

full colour image, you discard all other

colour information and transfer it to

greyscale. Using the duotone mode in

photoshop, you can choose the colour

you wish to replace the black. You can

then further change how the colour is

applied. It can simply replace the dark-

est black for the darkest shade of your

chosen colour, and the lightest shade

of grey for the lightest shade of your

chosen colour, it obviously depends on

your own preference, but you can use

this almost like a contrast tool.

You can then further produce duo-

tones, tritones and quadtones through

this mode.

Pant

one

Solid

Coa

ted

2756

C

4

5

DUOTONE6

Solid MattePantone Reflex Blue MPantone 393 M

A duotone image is a tonal image made

up of two colours, such as blue and yel-

low as shown opposite.

In order to produce a successful duo-

tone image, there needs to be balanced

curve, which you are able to edit in

the duotone mode in Photoshop, as

explained on pg5 (monotone). If the

curve is flattened or pushed to the top

it will create a flooded colour.

Duotone images are most commonly

produced by using two spot colours

(Pantones), rather than the full four

colour process, in order to save on

printing costs.

Though it restricts colour, it can create

a very atmospheric photo, and form a

great piece of design.

TRITONE

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Solid MattePantone Reflex Blue MPantone 393 MPantone 3405 M

Adding a third colour to a tonal image

creates a tritone.

You can stick with the preset values,

but it is always good to play with the

curve to see what effects you can get

out of it. Obviously this would be down

to your own preference.

Adding a fourth colour would then cre-

ate a Quadtone.

If a multitone image is created using

Pantone spot colours but is to be print-

ed CMYK, the image needs to be con-

verted to the CMYK colour space once

completed. This will choose the nearest

CMYK colour to the Pantone. It would

obviously be better to use Pantone col-

ours to print to get a much richer col-

our.

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TINTSPantone Reflex Blue M - 100%

Pantone Reflex Blue M - 80%

Pantone Reflex Blue M - 60%

Pantone Reflex Blue M - 40%

Pantone Reflex Blue M - 20%

Tints are great way to produce a nu-

merous amount of colours from a sin-

gle colour. A printer can be set to print

a percentage of a particular colour,

usually in increments of ten percent to

produce 1,330 tints.

There is restrictions, however. Tints

below 10 percent and above 90 percent

may not print properly due to the effect

of dot gain.

To see how tints will look when print-

ed, there is a process where a tint bar

can be printed on the edge of the wet

proof (a preview of the design befor the

final prints). If not how you expected,

adjustments can then be easily made

prior to the final printing, to ensure

you get the colours you want. This is

the only way to preview tints.

Tints are mainly used to help save on

printing costs. Though this process

limits colour, it can produce a visually

enchancing piece of design.

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OVER-PRINTINGOverprinting is where inks are printed

on top of each other to creat an ad-

ditional colour. This process creates

the same colours to what they would

if they were mixed, for example, cyan

and yellow would create a green, as

shown above.

With CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow

and Black) colours, cyan can overprint

all colours, however, yellow can only

overprint black.

In order to overprint sucsessfully, the

order in which process colours print

needs to be taken into consideration.

If printing in the order of the abbre-

viation, CMYK, yellow would obviously

not be able to overprint cyan.

In order to check pre-press, each indi-

vidual plate in colour is printed, and

can then be placed onto a lightbox in

order to get the effect of how they will

print.

Overprinting is most often used when

working with typography.

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PANTONES & SPOT COLOURSWhen printing in the CMYK four-col-

our process, the colours can often be-

come dull, this is because the colour is

outside the four-colour CMYK print-

ing process gamut range. The CMYK

gamut range is very limited, however,

fortunately there is a way around this,

using spot colours.

Spot colours are specially mixed inks,

metallics, flourescents and spot var-

nishes that only uses one printing

plate. They are most commonly used

when a bright/vivid colour is needed,

or if a particular colour is requested,

such as for a corporate logo.

Spot colours have a greater vibrancy as

they print as a solid colour, rather than

one that is made up of half-tone CMYK

dots.

As this process only uses one printing

plate, it can be a very cheap printing

process. However, can obviously be-

come expensive when using numerous

spot colours.

Pantone is a colour matching system

used by Graphic Designers for inks,

papers and other materials. Pantone

swatch books allow us to view the col-

our before it is printed. Process colours

can also be matched to the nearest

Pantone colour. Pantone also provide a

wide range of different swatch books for

colour finishes including Hexachrome,

Metallic and Pastel colours, along with

swatch books for different stocks, such

as Coated, Uncoated, Euro Coated and

Matte. This is because the stock can

manipulaye a colour’s appearance.

Each Pantone colour is allocated a

unique referece number in order to

make it easier for communication be-

tween designers and printers. For ex-

ample, Pantone Solid Coated 2756 C.

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PRINT PROCESSES

Digital Printing

Digital Printing is what is most famil-

iar to us, it works in the same way as a

personal home printer would, but on a

much larger scale.

It is generally used for short print runs,

and for personalised print jobs, such as

if a specific name or shape were to be

printed onto a design.

Lithographic Printing

Also known as ‘Litho’.

It is a process whereby the inked im-

age from a printing plate is transferred

or offset onto a rubber roller, which is

then pressed against the substrate.

Lithography functions on the basis that

oil and water repel each other.

Litho is considered the most common

print process, mainly due to the fact

that the printing costs are fairly low,

and because the plates are easy to re-

pair.

Flexographic Printing

Also known as ‘Flexo’. Flexo is a print-

ing process which uses a flexable relief

plate.

It can be used on any type of substrate

including plastic, metallic films, cello-

phane and paper. It is most commonly

used for printing on substrates required

for various types of food packaging.

Pad Printing

Pad printing is the printing process

that can transfer a 2D image onto a 3D

object. This is a process whereby the

image is transferred from the printing

plate via a silicone pad onto the sub-

strate.

This process is most commonly used

There are many different print process, each subject to

different types of inks, stocks and finishes. These in-

clude Digital Printing, Lithography, Flexogra-

phy, Pad Printing, Screen Printing and Rotogra-

vure.

for printing on otherwise impossible

products, such as sports equipment

and toys, along with stationary.

Rotogravure

Also known as roto or gravure.

Gravure is a type of printing proc-

ess that involves engraving the image

onto a copper cylinder, like Litho and

Flexo, and pressed striaght onto the

substrate

Gravure presses are the fastest and

widest presses in operation. Most use

reels of paper rather than sheets. It is

most commonly used for magazines,

newspapers, postcards, and corrugates

(cardboard) product packaging.

Screen Printing

Screen printing is a printing method

in which an ink is transferred through

a screen, that holds the design, onto a

substrate.

It is a very slow and expensive printing

process, but can be applied to a wide

range of materials, including cloths,

ceramics and metals.

Specific colours can be used and can

create a raised surface that adds a tac-

tile element to a design.

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Linney Group - Lithographic Printer - www.linney.com/Linney-Print

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PRINTFINISHESOnce printed, there are a wide range

of processes to use which can provide

the finishing touches to a design. These

processes include foil blocking, die cut-

ting, embossing, debossing, perfora-

tion, tip-ins, duplexing and varnishes.

Foil Blocking

Foil blocking is the process in which

coloured foil is transfered onto a de-

sign via a heated die.

This process adds a shiny, metallic fin-

ish to the design and is mostly used in

elements such as title text. It is a great

way to add a personal touch to your

design and creates a professional feel.

It can also be quit interactive as a dark

foil would have to be faced towards the

light in order to be able to see it.

Foil blocking, however, is only used

with block colour, it doesn’t tend to

work on tonal images such as photo-

graphs.

Die Cutting

Die cutting is used to cut away a speci-

fied area of a design, such as the ti-

tle text and shapes. It uses a steel die

which is bent into the desired shape.

The material being cut is placed onto a

flat surface, and the die is pressed onto

the material to cut it.

This process is most often used for

decoration, and can even add an inter-

active factor as it encourages people

to touch it. It is most commonly used

on business cards and sometimes mail

shots and leaflets.

Embossing

Embossing is the process where a de-

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sign is stamped from underneath onto

the stock to leave an impression.

Thinner stocks can hold more detail

than thicker stocks, but thicker stocks

can create a higher emboss. Soft pa-

pers are also easy to emboss, and coat-

ed stocks hold detail well however can

crack.

To add colour, it is sometimes made

with foil, but are mainly left without to

add a tactile element to a design. Again,

this process can add a interactive ele-

ment to a design as the audience will

have to touch it, or face it toward light

to read/see it.

Debossing

Very similar to embossing only it’s

stamped from above onto a stock to

create an indentation.

Debossing also produces better on

thicker stock as it creates a deeper in-

dentation.

Perforation

Perforation is the process whereby an

area of a design is slightly cut to weak-

en it, so that it can be detatched/ripped

away easily. It can also be used for dec-

oration.Aileen Barrameda - Buzzy’s peanut brittle - Die cutting on the side of packaging.

Marque - Begg - Debossed lines above and below logo.

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This process is most commonly used

on small paper packages. Again, this

can form a very interactive element to

a design as it has to be physically pulled

away.

Duplexing

Duplexing is the joining of two differ-

ent stocks to form a single piece with

different colours/textures on either

side.

Sometimes used for colour to save

printing costs. This process can add a

great visual element to a design.

The term ‘duplexing’ is also known as

the printing on both sides of sheet of

paper, or two-sided copying.

Tip-ins and Tip-ons

Tip-ins is the process where different

sized papers are added into a doccu-

ment by wrapping it around the center

fold. It most often uses different col-

ours and stocks.

Tip-ons is where an element is pasted

onto the doccument. Mainly used for

temporary elements which can be tak-

en away, such as business cards.

Tip-ons can be placed anywhere on a

doccumnet and are most commonly

used in mail shots.

Varnishes

Varnishes are a colourless coating,

added to a finished print job to add a

shiny texture to a specific area of the

surface. This also protects it from wear

or smudging. This can enhance the vis-

ual appearance of a design, or elements

within it, such as a spot varnish.

Spot varnishes can be applied in the

same way that inks are printed. Any

part of a printed surface can have a

spot varnish applied.

There are many types of varnish, in-

cluding gloss, matt (or dull), neutral,

pearlescent, satin (or silk), textured

spot UV and UV varnish.

They are most commonly used on short

title text, along with simple shapes. It

can also add an interactive factor as,

if used without colour, the doccument

would have to be faced towards light to

be read.

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Dance Made - Business Card - Embossed text.

Black Fleece - Perfume - Perfarated packaging.

Carluccio’s Tags - Foiled and Embossed.

This publication was wrote and edited by Heather Bradley.

Research was collected mainly from ‘The Production Manual; A Graphic Design Handbook - Gavin Abrose and Paul Harris’ along with other books, various online sources and tutors.