Download - Design for Print
DESIGN PRINT
FOR
:AN INTRODUCTION
BY HEATHER BRADLEY
1
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
3
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.