A brief insight into commercial printing.

10 THINGS

TO KNOWYOU NEED

ABOUT PRINT

CONTENTS

CONTENTSBLACK

COLOURRGB, CMYK, Multitone, Pantone and more.

PAPER SIZES & FORMATSISO A series, bleed and more.

STOCK CONSIDERATIONSPaper weights, coated, uncoated and so on.

FILE TYPESWhat should you save your file as?

PRINT PROCESSESWhat print method should I use?

IMPOSITIONThe arrangement of printed products on a page.

BOOK BINDING & FOLDINGThere are many ways to fold a piece of paper.

PREFLIGHT & PROOFINGMaking sure your document is ready for print.

FINISHINGHow to add that finishing touch.

COSTINGHow much will it cost?

COLOURBLACK

COLOURCMYK AND RGB

CMYK

The CMYK colour model (otherwise known as the process or four colour system) is a subtractive colour model, used in commercial printing.

CMYK is an abbreviation of the four inks used in this process: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black). Everything you see in print is usually comprised of these four colours.

RGB

Digital cameras, scanners and computer monitors create images using combinations of just three colours: Red, Green and Blue (RGB). These are the primary colours of visible light and is how your computer screen displayes images.

RGB colours often appear brighter and more vivid because the light is being projected directly into the eyes of the viewer.

CMYKSubtractive

RGBAdditive

You need to ensure your document is set to CMYK before sending a design to print.

COLOURBLACK

There are many variations of black which differ when printed but look exactly the same when displayed on your computer monitor. This is because there is only one way to represent black - the absence of light.

Standard black - C0, M0, Y0, K100Rich black - C63, M52, Y51, K100Cool black - C60, M0, Y0, K100Warm black - C0, M60, Y30, K100Registration - C100, M100, Y100, K100

Standard black often creates a subdued, dark grey colour as opposed to a more ‘richer’ and dense black. The solution is to use the colour values highlighted above and use these across all programs to ensure a continuous black.

RICH BLACK

Multitone is usually referred to as duotone and is a process of composing an image with two, three or four inks. This process requires that the printing press be set up with special inks, usually Pantone designated colours, instead of the standard CMYK inks used for process (standard) colour printing. Using 1/2/3 inks as opposed to the four process colours may reduce costs depending on your intended quanitity of units.

Monotone - single ink Duotone - two inks Tritone - three inks

MULTITONE

MULTITONEMONOTONE - PANTONE 274 C

Upon opening an image in Photoshop, make sure the colour mode is set to greyscale - thia can be changed by going to Image > Mode > Greyscale. Under the same window, you can then choose the Duotone option. Here you can decide how many colours (inks) you want your image to be composed of and alter the curve to change how much a colour affects the lights and shadows.

PHOTOSHOP

MULTITONEDUOTONE - PANTONE 274 C AND PANTONE RED 032 C

COLOURCMYK AND RGB

Colour gamut

R = 0, G = 255, B = 0 results in a bright, fluorescent green but changes when converted to CMYK. This particular RGB colour is therefore outside the CMYK gamut.

The Gamut Warning tool in Photoshop allows you to see what colours are out of the CMYK gamut range. Before converting an RGB image to CMYK, it is useful to use various image adjustments beforehand to achieve similar colours.

When choosing colours, the colour picker dialogue window provides a warning as to whether or not it is in the CMYK gamut.

You must consider the limited ‘gamut’ (colour range) of CMYK as opposed to RGB. The colours you see on screen are not necessarily what you will see in print.

PAPER SIZESBLACK

PAPERSIZES

PAPER SIZESBLACK

ISO Series

In the ISO paper size system, the height-to-width ratio of all pages is the square root of two (1.4142 : 1). The aspect ratio is convenient for comparing paper sizes; for example, two portrait A4’s create a landscape A3. Two portrait A3’s create a landscape A2 and so on.

The B series formats are geometric means between the A series format with the same number and the A series format with one lower number. For example, B1 is a geometric mean between A1 and A0.

The A series is typically used for standard documents and stationery as A4 is typically the default setting. The C series is used for folders, post cards and envelopes. C series envelope are suitable to insert in the A series sizes.

The B series are used for books, newspapers, playing cards and so on.

There are other variants other than the A, B and C series though these are often independently used.

You need to consider what size or format your print will be before you begin designing.

PAPER SIZESBLACK AND PANTONE 301 U

A0A1

A2

A3

A4A5

A6

105 210 42059

429

714

8

PAPER SIZESBLACK AND PANTONE RED 032 C

B0B1

B2

B3

B4B5

B6

125 250 50070

735

317

6

COLOURBLACK

STOCKS

STOCKSBLACK

Paper weight

The paper density of a type of paper or cardboard is the mass of the product per unit of area. In the metric system, the density of all types of paper and paperboard is expressed in terms of grams per square metre (g/m²).

Paper products that let little or no light pass through (e.g. poster board) are considered dense or heavy. Paper products that allow some light to pass through (e.g. tissue paper) are considered lightweight.

Coated vs Uncoated

Uncoated papers have a rough, more natural feel to them. Examples of uncoated stock are newsprint, cheaper catalogs, many recycled papers. Uncoated stocks are ideal for quick and less-precise printing.

Coated papers, by contrast, have a smoother finish and are not very porous at all. Ink will, more or less, sit on this type of paper’s surface. It will take longer for ink printed on a coated stock to dry. Photographs look much sharper on coated stock.

A choice of stock is an important decision which needs to be addressed in the early stages of the design process.

PREFLIGHTBLACK

FILETYPES

PAPER SIZESBLACK

File types

Most file formats are made to handle a specific kind of artwork, typically either vector (Illustrator) or raster art (Photoshop).

Due to the extensive range of print applications, you should use “standard” formats that can contain any kind of artwork for saving and opening across applications and platforms.

A client, for example, may not have the Adobe programs pre-installed on their computer. The Save As option in the File menu allows you to save a copy of the file in one of the standard formats. Save As also allows you to rename the file, flatten layers, simplify artwork, reduce the file size, and remove any extras such as annotations, paths, etc.

General proofing issues

1. PDF - Useful for precise layouts and a significant amount of formatted text. They are usually smaller in size in comparison to the other file types due to the image (JPEG) compression.

2. EPS - A format that encapsulates or wraps all artwork (vector and bitmapped) in PostScript code; it includes a low-resolution preview of the artwork for display purposes.

3. TIFF - An industry standard file format designed for the handling of raster or bitmapped images.

4. AI, PSD, INDD etc - These can only be opened and subsequently edited in their native application.

Clients and printers may require different file formats; the most common of which are explained below.

PRINT PROCESSBLACK

PRINTPROCESS

PRINT PROCESSBLACK AND PANTONE RED 032 C

Offset lithography

Offset lithography is the most widely used printing technique on the market, suitable for printing on paper, cardboard, plastic and other flat materials.

Colours are separated into the four colour process colours or PMS (pantone) colours. Each colour is then etched into thin, aluminium plates which are then taken to the press to print the job. The press is comprised of four separate presses, one in each tower. The four plates are wrapped around a plate cylinder in each of these ‘towers’.

The image is transferred as a reverse image from the

plate to a blanket cylinder. The paper is moved from unit to unit to create the full composite image. An impression cylinder squeezes the paper at just the right pressure to make sure the print is as smooth as possible.

However, it is not a high-volume print method as each colour has to dry before another can be applied.

Benefits

Versatile and flexible with a wide range of possible inks and substrates

There are a wide range of print processes, each with their own benefits and drawbacks.

Offset lithographyTeam Impression printers

PRINT PROCESSBLACK AND PANTONE RED 032 C

Rotogravure

Gravure is a type of the printing process that involves engraving the image onto an image gravure (cylinder) Two large print reels of paper are pressed together as opposed to sheets of paper.

There is one designated printing unit for each colour, most commonly CMYK. As the engraved cylinder rotates, it draws ink out of the fountain with it. Acting as a squeegee, the doctor blades beside the cylinder, scrapes the ink before the cylinder makes contact with the paper therefore ink is removed from the non-printing areas.

The paper is then forced between the impression roller and the gravure cylinder ensuring maximum coverage of ink. The paper is then pressed onto the gravure cylinder and subsequently dried in order to absorb another coat of ink.

Benefits

It is the fastest and widest printing press in operation; has good quality image reproduction (high density range) and is able to transfer more ink to the paper than any other printing processes.

Rotogravure is the fastest printing press in operation and is known for its ability to produce a high density range.

Screenprinting

A screen is produced by exposing an image through UV light to a screen coated in photo-sensitive emulsion. The emulsion hardens when exposed to UV light whereas the areas of the mesh covered by the image is open, allowing ink to pass through.

A roller or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil forcing the ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas.

PRINT PROCESSCMYK AND PANTONE 032 C

Different inks can be used on a diverse range of substrates. This printing technique is therefore used in many different industries such as balloons, clothing, decals, product labels... and so on.

Benefits

High volumeHigh speedVersatileConsistentClean results

Screen printing is a process in which ink is pushed through a woven mesh supporting an ink-blocking stencil.

Screen printingForcing ink through a screen

PREFLIGHTBLACK

PREFLIGHT

PAPER SIZESBLACK

Preflight

A preflight check (using InDesign) checks all used images and fonts in the document. It checks whether the images can be found at their indicated locations, if they are in the correct colour mode and if fonts are use load correctly.

Tip: Copyrighted fonts may cause problems with embedding, though this is usually brought up in the preflight check.

If there are any missing files, you are able to replace them from the Preflight check dialogue screen. You can access this by going to File > Preflight. In the dialogue window, a small warning icon will indicate a problem area.

Tip: To create a more efficient workspace, save all linked images alongside the main document.

General proofing issues

The preflight does not recognise all errors within the file therefore you need to make sure you do various general proofs.

1. Is the size of the document correct? It may seem obvious but you need to make sure the size complies with the printers request.

2. Check spelling and grammar. Twice.

3. Is the bleed correct? The bleed ensures there is no white edges when the print is trimmed.

4. Are your colour separations correct? Make sure there are no unnecessary Pantone colours mixing with your CMYK colours.

5. Check the resolution of all images is at 300 dpi to avoid blurs and pixilation.

Proofing is essential to make sure a design complies with a clients’ and printers’ request.

IMPOSITIONBLACK

IMPOS-ITION

IMPOSITIONBLACK AND CMYK

Imposition

Imposition is one of the fundamental steps in the prepress printing process as it allow you to arrange the printed products pages on the printers sheet in the most efficient way. As a result, this obtains faster printing, simplified binding and less waste of paper.

Correct imposition minimises printing time by maximising the number of pages per impression, therefore reducing the cost of press time.

Imposition Dummy

An imposition dummy should be created in order to envision how the pages relate to one another.

What can affect imposition?

The size of the finished page determines how many pages can be printed on a single sheet.

The number of pages and subsequently units, affects how many sheets are needed per book/per order.

Stitching/binding & finishing - These processes may cut or impair the information laying close to the edge of the page. Make sure you know what additional finishes you will use in advance.

Many papers have a grain which reflects the alignment of the paper fivers. These fivers must run lengthwise along the fold.

Imposition Dummy8 page booklet

BOOK BINDINGBLACK

BOOKBINDING

BOOK BINDINGBLACK

Book binding

Determining the best binding method for your documents should take place early in the design processing even though binding is part of the last finishing touches applied to the project.

This is because content may be cropped or hidden when bound therefore you need to take into account the placement and composition. Talk to a printer if necessary.

Signatures - Several folios collected together. Multiple signatures make up a book.

Folios - A sheet of paper folded in half is a folio. Each half of the folio is one page; therefore a single folio would have 4 pages (2 each side).

Types of binding

Ring binding - Notebook binders with stiff or slightly flexible covers with metal or plastic rings that open and close to allow pages to be easily added or removed. Saddle-stitching - This is common for small booklets, calendars, pocket-size address books, and some magazines.

Case - The most common type of binding for hardcover books Perfect - A flexible adhesive attaches a paper cover to the spine of the assembled signatures.

...and many more.

FINISHINGBLACK

FINIS-HING

FINISHINGBLACK

Finishing

Print finishing encompasses a wide range of processes that provide a final touch to a design.Despite being at the end of the production process, they are integral and can either provide added functionality or be simply for decorative means - either way, they can make or break a design.

Die Cut

Die cutting is a process that uses a steel die to cut away a specified area of a print. This can be purely for aesthetic reasons such as rounded corners to a business card or serve a purpose such as a window to view the packagings content.

Embossing

An emboss is a design that is stamped into a substrate (stock) with ink or foil - a blind embossing is a raised impression made in conjunction without ink or foil. Debossing is a recessed impression.

Tip: Use thicker stock as it is able to hold an emboss much better than thinner stocks.

Foil blocking

Foil blocking is a process where coloured foil is pressed onto a substrate through a heated die which causes the foil to separate from its backing. Foil blocking is also referred to as foil stamp, heat stamp, hot stamp, block print or foil emboss.

Blind embossingMetric by The International Office

Gold foil blockingElephant stationery

FINISHINGCMYK

Gloss

Matt (dull)

Satin (silk)

Neutral

UV Varnish

Pearlescant

A gloss varnish is often used with photographic imagery as it adds to the sharpness and saturation of images.

Diffuses light and reduces glare therefore increasing text legbilitiy. It provides a smooth and non-glossy finish to a page.

A mid-option between gloss and matt.

An almost invisble coating that seals the printing ink without affecting the print design. Often used to accelerate the drying of fast turnaround prints.

A clear liquid which is instantly cured using UV light. It is sometimes used as a spot covering to highlight a particular image as it provides more shine than a standard varnish.

Varnish that subtly reflects myriad colours to give a luxurious effect.

Varnish Description

Varnishes

A typical varnish is defined as a colourless coating that is applied to a printed piece to protect the substrate from scuffing, ear or smudging. It is sometimes used to enhance the visual appearance of a design.

Fore-edge printing

A process where ink is applied on the cut, outside edges of the book block of a publication. It originates from gilding, a process that applied fold or silver to the pages of a book to pretect them.

Spot varnishWedding stationery

Yellow fore-edge printApal business card

COSTINGBLACK

COST-ING

COSTINGBLACK

Costing

It is vital to ensure you know what you will eventually produce ahead of time. Keep in contact with your chosen printers throughout and discuss your exact requirements to avoid any hidden surprises.

Get 2 or 3 quotes in order to make the most cost-efficient decision and plan well in advance.

Print finishing

Print finishing can often be as expensive as the print itself. A foil blocked, die cut, spot varnished and embossed business card may look nice (though this can be questioned) but the price will be extortionate due to the labour and costing required.