My written content, before it was checked.
Introduction:
Designing for print has a lot of considerations to take into
factor for example: the size of the type, the stock choice and how to setup a
document to send off for printing. Things you might not think about, but are
vital when it comes to making print.
These are considerations that need you to be known aware of when
it concerns designing for print. However, from picking up the book, I’d hope
with it, you’d be able to put these concerns to rest.
I split up the book into 3 different chapters that I felt were
most applicable to the subject of the considerations to be aware of and the
preparation of designing for print. These are: Colour & type, Format and
Process & Setup. Each of these
covering the topics mentioned above, obviously with more to them then that.
Hopefully within these chapters you’ll find what you’re looking
for and you’re able to take away from these books something that will help you
designing for print, or it’ll give you some new considerations to make.
CMYK:
I’m sure you will have heard of CMYK before if you’re even in
the slightest interested in print, which from reading this I will assume you
are.
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key*) are the 4 different inks used
in the process of printing, you’ll find them easily within your standard ink
jet printer and in a laser printer. These inks are used on a much larger scale
than these but using different processes (half toning) to create similar
products.
The reason CMYK is used is because the 3 colours CMY overlay one
another they create gray/black, adding the K on top solidifies and strengthens
the black tones within an image. This is ink is subtractive, the more you add
the more colour is ‘subtracted’ hence why it leads to black, theoretically.
*You’re probably thinking ‘What’s key?’ Well, ‘key’ is the
called that because it is the key plate in printing (The plate that Is used to
align the other colours), because in industry large-scale printing, plates are
used, also because B stands for blue already.
RGB:
While CMYK is ink and pigment based, RGB on the other hand is
light based. Red, green and blue are the colours we see in everyday life,
people who are colour blind lack one of these colours.
However, how does all relate to print? In a way it doesn’t, you
just need to be aware of it when you do come to print. RGB has a much bigger
range of colours available then ink does when printed, mostly because there are
more colours in light that are reproducible.
This has consequences when you have an image that you are
working with that is set to RGB, when you go to print that piece of work, if
there exists any colours that are outside of the colour range of CMYK the image
you are creating will appear duller. Although it’s minor, obviously it’s
something you need to always consider and be aware of when it comes to
printing.
However, RGB does have its uses but there not for print, they’re
for screens and light based media. RGB takes form in pixels in monitors and
within your smart phone screen.
Pantone & Spot colours:
Pantone is a colour
matching system for matching up the colours you want to print to the colours
that are represented within programs that utilise Pantone colour matching systems.
For example: Adobe’s
creative suite features such swatches within most of their programs.
This is used then by
printer who sees which Pantone colour you has specified and then is able to mix
together those inks specifically to print. So instead of having to have 4
colour CMYK you can have the colour as a spot colour and save your self the
cost of using 4 plates. This works out a lot cheaper if you only needing to
print one colour in a run of things.
Sometimes there are
colours that you can’t create with CMYK, for example: Fluorescent colours.
These are inks that can’t be recreated within the spectrum of CMYK printing and
are considered Spot Colours, or they can be used in the way specified above
using Pantone.
Spot colours are colours
created for single run prints that can be combined with CMYK as a 5th colour or
simply used alone.
Talking with type:
Although you’re probably
aware of the world of typography, serifs and sans serif and point sizes too.
It’s important to understand how they look and feel what understand what is
being communicated when you use a certain font. Comic sans, Times New Roman and Helvetica, 3 different font types
that all give different messages to one another.
Comic sans comes across as fun, playful and childish due to its curvy and
bubbly aesthetic.
While Times New Roman comes across
authoritative and is very readable with it’s distinguished serifs unlike Helvetica, which is neutral, it’s
very clinic and because of that not much is being conveyed with it.
It sets a tone for
whatever you create with it, the same applies for all the rest of the fonts and
whatever font you pick delivers a punch with it that is not brought across in
the text it’s self but along with it, depending on which typeface you choose.
Size, weight and alignment all play a part too, print out
samples and see how they appear on paper for the best decision-making.
The paper is what makes it.
The feel of the book is
just as pleasing as a front cover; the same goes for a leaflet. If you like the
feel of something, or look you’re bound to keep it, some papers feel great to
read, some do not.
However to have something
that not just feels good but makes images look good is one property glossy
paper has. It holds the ink on the page well, making the pictures look sharp.
While something such as sugar paper feels cheap and doesn’t really make images
shine on it.
Knowing how a piece of
paper is going to react to when it comes to printing on it is paramount, it
determines how the look of the design piece and the feel of it too. Knowing
what paper stock to choose is one of the major design decisions that some
people do without thinking about, it seems natural to get the gloss paper for
photo printing because that’s what you get them on. But sometimes such as matte
photos aren’t possible on gloss and you have to choose a different stock type
that would achieve that effect.
A-SERIES:
A series paper is probably something you’ve come across a lot in
your life. A4 sheets of paper are the general all purpose use, where they get
used for letters, posters and documents. It’s a widely used paper size, but so
is the rest of the A-series paper. Such as A1 & A2, which are, most often
used for posters.
If you were to get a design printed in a big run, printers would
often use R or SR paper sizes, these are parent sheets of the A series paper,
they’re slightly bigger then the A series so they’re able to fit a A1 size
print onto RA1 sheet so you wouldn’t have to worry have how much is going to be
cut off because there would be room for print anyway.
The best thing to do is if you’re printing at A5 print it on an
A4 sheet of paper to be cut down, say if you’re doing screen-printing as
printers crop work for you.
Obviously, ISO series paper isn’t the only thing you can print
to; creating your own paper sizes is a great exercise too. A series paper is
there as a template to simply explore and do what you like with it.
B & C SERIES:
B series paper sizes in measurements, halfway between 2 A series
paper sizes. So B3 is half way between A3 and A4. They’re slightly narrower and
are most often used for charts, posters and envelopes. They’re an alternative
to the A series simply put. It’s also the format that is use for passports too.
However, C series is only really used for envelopes for A series
paper. C series is the average of both A and B series. C4 is the mean of A4 and
B4. So it’s slightly larger then A4 but B4 is slightly larger then C4, The
practical side to this is that A4 folds down into C4 envelope, while C4 folds
down into a B4 envelope.
Although these paper sizes seem like the only thing you can use,
they are not. Create your own paper sizes, these simply serve as a template for
you to use however life is made easy when you do use these sizes but they
aren’t a rule to follow is the main thing to remember.
Pick a book bind:
How you bind your book is as important as the content within it,
you may judge a book by its cover but the bind is just as important, it affects
the durability, the feel and how you eventually put together your book.
For example: if you were to saddle stitch you have to then put
your book together in 4s, where if you were to perfect bind you can slot leaves
in individually and you don’t have to worry about pagination.
Knowing this before you start putting together a book is vital
otherwise you’re going to have to end up redoing your book if you were to do
one, it’s one major consideration to take in before you start designing for
print.
But that’s not all, the binding of a book is vital to
determining your target audience through how they would interact with your
book, a children’s book is strong, opens flat for easy reading but is durable
and tough enough to take a bumps and bashes and usually glossy so they don’t
take on stains from the mucky fingers.
Final touches:
There will be always something left that you will to improve,
but there is sometimes final touches that you might not have considered that
will enhance your print work through feel, look and interactivity.
For example: Embossing paper adds extra touch and dimension to a
printed piece. While something such as perforation adds interactivity, it makes
the printed piece more than a simple piece of paper.
These final touches, or finishes, end your print on a high and
designing with these in mind allows for you to add extra value to your design.
It makes them more memorable and if that’s something you want it’s best to be
aware instead of attempting to fit them in later on.
However these things don’t come free when you send them off to
print and obviously they will add to the cost, but there is ways to DIY it if
it’s something you want to test out.
Foil blocking can be done with the use of a laser printer and
laminator for example, and perforation can be done with a steady hand and a
scalpel.
DOCUMENT SETUP FOR PRINT:
Once you’ve sent of your document to be printed at the printers,
there is probably nothing left you can do after that. If there have been any
mistakes and things that need to be changed, it’s possible you could be charged
for the correction. Or if files are missing they’re going to have to chase you
up for the files. It’s something you probably want out of mind and not have to
worry about.
To the right is a quick checklist of things to go over when it
comes to setting up your document for minimal mishaps, something such as
sending images with too low a resolution just by mistake is something that’s
going to have consequences later.
As a first things first to know when it comes to printing, if
you’re using InDesign, Illustrator or Photoshop always remember to setup your
document to be CMYK and set to 300 DPI. This is the most important two things
you really need to know, because otherwise you’re going to encounter
disappointing results later on when your work comes back pixelated if it’s
pictures, and dull if it uses bright colours.
Foil blocking
Embossing
Lamination
Spot UV
Debossing
Varnish
Spot Varnish
Perforations
What are the printing costs?
Obviously commercial print is going to cost a lot, but picking
the most appropriate and cost effective method to print with. Each method and
process obviously all have their pros and cons and knowing them is vital if you
want to pick a process to print with especially if you’re going to be paying
for it.
For example: Screen printing is very time consuming, with each
colour having to take up a separate screen as well as it having to be done by
hand. But once you’ve done the setup printing off lots of copies is incredibly
fast and easy. While something like lithography is incredibly fast and cheap,
unlike digital printing which is slow but high quality.
When you do commercial print, you’re not just going to be paying
for the print, if you were to say, stapled book, you will be paying for the
whole process in creating it, not just for the print. So that would make it
more expensive then just a leaflet using the same printing method.
Offset Lithography
Letterpress
Gravure
Engraving
Thermography
Screen printing
Flexography
Digital
Holography
Lenticullar Printing
There will be always
something left that you will to improve, but there is sometimes final touches
that you might not –
This finish is a high
quality finish that adds metallic foil, typically gold or silver, to surface
you want printed.
Embossing is a finish
that creates an impression into a surface, which stands out. It is cost
effective and cheap.
Debossing is a finish
that creates an indent into a surface, the opposite effect of what embossing
is.
Lamination is the process
of applying thin plastic film to paper or surface to create a gloss look.
UV spot varnish is
typically applied to a specific area such as text or a logo to create a gloss
look.
Varnishing is similar to
UV spot varnishing but is normally used to cover an entire page instead of a
specific area
Perforation is a dotted
cut line, typically die cut, that signals the user to rip along the line,
allows for easy tearing.
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