DESIGNING FOR COMMERCIAL PRINTING

5 BASIC “NEED TO KNOWS”

CORYROGERSmarketing director

5 years in national sales1 year as marketing director8 years freelance design

email - cory@copycraft.comtwitter - corydonrogers

Copy Craft Social Mediatwitter - copycraftfacebook - facebook.com/copycraftyoutube - youtube.com/copycraft

BA in MarketingMinor in Communication/Design

ABOUT COPY CRAFT• 1985 - started as small copy shop

• 1987 - installed first offset press

• 1994 - began national marketing campaign

• 1995 - one of the first printers to go “online”

• 1997 - introduced waterless printing

• 2002 - began using direct-to-plate technology

• 2007 - introduced digital printing

Stripping / Pre-Press HP Indigo Digital Press

HP Indigo Digital Press5 Color Offset Press

5 Color Offset Press 4 Color Offset Press

4 Color Offset Press2 Color Duplicator Press

2 Color Duplicator Press 2 Color Offset Press

2 Color Offset PressHeidleberg Die-Cut Press

Heidleberg Die-Cut Press Kluge Letter Press

Kluge Letter PressPolar Cutter

Polar Cutter Folder

FolderDirect Mailing

DESIGNING FOR COMMERCIAL

PRINTING

5 basic “need to knows”

Size Color Images Fonts Paper

“Measure twice, cut once.”

SIZE

SIZE

1. document or page size

2. bleed size

3. flat / fold / stitched / bound size

3 Things To Consider InRegards To Size

SIZEdefinitions

• Document / Page Size - The trim size of the final printed piece.

• Bleed Size - The extra space needed around the (on each edge) document to compensate for trimming variations.

• Most commercial printers prefer 1/8’’ on each edge - 1/4’’ overall.

• Flat Size - The unstitched size for multi-page documents.

• Folded Size - The size of the document after it is folded.

• Stitched / Bound Size - The size of the document after it is stitched or bound.

SIZE document/page + bleed

SIZE document/page + bleed

SIZE document/page + bleed

SIZE document/page + bleed

• Single page documents: set size to trim size

• Multi-page documents: set size to folded, stitched or bound size.

• CS4 introduced bleeds into set up.

ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR

SIZE document/page + bleed

• Single page documents: set size to trim size

• Multi-page documents: set size to stitched or bound size.

• All versions of InDesign have bleed settings built into the document set up.

ADOBE InDESIGN

SIZE document/page + bleed

• Single page documents: set size to the trim size + bleed.

• Multi-page documents: set size to flat size + bleed.

• Photoshop doesn’t have bleed settings in document set up.

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

ADOBE ILLUSTRATORADOBE InDESIGN

trim size trim size no bleed trim size with bleed

ADOBE PHOTOSHOP

trim size no bleed trim size with bleed

COLOR

COLOR

1. RGB

2. CMYK

3. SPOT (Pantone)

3 TYPES OF COLOR YOU WILL WORK

WITH IN PRINTING

COLORdefinitions

• RGB - Red, Green, Blue: based on the human eye’s perception of color. Used primarily in electronic formats – monitors, tv, etc...

• CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black: also know as four color process or full color process. Used in commercial and desktop printing.

• K does not stand for black. It stands for key. The cyan, magenta and yellow plates are aligned to match the black or key plate.

• SPOT - Pantone (PMS), Toyo, HKS: a single color that is not made through separations like CMYK. Can be comprised of a solid ink or mixture of ink colors.

COLORCMYK

Due to CMYK’s smaller gamut it is important to ensure you design in CMYK color mode and all your images are converted to CMYK before printing.

Failure to do so could result in undesired color shifts.

COLORCMYK

RGB CMYK

COLORSPOT

Designing in spot colors is acceptable when the final piece will print in a specific spot color or in combination to CMYK.

Be sure to let the printer know your piece contains spot colors!

COLORSPOT

PMS 021 CMYK

COLORBLACK VS. RICH BLACK

Not all blacks print the same!

It is important when you are designing in a large solid black area that you use rich black.

Rich black formula:

C = 40% M = 30% Y = 20% K = 100%

IMAGES

1. COLOR

2. RESOLUTION

3. SIZE

3 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN WORKING WITH

IMAGES

IMAGESRESOLUTION

DPI or PPI of the images you use for print is crucial!

Unlike images used for web graphics which are acceptable at 72dpi, images for print need to be at least 300dpi.

An exception is when using images from a digital camera. In this instance, the images can be 72dpi but need to be at least 4 times larger than the final printed image size; i.e., 18x24 image at 72dpi will print properly at 4.5x6 or smaller.

IMAGESHIGH RES VS. LOW RES

HIGH RES IMAGE LOW RES IMAGE

IMAGESSIZE

DPI or PPI of the images you use for print is crucial!

As mentioned earlier – your document needs to include bleed if you have any images or artwork going to the edge.

Avoid stretching images to compensate for bleed.

Ensure the size of the image used includes bleed room.

F ONTS

FONTSa few things to remember

• To reduce the chance for font substitution do one of the following:

1. Provide the font packages used when sending your artwork.

2. Photoshop - flatten your document.

3. Other programs - convert your fonts to outlines, paths or curves.• this turns fonts into artwork

• avoid this option when working with multi-page documents as it will dramatically increase the file size.

FONTSBLACK VS. RICH BLACK

Not all blacks print the same!

Unless using large type/font point size don’t use rich black type.

Rich black type on small type/font point sizes will have a “halo” effect. This effect is caused by the natural discrepancy of having to register all 4 colors in a small area.

PAPER

PAPERdefinitions

• Coated - paper which has a buffed clay added to provide a smooth surface. Coated stocks include matte, dull, satin, gloss, etc... Coated papers allow the ink to sit on top on the stock rather than absorbing in.

• Matte is not the same as uncoated!

• Uncoated - paper which does not have a clay added. Uncoated stocks include opaque, linen, smooth, offset, etc... Uncoated papers absorb ink.

• c1s & c2s - coated one side / coated two sides. Typically found in card stocks – 12pt., 14pt. 15pt., etc...

• Watermark - paper that has a translucent image molded into the body of the stock.

• Watermarked papers are typically not economically conducive for most commercial printers.

• Cover Weight - a thicker stock than text or writing grade stocks.

• 65# cover, 80# cover, 100# cover, 120# cover

• Writing vs. Text - both thiner stocks than cover stock or card stock.

• 20# writing = 50# text, 24# writing = 60# text, 28# writing = 70# text

CORYROGERS

5 basic “need to knows”

DESIGNING FOR COMMERCIAL

PRINTING

Size Color Images Fonts Paper

“Measure twice, cut once.”

email - cory@copycraft.comtwitter - corydonrogers

Copy Craft Social Mediatwitter - copycraftfacebook - facebook.com/copycraftyoutube - youtube.com/copycraft