RGB vs CMYK
“Could we print the brochure in RGB? You know, it would be cheaper if we use one color less…”
To those who are unfamiliar with the world of printing; offset and digital printing requires 4 basic colors to make up the wide range of colors that are represented in the natural world: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.
In the digital/computer/television world, it is all made up of 3 colors, Red, Green and Blue. The combinations of these 3 colors are an interpretation of the actual natural light colors on your monitor.
If you look closely at your monitor, it’s made up of tiny RGB lights and if you look closely at a full color printed material, it’s made up of CMYK dots. This is what makes printing work.
RGB – Good for computer/digital use. Bad and not usable for printing (paper or clothing)
CMYK – Good for offset and digital printing. Bad and not interpreted correctly on the computer
Finishing Steps to Bindery
One of the most important aspects of any printed project are the final touches. Finishing or bindery, is what this final process is called. It is critical with any print project to plan with the final product in mind.
Understanding folding is important to any effective bindery process. Paper can be folding in many ways. Mis-measured folds are the causes of a reprinted job. In regards to digital printing, you can expect a tolerance of 1/16 inch per fold. This varies according to the weight and the caliper (thickness) of the paper stock and the overall location of the folds. Proper planning in the design stage will help eliminate bindery errors.
Illustrated are the most common folding styles used in print production today. Using standard names will help ensure good communication between designers and printers.
A few common folds that I normally deal within the digital print shop environment are as a follows:
- A letter fold is the most common of folds. Check out wikiHow for a step by step instruction.
- Typically accordian folds are simple zig-zag folds with 6-panels and two parallel folds that go in opposite directions. Each panel of the accordian fold is about the same size.
- In double parallel folds the paper is folded in half and then folded in half again with a fold parallel to the first fold.
- With French folds the paper is folded with crossfolds or right angle folds, often with a short first fold. The shorter portion or head in french folds may be folded to the inside (heads in) or outside (heads out).
- In a gatefold the left and right edges fold inward with parallel folds and meet in the middle of the page without overlapping. The paper might be folded again down the middle so that the folded edges meet and a fold is created in center panel of the paper – also known as a double gatefold.
- The folds in paper with parallel folds all run in the same direction, parallel to each other. Parallel folds are commonly used for all kinds of brochures (such as tri-fold), stationery inserted into business envelopes, and other materials. The specific direction of each of the parallel folds determines the type of folding pattern such as accordian or gatefold.
Common Misconceptions in Graphic Design and Printing
“Why does it always look different on my screen?
A client might ask for a specific Pantone color from their own Pantone swatch book. The designer sets the file exactly as it is required, yet when the client sees an example on their computer monitor they are very disappointed that the color isn’t the same or even close. Why is that?
Brightness, contrast, color settings… all monitors have them. Unless two monitors are calibrated to the exact same settings then the colors will always appear very different. The best way to color-match is to use printed proofs, and even then, your choice of paper can critically effect the color of your printed product.
When printing digital, ask your printer for a pantone swatch color sheet. This sheet will include all the pantone colors to give you a chance to see what the pantone colors look like when printed digitally. Remember, Pantone is a standard for offset printing to standardize the color reproduction system such as CMYK or spot colors.
“Can you use the image from the web for our brochure or rackcard?”
Sourcing images can be very time-consuming. Many people believe that an image they find online is perfect for any print job. However, in order to look clear, web images must have a minimum resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi). Digital or Offset Print work, on the other hand, requires images to have a minimum resolution of at least 300 dpi.
“Why does graphic design cost so much?”
The client doesn’t often see the process involved when a graphic designer takes on a design project. In fact, on most occasions the client will only see a few computer-generated proofs or design examples. It is always best to give your client a timeline of your design process so they can understand the steps that are necessary in the creative process.
For example: A designer typically only use a computer at the end of the design process. Beforehand comes clarifying the design brief, research, brainstorming and logo sketching.
What problems do you find cropping up again and again when dealing with graphic designers, clients or printer?Print-Ready PDF files
Print-ready PDF files Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) is great for a multitude of uses. It has caused a revolution in printing. Everything needed for high-resolution printing can be packed into one file that can be opened and printed using Adobe’s free Reader on almost any computer. The trick is, because a PDF can be created many different ways, to create it the correct way and pack it with the essential information for high-quality digital printing or a file that can be used for make-ready, for offset printing.
Here are a few of the minimum requirements for a PDF file to be usable for high-resolution printing using a digital print process.
- All fonts used in the document should be embedded in the PDF file. The preference for “Subsetting” the fonts should be set to 100%.
- For CMYK printing, all color in the document should be CMYK. This goes for ink colors as well as photos and illustrations.
- Make sure that the photos and line art in the document do not have their resolution reduced (downsampled) when the PDF is created. Photos should retain their 300 dpi resolution.
- The compression should be fine set on “automatic” but some say “zip” is better than “jpeg” for quality. You can also choose “none” and the photos will not be compressed when the PDF is created but, this will result in a larger PDF.
If you follow these guidelines, your PDF will work for high-resolution CMYK printing. The same PDF will also work in all the processes that require less resolution as well.
The term “make-ready” refers to everything done on a press to prepare for the final print job. This includes selecting the proper colors, getting the image placement correct, setting up the plates, and preparing the printer for the chosen paper size and weight. Getting everything right during make-ready helps to ensure a quality print run. This step would be considered finished when the printer is satisfied with a print, and can therefore begin the actual run.
