the print process

8/14/2019 The Print Process

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The Print Process

Embossing

Writing a Brief

How To Write An Effective Design Brief

A design brief is a written explanation outlining the aims, objectives and milestones of a design

project whether for a simple business card, or a complete corporate identity makeover. A

thorough and articulate design brief is a critical part of the design process. It helps developtrust and understanding between the client and designer and serves as an essential point of

reference for both parties. The design brief ensures that important design issues are

considered and questioned before the designer starts work.

Where to start

Start your design brief with a short, honest look at your organisation or company. Don't take

this information for granted, and don't assume that the designer will necessarily know anythingabout your industry sector.

Tell your designer: What your organisation does

How long you have been established and how many staff you employ What your niche market is

How you fit in to your industry sector


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Your Aims

Good design can have a huge influence on the success of a company's marketing strategy - butin order for success to be ensured, clear goals must be set.

What do you want to do? :-

Generate sales? Encourage enquiries?

Gain newsletter subscribers? Obtain information from your audience?

Encourage them to tell a friend?

If your aims and objectives are not this clear, then your design brief has already achievedanother purpose... One of most rewarding parts of actually sitting down and writing a design

brief is that it helps to consolidate your thoughts and can indirectly help to find flaws in whatyou initially thought was a solid idea.

Your CustomerIdentify your primary, secondary and tertiary audiences. Explain if you are looking to

consolidate your existing client-base or appeal to new markets. Detail any demographic figuresabout your audience that may be useful to the designer. These may include:

Age

Sex Income

Occupation

Location

Your Budget And Time-ScaleEven if you can only provide a ball-park figure, a budget expectation will give the designer a

good idea of the type of solution they will realistically be able to provide. Time scale is also animportant consideration - so let your designer know if there is a specific deadline that has to be

met.

Consult with Others

Consult with as many people within your organisation as possible before sending the brief.Showing the design brief to different people may reveal remarkable differences in the way

people see your organisation's aims and objectives. Resolving any differences in opinion willsave considerable time and expense further down the line.

Design Inspiration

Providing examples of what you consider to be effective or relevant design can be a great help

in writing a design brief. Make sure to include samples of your company's current marketingmaterials - even their only purpose is to explain what you don't want from your new marketingmaterials!

If there is a design style that you particularly like or dislike - then explain why in the brief. If

you're not entirely sure why you like a certain design style, then good starting points include: Colour

Imagery Quantity and quality of text

Typography


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The atmosphere that particular designs create

Don't feel that you have stick to the medium that you are designing for when giving a list of

inspiration and influences. If a television advert or music video creates the atmosphere thatyou want your flyer to create, then that is a perfectly reasonable statement to make in a

design brief.

The more clues you give about your design tastes, the more likely the designer will be able to

produce something close to your aims. Expecting your designer to second-guess what yourequire rarely produces the best results.

Using a Graphic Designer

When it comes to allocating a budget for design, many clients place graphic

design way down the list. However the effects of good design can be veryrewarding. A well designed logo will be more engaging and have better rate of

retention - greatly increasing recognition of your brand.

If a company is going to survive in a competitive market, then it will need to

periodically review its corporate identity and image management. Simply put,design adds value.

It costs the same to print your letterhead, card and brochures with or without gooddesign. A bit of investment in design will help your material make a greater

impact.

A designer will discuss options with you to increase the return on your print and

advertising investment and help improve your business. People often wonderhow businesses become truly successful. There are several elements that create

success in business. One element is graphic design and quality advertising. Agood graphic designer can be your best friend for marketing and growing your


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business.

Graphic Design can be a lot of things to many people. A strong identity design

logo and supporting themes can be the needed edge to push your company toits fullest potential. When you team a strong identity with an advertising

campaign you are sure to boost awareness of your company and createadditional traffic whether it be on foot or online. Quality graphic design is thehidden reason for the success of many companies and the downfall of

companies that do not take advantage of the experience and expertise of agraphic designer.

Graphic Designers are your key resource to logo design, letterhead and business

card design, print and web advertising, annual reports, web design, and manymore design options.

Paper and Card Types

There are hundreds of different types of paper and card on the market, and

it 's impossible to show you what the differences are through this website.

suffice to say, that there are a few that you can't go wrong with - shown

opposite.

Thickness is measured in Grams (gm), the higher the number, the heavierthe paper / card.

Cartridge papers are most often used for letterheads and compliment slips.

The Laid and Wove Conqueror papers tend to have a slight texture andwatermark in them and are particularly nice.

Gloss, Silk and Matt Art Papers are mostly used for Leaflets and Bookletswhereas the cards tend to be used for business cards, folders and boxes

100gm WhiteCartridge100gm Tinted

Cartridge100gm Zeta Linen100gm ZetaHammer100gm ConquerorLaid

100gm ConquerorWove100gm HeritageRecycle105gm Mellotex120gm Cartridge130gm Triple CoatedGloss130gm Triple CoatedSilk Art130gm Triple CoatedMatt Art160gm Tinted Card170gm Triple Coated

Gloss170gm Triple Coated


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Silk Art170gm Triple CoatedMatt Art250gm HeritageRecycled Card260gm Zeta Card280gm Triple CoatedGloss

280gm Triple CoatedSilk Art280gm Triple CoatedMatt Art300gm ConquerorCard Laid

300gm ConquerorCard Wove400gm Gloss Art400gm Silk Art400gm Matt Art

Special Inks

Hexachrome

For most printing conventional colour made up of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black is quite

acceptable. Where extra vibrancy and impact is needed Hexachrome may be the answer. In theHexachrome Process the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black colours are supplemented with Orange

and Green. This means a much greater range of Pantone colours can be reproduced accurately,

and pictures can look much more vibrant and life-like.

Currently the only programmes which support Hexachrome directly are Quark Express orCorelDraw on either the PC or Apple Macintosh platforms. Pantone have also produced plugins

for use with Adobe Indesign, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. Normally exports from a

programme do not support the Hexachrome Channels, which means that a full Hexachrome designmust be carried out in one programme. However, using the plugins, elements of a design can be

carried out in any of the Adobe suite of programmes.


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Hexachromecolour swatch

books areavailable from

Pantone. SolidPantone

colours orparticular housecolours need to

be matched to

theirHexachrome

equivalents.

There are

currently noeconomical ways

of proofingHexachrome.

always try asmall print run to

prove theartwork before a

largeHexachrome job

is printed.Metal FX

Metal FX is a process which allows any number of metallic colours to be incorporated in to aconventional CMYK print job. An ultra opaque fast drying silver is applied in various tints in the

areas to be metallized and tints of CMYK inks are applied on top to produce the metallics. The

eye-catching effects that can be achieved are possible without the excessive extra cost

normally associated with process plus spot colour print.

New releases of Corel Draw, QuarkXpress, Illustrator etc are planned to incorporate the Metal

FX technology. Currently, however, no software supports the system.If you would like toincorporate Metallic colours in to your next design simply design in CMYK as normal. On the

print out accompanying the file, detail the areas to be metallized and the colours to be used.

The Metal FX process is most effective on Gloss Art Paper. Whilst good results can also be

achieved on Silk Art (Business Cards) or Matt Art (Handouts) the results are less predictable.There are currently no economical ways of proofingMetal FX. We would always recommend a

small print run to prove the artwork before a large Metal FX job is printed.


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Special Shapes

a special cutting tools called a 'forme' can be made, allowing the a custom shape, completely to yourown design.

There is usually a charge for a forme to be manufactured, but is usually a one-off charge, and the

forme can be re-used many times.

Proofs

The Client Proof Copy

A client proof copy is where the customer sends the printing company an image of what he expects

his artwork should look like. These can be prints sent through the post or can be emailed in a digital

format as a jpeg, tiff, bmp or PDF. Provided the computer images supplied are at least 300dpiresolution then the same file can serve also be used as the original to send to press.

Colour matching is a very difficult process and it is normal to expect the same computer files tolook different on every desktop printer and computer monitor that you use to view it. This is one of

the reasons printers offer a final proof service to customers, so that there are no surprises.

Proofs

Pre-press proofs are not usually offered as a standard service, ordinarily your files will simply bechecked against your client proof copy provided and proceed to print. The system is fast and

efficient. However, in some circumstances proofs are desirable and they will be able to produce


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proofs from your digital artwork prior to printing.

The main three different types of proof are as follows :

PDF proofs; these are sent digitally via email. They are ideal for checking layout and contentbut are not colour accurate and so are of little use when there are issues of colour, such as

matching to a House colour.

Laser Proofs these are sent by post and provide something tangible to look at. Again these

are not colour accurate and their use is limited to content and layout proofing.

Wet proofs are an exact match to the job which will eventually be printed since they are asmall run of the finished job on press. We would always recommend a small run of print (to

be used as a wet proof) prior to any very large run of printCMYK Printing

The majority of the print we produce is printed using the full colour (also known as four colour)

print process. The system uses four base colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. By using

combinations of these four base colours in various tints it is possible to produce virtually everycolour of the rainbow. Full Colour Printing allows photographs, coloured backgrounds and text to


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be printed together on the same sheet.

Spot Colour Printing

With Spot Colour Print the specific colours chosen are applied by the press. So if you want toprint violet and pink then it is violet and pink ink which is put in the ducts of the press. Full

Colour Print can get close to many colours but if your requirement is for an exact match, forinstance for a Corporate Letterhead, then Spot Colour is the best solution.

For simple jobs requiring only one or two colours it is often the case that Spot Colour is notonly better than Full Colour in terms of colour fidelity but also considerably less expensive.


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Digital Printing

Digital Presses are unique in that they use liquid ink rather than toner. No heat is used to fusethe ink on to the sheet and there is no oil residue on the printed sheets. This revolutionary

technology produces exceptional results.

The finished prints have the 'feel' of Litho Printing rather than Photocopies. There are no

problems laminating or encapsulating the finished print and no cracking of the print from thepaper on fold lines. The machines are able to print on a wide range of paper weights.

The legendary values of economy, quality and reliability really have entered the Digital Printarena.

Digital presses can work much as Litho presses producing the same print again and again. Ifyour requirement is simply for this there is a comprehensive list of prices opposite. However

using the machine as a low volume press fails to exploit the main advantage Digital has overLitho. This is the fact that every print the machine produces can be completely different from

the print before and the print following. The marketing potential of fully personaliseddocuments is enormous. We are at the vanguard of Personalised print technology. Experience

shows that mailshots which use this type of technology are considerably more effective that

un-personalised or even conventionally personalised mailshots. Generally the more 'personal'the letter appears the greater is the response.

Click Here for examples of the very last word in personalisation and imagine how this new
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innovation could work for you!

Large Format Printing

Using high definition printers, with the very latest piezo-electric inkjet technology, it ispossible to create big Images of exceptionally high definition at 720dpi, up to 1524mm (60

inches) wide.

Posters for use away from sunlight

These Big Image posters are printed using Dye based Inks. Dye based inks produce extremelyvibrant colours and are very economically priced. It should be noted that Dye Ink posters will

fade if exposed to sunlight for prolonged periods. Used internally their life is virtuallyunlimited.

Sunlight stable posters

External use Big Image posters are printed using Solvent based Inks. Solvent inks areguaranteed stable against UV light exposure for up to three years. In practice the durability

may be expected to be in excess of this. Solvent based inks are completely waterproof and

can be printed directly on to a number of non-porous stocks.

MaterialsWe offer a range of materials, some are suitable for either Dye or Solvent inks and some are

suitable for both.

170 gm Photorealistic Matt Paper (Dye and Solvent)

170 gm Gloss Paper (Dye and Solvent)

170 gm Satin Paper (Dye and Solvent)


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Wet Strength Paper, suitable for Bill boards (Solvent)

'Peelezee' Adhesive Opaque Film (Solvent)

Backlit Film for use in lightboxes (Dye and Solvent)

PSV Pressure Sensitive Vinyl - Vehicle Graphics (Solvent)

Reinforced Banner Vinyl (Solvent)

Cling Film (Dye)

Treviera Polycloth (Dye and Solvent)

ExtrasWith large images, why not consider pop-up display stands, roller displays etc.

FinishingLamination using 43 micron plastic film on the face side is standard on 170 gm Photorealistic

Matt paper.

Encapsulation is similar to lamination except that the plastic is applied to both sides of the

poster and extends beyond the poster edges. This makes the poster effectively waterproof andextremely durable.

Encapsulation is available in three grades: 43 micron, 125 micron and 250 micron per side.

Mounting the posters on to 10mm Centafoam board makes a rigid display which looks

particularly appealing and ideal for use at exhibitions and presentations.

Roping and Eyeletting banner vinyl allows the banner to be hung outside.

Hot Foil Stamping

The process of Hot Stamping is also known as foil stamping, hot foil stamping,

gold stamping, gold blocking, foiling, and gold leaf.

Hot Stamping is an industrial marking process

best known for the shiny metallic gold or silver

print it commonly produces.

Most people know hot stamping as thehologram on your credit card, the gold band

around a lady's lipstick, or gold print found onhard covered books.


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Hot stamping works by impacting a heatedmetal die against a coloured foil and the

product to be printed. Where the raisedsurface of the die meets connects with the foil

and product being stamped, the foil graphic is

permanently transferred to product.

Principal Benefits of Hot Stamping :

High value-added

Durability

Cost effective

Aesthetic appeal of metallic printing

Spot UV Varnish

Varnishing can really help to grab yourcustomers attention

Create a great first impression of

quality Instantly raise the interest level

Add to the drama and impact of yourmessage

Increases the perceived value of your

product

Make your printing more likely to beretained

A varnish is a liquid coating applied to a

printed surface (for example the outside of apresentation folder) to add a clear glossy,

matte, satin, or neutral finish.

A varnish increases colour absorption andspeeds up the drying process. By 'locking in'

in the ink under a protective coat, the varnishhelps to prevent the ink rubbing off when the

paper is subjected to handling. Varnishes are

used most frequently, and successfully oncoated papers.

Ultra Violet (UV) Varnishing is a process for achieving an even more striking type of coating on


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your printed material. Requiring the use of special Ultraviolet drying machinery, a UV coating is

like a deluxe version of the non-UV varnishes, with the varnish appearing noticeably richer andmore luxurious.

A UV varnish can be applied as either an all-over coating, or as a spot varnish:

Spot UV Varnish

As the name suggests, a Spot Varnish is applied to chosen spots (areas), of a printed piece.This has the affect of highlighting and drawing attention to that part of the design, but it alsoprovides the additional visual stimulus of having varied textures on a single printed surface.

This adds a lot of interest, and can identify the printing as a premium piece of literature in theperception of the reader.

One very effective technique is to apply a UV gloss spot varnish on top of matt laminatedprinting. This achieves maximum contrast between the highly reflective shiny UV coating and

the light-absorbing matt laminate, and can, for instance, create a striking first impression onpresentation folders or a brochure cover.

Textured Spot UV Varnish

A textured spot UV varnish allows the creative designer not only to surprise the recipient of theprinting with a mix of textures on the same printed surface, but also to reinforce the tactileproperties of the product he or she is depicting. For example, a manufacturer of ornamental

glassware could use a raised effect gloss UV varnish to give a highly reflective, 3-dimensionalportrayal of a featured piece of glass work, or an interior design company could use a

combination of leather, sandpaper or crocodile skin varnishes to highlight some of the different

textures the company works with.

Lamination

Eurobond Laminator (above)


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Thermal laminating film is the ultimate way to finish printed materials for beautiful and long-lasting results. Unlike UV and other coatings, thermal lamination provides maximum

protection against scratching, smudging and strengthens paper stocks whileproducing the sharpest and clearest images.

Laminating film comes in different finishes, however the two most popular are high-gloss, andmatt.

High gloss lamination is very eye-catching, reflecting the light, which enhances MetalFX inks.

Matt Lamination gives a feeling of understated luxury, especially when photographs are coatedwith Spot UV Varnish, it gives an outstanding impression.

Laminating films help to protect from moisture and abrasion whilst providing superior adhesion

to fully printed surfaces. The life of your print is extended, enabling you to make long-lasting and favourable impressions. Laminated products communicate quality and add

significantly to every product's real and perceived value. Laminations crisply andclearly communicate a feeling of substance, a sense that "this is something of

quality".

BENEFITS OF LAMINATION:

Extends the life of printed materials

Printed materials can be reused thousands of timesIncreases the colour life of printed materials

Deepens & brightens ink coloursEnhances contrast

Increases the bulk & stiffness of printed materials

Preserves colour, texture and formEnhances image & presentation

Protects from creasing, tearing, smudging & staining

With an encapsulated edge seal, laminated papers become waterproof

Embossing

Embossing creates a raised image on thepaper.

When the same process creates an indentedimage, it is called debossing.

Embossing simply means to press paper into

relief using heat and force. It requires an

etched metal (female) die and a matching(male) counterdie. (see below)


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.

When a paper stock is pressed between the

heated die and the counterdie, the desiredimage is pressed into the stock

You can achieve an elegant embossed effect

with only one level of etching that renders aflat image with either a bevelled or roundededge, or a sculpted look with many levels of

etching.

Obviously the more elaborate the design and

etching, the greater the cost of making the die.

Foil stamping can be added to the raisedsurfaces for a dramatic effect. But when the

embossing stands on its own merit, it's

referred to as blind embossing. By itself, it

communicates pure sophistication and style.

The most successful embossed materials incorporate a detailed die and a bulky paper stock toenhance the depth and intricacy of the final piece.

Since ink, paper, die and colour selection are all key elements in the success of an embossedor foil stamped product, it's a good idea to get the foil stamping shop involved in the project at

the design level. Before beginning any project involving the use of foil stamping and

embossing, it is recommended that you discuss your plans and expectations with your supplier.

Binding

Perfect BindingPerfect binding is commonly used for paper-

back books, telephone and street directories,glossy magazines, and increasingly for good

quality and prestige publications, annualreports etc.

The process binds pages securely with a

flexible adhesive creating exceptional results,

especially when coupled with a full colour coveron high quality stock.

Problems with the earliest technology related to pages becoming detached after heavy use

have now largely been overcome. Today, most top class magazines are perfect bound. With itscrisp, square spine, looks very attractive.

The sections of the book are collated, and their backs ground off leaving a rough surface upon

which the adhesive is applied. The cover is glued into place after it has been scored to allow


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the adhesive to slightly overlap the front and back of the book block. Uncoated matt stock

produces the best results for this type of binding.

Saddle Stitching

Saddle stitching is the most economical bindingavailable. Pick up a most high street

magazines to see what this looks like. Thepages are stapled together through the centre

of the spine of folded sheets.

Cheap cost and easy production makes thisbinding the most popular binding method.

Generally it can be used for books up toaround 6mm thick.

Cutting

Guillotine cutting

When your project has been printed, it maybe sent to a guillotine to clamp and cut a

crisp clean edge. Whether business cards,or a booklet - virtually all print jobs meet a

guillotine. Using precise computer controlledsettings, every printed item can be cut on

exactly the crop marks that are put onto the

design.

Polar 137 Programmatic Guillotine

Forme Cutting

If you need a curved edge or unusual shape

such as for a box (opposite), then you willrequire a cutting tool called a Forme made

(below).

Their is usually an initial setup cost for this,

but the forme will be ready whenever youwant it.


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Drilling

Paper drills are similar to paper punchesin that they are used to create holes inpaper.

However, they are much more powerfuland are designed to drill holes in large

stacks of paper. Paper drills can save agreat deal of time over punching a few

sheets at a time. They use special drillbits and can usually create holes with a

diameter of up to about 2.5". In addition,

many paper drills can drill several holesat one time such as this one opposite.

The drill bits that are used are completely different in appearance to the drill bits for wood or steel,and create a hole with a perfectly smooth edge.

Folding


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Folding machines such as the one shown above can score, crease and fold sheets at over30,000 sheets per hour. Simple 130 or 170gram paper can be simply folded, but thicker

papers / cards generally requires scoring and creasing to prevent cracking.

Perforating

Whenever you require a tear of strip, many print companies use a machine similar to this. It is designed todo high-quality numbering, perforating, and scoring. Perforating can also be used as a crease line e.g. for

CD inlay cards.


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Round Cornering

Corner rounders are great for getting rid ofsharp and annoying corners. The roundedcorners are safe and look professional.

Ideal for rounding covers, pouches, pictures, alltypes of identity cards, invitations, postcards,

bookmarks, business cards and plastic data-cards,

The hold down clamping secures the stock witheach stroke. The pneumatic operation allows

this machine to quickly cut little effort.

the print process

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