Putting All of the Pieces Together

eeing a project roll off a printer's press can be either an exhilarating or horrifying experience. What's the difference? Why do some projects go as expected while others do not? Quite often it comes down to a lack of understanding of the printing process and a lack of communication between the designer and the printer.

Before a piece is even designed, its important to understand several key areas. First and foremost, I would suggest that you need to have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish with your piece and how much you can afford to spend for printing. These factors will greatly impact the design. How many colors should you use? Should you use process colors, PMS/spot colors, or just colored paper? What paper weight should you use? Should it be coated or uncoated? Will you be using envelopes? Will a certain paper adversely affect halftone reproduction?

There's a long list of things to ask your prospective printer and several things that your printer will need to know about your project. Your printer may often be able to make suggestions for keeping your printing costs low. Even if your budget won't permit you to use a lot of color or expensive paper, there are still ways, through duotones or tritones for example, to produce professional and interesting designs. Different forms of varnishing could be a consideration.

Once a piece is off the press, the production process doesn't have to end there. There are many forms of finishing such as binding, scoring and cutting that can be taken into consideration to make a piece more interesting and effective.

How can you tell if a printer is right for you? One of the ways that you can tell is through their equipment and the method that will be used to print your piece. There are a lot of different ways to print a piece and it's in your best interests to know about each method. Common methods of printing include Letterpress, Flexography, Gravure/Rotogravure, Engraving/Thermography, Offset Lithography and Silkscreen. For short-run printing you might want to consider photocopying, direct-to-plate or digital printing. Web printing might be something to consider for large print runs.

The bottom line is communication. By understanding the different components of printing and by talking to your prospective printer, you'll be far more likely to avoid big and costly headaches in the the end.

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