Modern Original Art

Printers' Measurements

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There are a few measurements that can be used when setting up your document. • The Point - There are 72 points to an inch. All type is designated in points. Typefaces may be different sizes from 4pts to 144pts. Line spacing is also measured in points (eg. 2 points of leading, kerning, etc...) •The Pica- There are 12 points to 1 pica, and approximately 6 picas to 1 inch. The length of the line (linear measurement) is specified in picas, as well as the depth of the area. eg. a block of copy is to be set 10 picas wide by 20 picas deep. Inches are never used in type measurement. •The em- It is the square of the type size. It is not part of the point system. •The Agate line-line measurement used by newspapers to sell advertising space. There are 14 agate lines to an inch. The width of the column can vary from paper to paper.

Typography

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Typography is one of the most important aspects in your design. There are several classifications of typefaces which include: OLD STYLE: is wide and round, with pointed serifs that make a nice contrast between the heavy and light strokes. Garramond is an example of this typeface. MODERN: are distinguished by extreme contrast in thic and thin strokes, whith thin, squared-off serifs. Bondoni, Times Roman are examples of this typeface. SQUARE SERIF: has square or blocked serifs and mor or less uniform storkes, the face is even in texture and weight with little contrast. Lubalin Graph is an example SANS SERIF: has no serifs, and the face is generrally even in overall weight with very little contrast between thick and thin strokes. Helvetica is an example SCRIPT: there are no serifs or large contrast between thick and thin strokes. Zapf Chancery is an example TEXT LETTERS: resemble hand drawn letters of early scribes. old english is an example DECORATIVE TYPE: does not fit any classification; used to generate a specific mood. chickenscratch is an example

Preflight Checklist

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FILE PREP FOR PREFLIGHT Preflighting is used to make sure your digital files that are reqired for the printing process are valid, correctly formatted and all necessary files are in the correct folder including fonts, pictures, and any other files are used. The preflight will locate and make sure all files are in the correct folder for printing. If one file is missing preflight will indicate a file is missing. JOB SHEET: every job should have this included with the file. It should include: company name, number, fax, job #, directories and file names, description of fonts and color swatches, software used and printing instructions. PROOFS: All customers should recieve a proof with a signature authorizing you to send to final print. This is to assure that any or all corrections have been completed. Proofs should have graphics, fonts, bleeds and include crop marks if required for the job. Make sure you note on the proof if the size is not 100% of the final product. Again label all proofs with your contact information as well as the customer. Having a proof signed off by client could save you thousands if the client ever goes back on you. COLOR SEPARATION PROOFS: You may want to check to make sure all of the colors separate properly. DUMMY: The dummy will indicate folds, diecuts, page set up FONTS: Be sure to include your font folder of all fonts used. Do not use the Bold and Italic at the top of the page to identify font sturcture!!! You need to use the correct font if it is bold helvetica make sure you have the true font (Type 1, TrueType, Open Type), also make sure fonts are not corrupt. -convert fonts into outlines or paths PRINTING SET UP: check placement of crop marks (if using) and make sure your bleeds are no more than 1/8" . BACK UP COPIES: Never send the only copy of a file you have, make sure you have a copy of everything you sent out for a job. Make sure you label cd with your company name, job #, files, fonts or images on the disk. Make sure you include the most current file to be printed. SENDING FILES VIA INTERNET: make sure you zip your file GRAPHICS: Send all graphics used in your file at the correct size. If it is cropped send it cropped. If it is scaled send it scaled.

Color

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Color is the perceptual characteristic of light described by color. Colors can be mixed in any color ink you like, you will just be charged for the cost of the special ink. An additional color used in your design is called a flat color, match color or most commonly the spot color. PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (PMS): The pantone matching system is an industry-standard with a collection of over 1000 colors that printers use. The easiest way to specify a color to the printer is to give the Pantone number. CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black. CMYK is a subtractive color model used in color printing, and works through light absorption. RGB: is another system of defining color. Comes from three primary colors, Red, Green and Blue. RGB is commonly used for the display of colors on a television or computer's moniter. Each pixel on the screen can be represented in the computer or interface hardware (eg. a graphics card) as values for red, green and blue. These values are converted into intensities which are then used for displays. On a computer screen or television at standard viewing people cannot distinguish more than a few hundred hues. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ SPOT COLOR- In offset printing, a spot color is any color generated by an ink (pure or mixed) that is printed in a single run. The offset printing process is composed of four spot colors: CMYK PROCESS COLOR: Process color is the shortened term for "four-color printing process" Other ways of referring to this printing process include four color, CMYK, full process and full color. The FOUR-COLOR printing process uses four standard ink colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. "K" in CMYK which is black represents the "Key". Using black ink provides shadow detail and reduces the amout of primary colors needed to print dark hues. The four-color process also relies on "halftoning", which converts an image into a moasic of tiny solid dots. The dots can be seen by maganifying a black and white photograph printed in a newspaper. With four-color printing halftoning allows lighter shades of the primary colors to be printed. . Whithout halftoning the three primary process colors could be printed only as solid blocks of coulor and would only produce six shades. The THREE PROCESS-COLOR inks are primary colors. Theoretically the primary colors produce all other colors. Cyan is a bright bluish-green, magenta is a bright purplish-red, yellow is a bright yellow. These colors are subtractive primaries, which means when combined they absorb all light theoretically resulting in black. This is contrasted when you add the primary colors red, blue and green; when added form the white light. Printers do not like to have flat colors overlapping, because it slows the rate of drying the inks and may the product may smudge. Adjacent areas of flat color will need to overlap to a small extent to all for misregistration. This is called trapping. In Illustrator or Freehand ***If you are working in full color alway convert imported Pantone colors to CMYK**** right away. In paint programmes like photoshop work in RGB until you've nearly finished then convert to CMYK. This will keep your file size down and faster.

Visual Elements

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Visual communication should intend meaning and posure through contrast, and harmony, style and cultural target. We are a visual culture. Design is everywhere and is a means of expression and communication. Visual elements such as line, color, scale, texture, shape, tone are the basic ingredients in our design to create instant effortless messages to our readers. Contrast: Asymmetry, Complexity, exaggeration, activeness, boldness, transparency, distortion, justaposition, randomness, sharpness Harmony: Balance, symmetry, simplicity, predictability, neutrality, diffusion, unity Contrast and harmony are some techniques for visual communication

Color - Positive/Negative Keywords

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RED + Strength, Courage, Confidence - Brutality ORANGE + Acceptance - Indifference YELLOW + Happiness, Intellectual energy - Crass, Cold GREEN + Nature, Fertility,Empathy - Inflexible, Mean, Bitter BLUE + Serene, Justice - Intolerant, disloyal INDIGO + Wisdom, Insight - Delusion VIOLET + Royalty, Noble, Divine inspiration - Perfectionist, Self-doubting

Trapping

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Trapping refers to how much overprinting colors overlap to eliminate white lines between colors in printing. Trapping digital files are used for compensating for misregristration on the printing press by printing small areas of overlapping color. Dry trapping is printing wet ink over dry ink. Wet trapping is printing wet ink over previously printed ink. The paper or plate applying the ink may shift. It may be 1mm shift but this can throw off your design enough to be noticed depending on the product you are printing. When will you use trapping? When you are printing 2 diffenent colors that overlap they "knockout". They will not print on top of each other. Knockouts may require trapping so there are no color gaps or white spaces where they are not suppose to be on your final product. When using trapping you also need to know how to set the trap depending on the number of overlapping objects, imported images, and the use of gradient fills need to be taken into consideration There is manual trapping in Adobe Illustrator. You can create simple manual traps by applying outlines (overprinting strokes) to objects or use a plug-in that applies the appropriate trap There is also built in trapping in Quark X-Press, Adobe PageMaker and Adobe InDesign If trapping is necessary you can talk to your printer about their recommendations. Printing companies also have dedicated trapping software like TrapWise and Trapper.

Submitting your files

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Media: Files can be submitted by 3.5" floppies in some print shops. Check with shop before using. The most commonly used are zip or jaz files. There is also Bernoulli and recordable cd's. Electronic File Transfer (EFT): Files can be submitted via e-mail, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and by modem. EFT's may not be practical choice if you are sending a large file and may take a long time depending on the type of internet connection you are using.

What is prepress?

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What is Prepress? Prepress is a term used to describe the process used to make a document ready for print in any environment. screening (eg. with photographs) copyediting type (kerning, widows, orphans) proofreading (spelling, page layout, document size, bleeds, gripper edge) retouching (modify or correct photographic images) imposition (layout of pages so that after folding, collating, printing and trimming they all end up in the correct order and right way up) trapping ( creating an overlap between areas to compensate for any misregistration) color separation (make sure colors separate properly) and that your using proper colors if requires spot, cmyk or special pantone. In other words there are things that need to be done to get a file printed, either through laser or digital printing format. Proofreading, editing, layout, scanning and color separation are the major ones. Which should all be done before you send your files to the printer. Once you have gone through all of the steps a plate is created then a proof. The proof will be checked by prepress technician or you may also request to see it.

Using Color

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BLUE

The color blue is associated with the ability to communicate, speak your mind. It is also associated with intelligence, honesty, and loyalty.

WHITE

White is used as a symbol of purity and cleanliness, and spirituality. It is a natural reaction to respond positively to white. It contains all of colors of the spectrum and reflects light. It is most often used by doctor's, priest's, brides.

GREEN

Green is in the middle of the color spectrum and holds the balance between red and blue. It is the main color in nature. It is a soothing and stabilizing color.

YELLOW

Stimulating, motivating. Gold or golden yellow represents knowledge at it's highest level.

Preparing Digital Prepress Files

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DOCUMENT TO PRINT

The layout of your document involves many aspects

• Page Layout / set up
• Color
• Imports
• Fonts
• Resolution
• Imposition & Folding
• Bleeds
• Ink coverage
• Transparencies
• Artwork & print format
• Dpi
• Converting files in photoshop, Illustrator, Corel for print/web

PAGE LAYOUT

• Always define your document page size to equal your final trim size.

• You should always pull a bleed 1/8" beyond the page boundary if bleeds are not present on the film, bleeds must be added and new film run or your document will have to be under trimmed. Lack of bleeds is sometimes overlooked during pre-flighting of your document on the screen. Cutting can only be accurate to about 1.5 mm when chopping small items like flyers.

COLOR

• Unless specified; all colour printing is full color and should be completed and saved in CMYK process. Do not use Pantone or similar colors unless pre-arranged for specialist jobs.
• RGB color mode does not separate as process color correctly.
• Define spot colors as Spot colors - The only way to get a film separation for the spot colour you want is to have it defined as a spot color in your document. PMS colours ie Pantone 124 CV are not spot colors if they are defined as CMYK values in your document. Depending on the project this can be very time consuming if not properly planned for in the initial design stages.
• Define process colors as Process colors - A document made up of several spot colors can easily be made to convert all colours to process upon output. You can do this in most applications. Beware, this effects all of the spot colours on your document. Depending on the project this can be very time consuming if not properly planned for in the initial design stages.
• Match the color names- If your color import is PMS 125 CVC and your document additionally has Pantone 125 CV, you will get two corresponding spot plates. (counts as 2 colours instead of 1). Name your colours to match.

IMPORTS

• Scale all pictures and anything else you are using for your document at 100% or 1/8 over 100%. You lose quality dpi if scaled over. If your using Quark, the files should be resized in Photoshop / Illustrator before placing in Quark. You should also not use the convenient text display attributes (bold, italic, etc..) use the proper font family associated if you do not have it then download the proper file. Both may not work when the file is ripped and may result in fonts and pictures that are unreadable.
• Predefined trapping amounts will become too slight or too large if vector art is scaled in a page layout. Example. a .2pt trap on an overprinting stroke becomes a full point trap when artwork is enlarged by 500%

FONTS

It is critical to organize your fonts!!! Your fonts should be organized by job name or # or by By Client. Each client may use a specific set of fonts for all of their jobs. There are programmes that you can use as well such as: suitcase fusion that will allow you to manually organize your fonts and also includes an option to add fonts temporarily and activate them on demand.

You must make sure you keep all PostScript font components (and outlined fonts) in the same folder together for each project.

• Missing font files is one of the biggest problems when it comes to digital printing. It only takes one missing file to put a print job on hold and behind schedule. Some programmes gather your fonts in a specific folder.
• It is very important to include all fonts used in a document when you send a file to print. If the font is missing the print font will default, to something I am sure you will not want, this is called type reflow. Even include it if you are using Helvetica; there are many variations and the one the print shop may have may be different than the one you want.

RESOLUTION

If the final output of the dpi is too low the quality of your final print product will suffer, and if the dpi is too high then you are increasing RIP time.

• All non-vector artwork should be supplied at a minimum of 300dpi. If the final output dpi (resolution) is too low, quality will not be present.

• Use caution when scaling images. Remember if you have an image that has a resolution at 100%, a 300 dpi image that is 2" x 2", the quality will be there when placed. If you place that same image in your document at 200%, that reduces your output dpi to 75 you will lose your image quality.

PHOTOSHOP FILES

• Photoshop files should be saved as uncompressed tiff files or Photoshop EPS files.
• All Photoshop files must be flattened prior to saving. Tiff files saved with layers or EPS files containing vector information may not work properly when ripped.
• CMYK
• 300 dpi
• include fonts with file

ILLUSTRATOR

• save as eps
• images embedded
• create outlines
• include fonts with file

COREL

• convert all files generated in CorelDraw and Corel Photo-paint to bitmap files: TIFF or JPEG.
• Saving CorelDraw documents as EPS is possible but may alter the artwork.

REMEMBER

**One simple rule CMYK. Images in RGB or other color modes do not separate the same as process color correctly. ***

**One simple rule about FILE FORMAT - TIFF OR EPS. The internet has many formats that have been introduced but they are only good for the internet. They are not for postscript output. For printing files must be postscript friendly. TIFF or EPS formats. **