Five Nuggets of Print Wisdom
You think you know printing, but really, you don’t! So why not give this article a chance to simmer a bit and I hope it will lead you to the right path, the next time you have something printed.
- Your design is only as good as your pixels.
- How many times have you heard us talk about high-resolution images? If you want your images to come out clear and crisp we need at least 300dpi. Creating extra pixels out of thin air is not one of the tricks in our magic bag.
- How many times have you heard us talk about high-resolution images? If you want your images to come out clear and crisp we need at least 300dpi. Creating extra pixels out of thin air is not one of the tricks in our magic bag.
- CMYK is the language we speak.
- CMYK stands for C-Cyan, M-Magenta, Y-Yellow and K-Black.
- These are the 4-colors used in printing. Everything else is generated from these four colors and they are called processed colors. Forget about RGB too, because those colors only exist in technology like your laptop screen, your mobile phones, cameras, etc. And the twine shall never meet. There are special colors too but that’s a totally different subject.
- CMYK stands for C-Cyan, M-Magenta, Y-Yellow and K-Black.
- Paper is not created equal.
- If you want your materials to stand-out and be noticed. You have got to invest in good paper. Bond paper substance 16 will simply not cut it for you. Unless you intend to make good paper airplanes with it.
- If you want your materials to stand-out and be noticed. You have got to invest in good paper. Bond paper substance 16 will simply not cut it for you. Unless you intend to make good paper airplanes with it.
- A good cut means ⅛ inch bleed on all sides.
- A 1/8 inch bleed is a standard requirement for all designs you submit to your printer. What does it mean? Simply extend your image and background by 1/8in on all sides. Why? So that when we trim the page, you do not see white spaces not meant to be shown.
- A 1/8 inch bleed is a standard requirement for all designs you submit to your printer. What does it mean? Simply extend your image and background by 1/8in on all sides. Why? So that when we trim the page, you do not see white spaces not meant to be shown.
- For heaven’s sake, return those proofs!
- Digital proofs are supplied by printers so you can check the layout, the colors, spelling, grammar, images, etc… It is best to take the opportunity to let your printer know if you are happy with everything or you still need to do some changes. However, you must by all means return those proofs to your printer because it will be passed on to the press operators as a guide during the actual printing.
