Introduction to the Printing Process - From Digital to Print

A look at some of the printing process involved in getting digital artwork into print and some rules to follow to avoid disappointment.

For this article, I will focus on a business card as an example since these are nice little graphic designs that are simple but still involve all the processes. You can learn how to create a business card with InDesign in my graphic design tutorial.

Printing Process

There are several printing processes, and depending on which one you plan on using, you may need to structure your designs towards that particular process. For instance, if you want to create a business card with intricate designs, letterpress might not be the best choice due to its limitations. In such cases, digital printing or spot UV might be more suitable.

Letter Press Printing

The oldest print process is the letterpress. This consists of a series of letter blocks arranged to form text or images carved into blocks for imagery. Ink is then applied to these blocks and pressed against the paper. This creates a relief image on the paper. Many copies can be created by re-inking and pressing against another sheet of paper.

Although the process of the original letterpress has stayed the same, modern advances allow automatic re-inking and continuous print from spools of paper.

Die-Cutting

Die Cutting, a process that allows the print material to be cut according to a non-standard pattern, can bring a truly memorable appeal to your prints. It uses a steel die to cut materials such as paper, cards, or metal, creating eye-catching designs that are uniquely yours.

It can be a clever idea to add to your design, but it does cost and can detract from usability if the materials or shape does not fit the standard form.

Spot UV

Spot UV is a process where a gloss or varnish is applied to sections of the design. It adds texture and depth to the design and creates distinctive artwork. For example, you can use spot UV to highlight your logo or a specific design element, making it stand out and adding a touch of elegance to your business card design.

Emboss

Embossing can be really elegant. The process creates a raised or sunk area on the design. It adds a nice texture and creates a third dimension to the design. It changes the nature of the material and elevates it to a much higher level of quality. The process does cost quite a bit more.

Textured

Not as expensive as embossing, but you can print onto the textured paper stock or card to create a high-quality look and feel as well. The textured paper feels nice and memorable.

Printing and Pre-Press Basics

So far, we have covered a lot of software and application tools and processes, but printing processes are equally important. These occur when you send your designs off to print. They are important as you want to get the results you expect when they return from the printer.

Colour Modes

Several different colour modes are available when designing. These are covered in greater depth in the colour theory tutorial but just to recap:

RGB - Red, Green and Blue colours are for display as pixels in the screen are formed of red, green and blue LEDs. Adding Red, Green and Blue together in light form creates white.

CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black) - These are for print. Adding combinations of these colours creates other darker colours. All added together make black in print. The key is black ink, used for blacks as it is a darker shade and does not waste ink from the other colours.

When designing for print, it's crucial to understand the use of CMYK colour modes. The conversion can significantly alter the appearance of your design, so it's best to start with the right mode from the beginning to ensure your vision is accurately translated onto the print.

Image Quality

With regards to resolution, higher is better. For web or display, 72 dpi is sufficient, but for print, a minimum of 300 dpi is a must. Lower resolutions can lead to disappointing print results, with some printers even refusing anything less than 150 dpi due to the lower quality.

Plain Black vs Rich Black

Not all colours are created equal. There are different shades of black; believe it or not, you can create a deeper, darker, blacker black using colours than you can by printing black itself.

This is all down to the make-up of the colour and the percentage of each ink used. Plain black uses CMYK values of 0, 0, 0, and 100, whereas a rich black would use 75, 68, 67, and 90. This rich black uses portions of all colours mixed. This is the default mode in Adobe.

Knowing the differences between these is important. Using completely saturated CMYK levels is generally not advisable as it will saturate the paper with ink. It is also not advisable to use a rich black when printing text. This is because when printing plain black, one layer of colour is printed. When printing rich black, four layers are printed, one on top of the other. Any variation, of which there will be some, albeit tiny, will make the text appear slightly blurry. To avoid this, consider using plain black for text and reserve rich black for background or large design elements.

Typography

Typography is an important design element to consider when sending designs to print. You should always avoid applying characteristics like bold or italics to fonts. These are generally system-generated and will change between systems. Always use fonts from the typeface designed explicitly for the print process - an example would be using "Helvetica Bold" instead of using Helvetica and applying a bold character.

Marks and Bleed

Marks and Bleeds are effectively in the margins. The bleed area is the excess image not within the printable area. This excess image is printed on the printer on the paper stock but is then cut down to size. Bleed is required as the paper may move around slightly during the print, so bleed ensures that no area is left unprinted. Bleed also allows edge-to-edge printing. You should ask your printer how much bleed is required. Generally, 3-5mm is needed.

Trim marks are small marks added to the margin so the printer knows where to cut and trim the document. You can also add colour bars and registration marks. These help the printer align each colour plate correctly. Colour bars are used to ensure that the ink density is correct. Printers usually set these up themselves but check with your printer first.