Some small knowledge about printing

1. Printed documents

Nowadays, graphic designers pay too much attention to renderings and neglect the effect of landing. Due to their ignorance of printing process and paper material, renderings are far from the real thing. In fact, printing is a very interesting thing. It is like experimenting in a laboratory to understand the characteristics of different materials and keep trying to experiment with the material technology that best suits your design.

At present, PDF is the most convenient file format for communication between customers, printing houses and colleagues. The formats of advertisements and media files submitted to newspaper and magazine publishers are also based on PDF, and the final output file of the printer is also high-resolution. PDF file.

Adobe‘s Acrobat, InDesign, Illustrator can save PDF files. In order to avoid repeatedly modifying the file settings to affect the design process, what needs to be done before starting the design is to optimize the compression program with the predefined settings. In Indesign, click PDF Preset→Print Quality. After customizing the PDF settings, click File→Export, select the .PDF format, and set the cropping, bleeding, and printer registration marks in a pop-up window. Check the file settings again in Acrobat to make sure it is correct.

If you are using InDesign to arrange your books, remember to select the "page" option when exporting the file, not "spread", export each P separately, and the printing shop can help us make up.

Font embedding is a careless designer must remember. If the font cannot be embedded, it is usually omitted in the folder or restricted by the printing house, so after opening, the font will be replaced. If your The design is floral style, and it becomes traditional Song style when printed out, which is sad. So remember to embed fonts when exporting files. The preflight check function in InDesign and AI can help us avoid errors.

2. Printing paper

The choice of paper is definitely a part of the design process that needs to be considered. The thickness, texture, and color of the paper will affect the feeling of design image transmission. In the process of making a sample, you can choose several more papers to ensure the effect.

Paper is calculated in grams (g) or grams per square meter (g/m²). The thickness of the paper is measured in calipers or millimeters, but it is not that the thicker the paper, the better the quality.

The opacity of paper refers to the degree to which text or images can pass through, which depends on the density and thickness of the paper. Professional paper companies will have their data or experience available for your reference.

– Matte paper, glossy paper, waxed paper:

Different paper surfaces affect the brightness of printing inks. Matte paper will absorb the ink on the surface, and there is basically no reflective gloss. Matte paper is used to print text, such as newspapers, books, etc., for easy reading. However, the ink will stay on the surface after it is printed on glossy paper, so more light shines on the paper under the font, the light is reflected and reflected, and the color will be deeper and stronger. This paper is suitable for book covers, magazines, brochures and outer packaging. and many more. Glossy paper is a paper between rough and glossy. The color of ink on glossy paper is not as strong as glossy paper, and the surface is not shiny.

– Coatings and polishes:

The role of paint and polishing agent is to protect the ink and enhance the effect of the ink area.

a. Varnishes: A printing coating that can be mixed with other inks or used alone. It can be used on matte paper, glossy paper, and glossy paper.

b. UV Coating (UV Coating), commonly known as UV: It is applied with liquid and then cured by ultraviolet radiation. This kind of coating can be used on matte paper and glossy paper, and it can be used for precise partial coating or full coverage.

c. Water-based matte, satin and gloss coatings are more expensive and are often used as the last layer, so they can only cover the entire surface.

d. Lasminates are plastic interlayers or transparent liquid layers in paper, which have a protective effect.