Presentation by Cory Rogers with Copy Craft Printers given to Texas Tech University AD/4304 - Advanced Creative Strategy class on Feb. 9, 2010. 5 basic need to knows when working with commercial printers. Size, Color, Images, Fonts, Paper

1. DESIGNING FOR
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
5 BASIC “NEED TO KNOWS”

2. CORYROGERS
marketing director
BA in Marketing
Minor in Communication/Design
5 years in national sales
1 year as marketing director
8 years freelance design
email - cory@copycraft.com
twitter - corydonrogers
Copy Craft Social Media
twitter - copycraft
facebook - facebook.com/copycraft
youtube - youtube.com/copycraft

3. ABOUT COPY CRAFT
• 1985 - started as small copy shop
• 1987 - installed first offset press
• 1994 - began national marketing campaign
• 1995 - one of the first printers to go “online”
• 1997 - introduced waterless printing
• 2002 - began using direct-to-plate technology
• 2007 - introduced digital printing

4. Stripping / Pre-Press HP Indigo Digital Press

5. 5 Color Offset Press HP Indigo Digital Press

6. 5 Color Offset Press 4 Color Offset Press

7. 2 Color Duplicator Press 4 Color Offset Press

8. 2 Color Duplicator Press 2 Color Offset Press

9. Heidleberg Die-Cut Press 2 Color Offset Press

10. Heidleberg Die-Cut Press Kluge Letter Press

11. Polar Cutter Kluge Letter Press

12. Polar Cutter Folder

13. Direct Mailing Folder

14. DESIGNING FOR
COMMERCIAL “Measure twice, cut once.”
PRINTING
5 basic “need to knows”
Size
Color
Images
Fonts
Paper

15. SIZE

16. SIZE
3 Things To Consider In
Regards To Size
1. document or page size
2. bleed size
3. flat / fold / stitched / bound size

17. SIZE
definitions
• Document / Page Size - The trim size of the final printed piece.
• Bleed Size - The extra space needed around the (on each edge) document
to compensate for trimming variations.
• Most commercial printers prefer 1/8’’ on each edge - 1/4’’ overall.
• Flat Size - The unstitched size for multi-page documents.
• Folded Size - The size of the document after it is folded.
• Stitched / Bound Size - The size of the document after it is stitched or bound.

18. SIZE
document/page + bleed

19. SIZE
document/page + bleed

20. SIZE
document/page + bleed

21. SIZE
document/page + bleed
ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR
• Single page documents: set
size to trim size
• Multi-page documents: set
size to folded, stitched or
bound size.
• CS4 introduced bleeds into set up.

22. SIZE
document/page + bleed
ADOBE InDESIGN
• Single page documents: set
size to trim size
• Multi-page documents: set
size to stitched or bound
size.
• All versions of InDesign have bleed
settings built into the document set
up.

23. SIZE
document/page + bleed
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
• Single page documents: set
size to the trim size + bleed.
• Multi-page documents: set size
to flat size + bleed.
• Photoshop doesn’t have bleed settings
in document set up.

24. ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR
ADOBE InDESIGN
trim size trim size no bleed trim size with bleed

25. ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
trim size no bleed trim size with bleed

26. COLOR

27. COLOR
3 TYPES OF COLOR
YOU WILL WORK
WITH IN PRINTING
1. RGB
2. CMYK
3. SPOT (Pantone)

28. COLOR
definitions
• RGB - Red, Green, Blue: based on the human eye’s perception of color.
Used primarily in electronic formats – monitors, tv, etc...
• CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black: also know as four color process or
full color process. Used in commercial and desktop printing.
• K does not stand for black. It stands for key. The cyan, magenta and yellow plates are aligned to
match the black or key plate.
• SPOT - Pantone (PMS), Toyo, HKS: a single color that is not made through
separations like CMYK. Can be comprised of a solid ink or mixture of ink
colors.

30. COLOR
CMYK
Due to CMYK’s smaller
gamut it is important to
ensure you design in CMYK
color mode and all your
images are converted to
CMYK before printing.
Failure to do so could result
in undesired color shifts.

31. COLOR
CMYK
RGB CMYK

32. COLOR
SPOT
Designing in spot colors is
acceptable when the final
piece will print in a specific
spot color or in combination
to CMYK.
Be sure to let the printer
know your piece contains
spot colors!

33. COLOR
SPOT
PMS 021 CMYK

34. COLOR
BLACK VS. RICH BLACK
Not all blacks print the same!
It is important when you are designing in a
large solid black area that you use rich black.
Rich black formula:
C = 40% M = 30% Y = 20% K = 100%

36. IMAGES
3 THINGS TO
CONSIDER WHEN
WORKING WITH
IMAGES
1. COLOR
2. RESOLUTION
3. SIZE

37. IMAGES
RESOLUTION
DPI or PPI of the images you use
for print is crucial!
Unlike images used for web graphics
which are acceptable at 72dpi, images
for print need to be at least 300dpi.
An exception is when using images from
a digital camera. In this instance, the
images can be 72dpi but need to be at
least 4 times larger than the final printed
image size; i.e., 18x24 image at 72dpi will
print properly at 4.5x6 or smaller.

38. IMAGES
HIGH RES VS. LOW RES
HIGH RES IMAGE LOW RES IMAGE

39. IMAGES
SIZE
DPI or PPI of the images you use
for print is crucial!
As mentioned earlier – your document
needs to include bleed if you have any
images or artwork going to the edge.
Avoid stretching images to compensate
for bleed.
Ensure the size of the image used
includes bleed room.

40. F ONTS

41. FONTS
a few things to remember
• To reduce the chance for font substitution do one of the following:
1. Provide the font packages used when sending your artwork.
2. Photoshop - flatten your document.
3. Other programs - convert your fonts to outlines, paths or curves.
• this turns fonts into artwork
• avoid this option when working with multi-page documents as it will dramatically increase
the file size.

42. FONTS
BLACK VS. RICH BLACK
Not all blacks print the same!
Unless using large type/font point size don’t
use rich black type.
Rich black type on small type/font point sizes
will have a “halo” effect. This effect is caused
by the natural discrepancy of having to
register all 4 colors in a small area.

43. PAPER

44. PAPER
definitions
• Coated - paper which has a buffed clay added to provide a smooth surface. Coated stocks include matte, dull, satin, gloss, etc...
Coated papers allow the ink to sit on top on the stock rather than absorbing in.
• Matte is not the same as uncoated!
• Uncoated - paper which does not have a clay added. Uncoated stocks include opaque, linen, smooth, offset, etc... Uncoated
papers absorb ink.
• c1s & c2s - coated one side / coated two sides. Typically found in card stocks – 12pt., 14pt. 15pt., etc...
• Watermark - paper that has a translucent image molded into the body of the stock.
• Watermarked papers are typically not economically conducive for most commercial printers.
• Cover Weight - a thicker stock than text or writing grade stocks.
• 65# cover, 80# cover, 100# cover, 120# cover
• Writing vs. Text - both thiner stocks than cover stock or card stock.
• 20# writing = 50# text, 24# writing = 60# text, 28# writing = 70# text

45. “Measure twice, cut once.”
DESIGNING FOR
COMMERCIAL
PRINTING
5 basic “need to knows”
Size
Color
Images CORYROGERS
email - cory@copycraft.com
Fonts twitter - corydonrogers
Paper Copy Craft Social Media
twitter - copycraft
facebook - facebook.com/copycraft
youtube - youtube.com/copycraft