Get the most out of your printing budget by following these 5 easy tips.
1. Use More Colors
Four-color (CMYK) process printing can cost half as much as printing with spot (custom) colors. It's counter-intuitive but it's a CMYK world out there where many presses are set up to print the same colors all day long.
2. Go with House Paper
There are libraries filled with samples of custom papers of all colors & textures, but most manufacturers stock house papers that suit almost every need. Many custom papers require a large minimum order that come directly from the mill. Get the color from the ink, not the paper. Add coating for texture.
3. Stick with Standards
Varying from a standard size can be costly because you pay for the wasted paper. A standard page size in the U.S. is 8.5" x 11". A parent sheet of paper from the mill is made to fit 8 of these pages on one side of a sheet. Consult with your manufacturer about size before designing your project.
4. Keep it Simple
Print and trim. Every machine required to finish your printing project eats away at your budget. A printing press lays the ink and coating on the paper, and then the cutter trims to final size. Adding folding, die cutting, gluing, stitching, etc. requires a new machine for each process.
5. Know your Source
The printshop that's best for business cards is probably not the best for your pocket folders. Knowing your manufacturers limits is the most difficult, but you'll always save by choosing the most efficient source.
The basics of the Silkscreen Printing process have remained the same since the 15th century in Japan where the process was used to print on silk and other fabrics. The process became commonly used in the early 20th century for printing flags and advertising banners for retail use in England and America.
Here's how it works
A print is made using a stencil in which an image is superimposed on a very fine mesh screen, then ink is forced through the stencil with a squeegee onto the surface of the item being printed.
For an in-depth understanding of the process, this 9-minute video demonstrates it in great detail.
Silkscreen Printing is most commonly thought of as a way to decorate T-shirts and other fabrics but the process has been adapted for imprinting on many other surfaces like metal, plastic, and glass.
Here's a video created by one of our bottle manufacturers that shows how the process has been adapted to print on a round, plastic water bottle.
As you saw in the bottle video, the imprint on that bottle will last for 5 years using the silkscreen process. Many other processes are utilized in the printing of irregular shaped items like bottles, pens and backpacks.
In future emails we'll help you sort out processes like flexo printing, pad printing, and heat stamping so that your brand will be showcased on a product that your customer will use for years.
In the meantime, contact Markit4events to work out the bugs for you.
Recognizing the difference between Spot Color and Process Color will help you spec your printing projects to your printer for accurate cost estimates and job planning.
Starting with definitions of the two options, we can then discuss other determining factors to guide you in making the right choice.
Spot Color This color is created by mixing ink using the Pantone Matching System (PMS) before the ink is loaded into the press. Hundreds of different ink colors can be matched by mixing specific formulas using 14 standard colors. A very basic example of this is that Blue & Yellow make a Green ink color. The formulas are precise and can sometimes rely on 4 or 5 different mixing colors to achieve the exact color. This is a solid color of ink and you will not see anything but that color when you view it with a magnifier.
Process Color Printing 4 standard colors of ink on the press creates this color. Every Process Color project is printed with the same 4 colors - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black, also referred to as CMYK (the K is Black). The press does not mix the inks, it simply prints a percentage of small dots for each Process Color to achieve the desired color. You have to use a magnifier to see it but the Green color you see on your printed piece is actually very tiny dots of Blue and Yellow. That's how the press can print green without having green ink on the press.
Spot Color vs. Process Color
SPOT COLOR
PROS
Precision color reproduction
Only one pass through the press
CONS
Cannot reproduce color photos
Cannot print on digital press
PROCESS COLOR
PROS
Unlimited color options
Digital reproduction available
CONS
Some colors do not reproduce accurately
Cannot reproduce Metallic or Fluorescent colors
Many other considerations can help determine which way to reproduce your color for the best result. If it seems overwhelming, give us a call. We can talk about this until we're BLUE (PMS300) in the face.
The lines get blurred when discussing Digital Printing and Offset Printing. With the improved quality of digital and the technological evolution of offset, deciding which manufacturing process will be best for your project is not always easy.
Digital printing is a broad term that includes processes as simple as using the black ink laser printer sitting behind you, and as complex as full color reproduction with changing photos and text.
Here are some basics to help you decide what's best for your project:
Quantity - Offset printing has more cost to set up a job than digital so as the quantity increases, costs drop. Digital, however has more of a constant cost per piece that doesn't allow for much saving with higher quantities. This is not a hard rule but compare prices at around 1000 pieces, depending on the project size, and you'll start to see the difference.
Paper - Digital processes are evolving but the choices of paper available to print on can limit your ability to have ultimate flexibility in your paper choices, while offset printing allows for any substrate.
Color - The digital manufacturing process prints the same four colors to create all color, CMYK. Offset uses the same process but has the option to print spot colors to match colors exactly. The digital process limits your ability to get the color exact in some projects. To understand more about Spot vs. Process Colors read this article from our newsletter archives.
Variable imaging - The digital process is the only process that allows for variable images to be different on every piece. You can change pictures, text, colors, etc. Offset printing does not allow for changes from piece to piece. Direct mail addressing must be applied during the mailing process.
Digital printing has been a great addition to the printing industry allowing for short run affordability and variable imaging that was never available prior to its introduction. Digital printing is not taking the place of offset printing, it's allowing for creativity in marketing efforts that have not existed until now.
When we were visiting my hometown of Niles, Michigan, we went on a tour of the French Paper Company's mill with 6th generation paper maker, Brian French. It was an exciting field trip while Brian showed us enormous vats of pulp and huge hot machines all powered by hydro.
Established in 1871, French Paper is a sixth-generation, family-owned American company. French Paper Company has been manufacturing paper for more than 140 years in the same community of Niles, Michigan. In an industry known for corporate acquisitions and shutdowns, French Paper has persevered, emerging as one of the strongest, smartest, and most consistent paper brands around.
Remaining as one of the last, small, independent mills in America, French Paper has learned to take their direction from customers, not corporate consultants. They keep their eye on the bottom line by improving their product lines, and when they talk about stock, they mean papers, not shareholder value.
Here's a video tour where you can see how paper is made:
When you combine the internet, television, radio, billboards and direct mail we're exposed to 14,000 advertising messages every day but only 5 of them stick with us for more than 24 hours.
Summer is the season for outdoor activity that brings more pedestrian meanderers, road trips and outdoor events offering some new possibilities for marketing your business. Street side flags, sidewalk signs and promotional canopies are some ideas that may apply to your business.
Here are 6 tips for designing a sign that will be remembered.
1) SIZE & SCALE
The biggest difference in designing a sign is scale. Considering that a brochure is maybe 8 1/2" x 11" and a business card is 3 1/2" x 2", large scale design requires a different mindset when designing it.
Signs have to be read and understood from a distance; often by people who only have a few seconds to look in that direction. Everything should be big and simple for maximum impact.
Billboards can be 14' x 48' so art file resolution is paramount and vector art is required to avoid a blurry image when enlarged.
File Resolution
Graphic Clarity
2) LOCATION
Designing for location can be tricky if a single design is going to be used for different environments. If you design a sign with a sky blue background that will have the sky behind it, it will blend in too much and not get noticed.
A sidewalk sign or street-side flag, however, may have lots of different colors behind it, so a bold solid color may be your best choice to break through the clutter.
Environmental Clutter
Viewing Distance
3) COLOR & GRAPHICS
Generally graphics and color should be bright and saturated. Avoid light colors or pastels and opt for colors that will stand out - especially between your text and background.
For images and graphics, pick a single element and go big with it. Your design has to catch the viewer's attention in a second and a single, simple focal point will help.
Color can be one of the most important decisions you'll make in designing an effective sign.
Go Big and Bold!
Keep it Simple
4) TYPOGRAPHY & MESSAGE
Aside from the company logo, pick a single typeface. A san serif font works best for signs.
And make it big! Think about lettering in terms of 10 to 100, that's 10" tall for every 100' of viewing distance.
Bold lettering can increase the readability from a distance but avoid italics as they confuse the view.
An industry standard is to keep your message at 15 words or less and use the 3 x 5 rule. That's 3 lines of 5 words or 5 lines of 3 words. Less is better if you can make your point.
Simple, Bold Type
Simple, Short Message
5) CONTRAST
While contrast is an important consideration of any design project, it is especially important when you only have a couple of seconds to get someone's attention.
Every focal point must be clearly distinguishable.
With type, size and simplicity as key factors, selecting colors that stand out from one another will help get your message noticed.
While I'm personally not a fan of using borders in design, the use of a border can help to create a contrast between your sign and the background environment. Of course, using a border on a street-side flag will not make much sense.
Bold Colors Create Contrast
Borders are OK
6) SUBSTRATE
Substrate is the material that your message is being printed on. Knowing the material and method of printing can help in your design process.
Whether it's a vinyl banner, fabric flag or a graphic-wrapped bus, consulting with your manufacturer can help you provide the appropriate art files for best results.
Knowing if your sign will be for indoor or outdoor use can help you select the appropriate substrate to print your message on.
Select Lasting Material
Environmental Exposure
Most designers don't spend their day designing signs. Typically it will be the same person who creates brochures and business cards and only asked to design a large format graphic for special occasions like tradeshows, outdoor events or special promotions.
Reaching out to your manufacturer before you begin designing for large format graphics can help you avoid the headaches that may come after the design is finished.
Have you ever looked closely at a proposal from your printer and wondered what all the code was for but were afraid to ask? Here are 3 of the most understood terms used by printers:
CMYK
Everyone in the business of print understands that CMYK refers to the colors of ink used to print a four-color process piece. Even the greenest rookie in the print shop quickly learns these:
Why is K=BLACK? If you ask most seasoned print professionals, the answer you would get would be that if BLACK was represented by a B, then it would be confused with BLUE. Not true...
BLACK is represented by a K because the BLACK plate on the press is considered to be the KEY plate that all of the other colors must register to. Use that one to stump your printer next time he tries to use this acronym on you.
Four-color Process
The best way to understand four-color process is to first imagine an old-school comic book with the large dots in the color photos. Well, those dots are still there but they have been dramatically reduced in size so much that they are difficult to see without a magnifier. Offset printing presses can only print in solid colors so those dots are made up of various sizes and the CMYK colors referred to above.
This allows for thousands of shades of different colors to be reproduced from only four inks on the press. Example — the Greenest Rookie spoken of earlier would print with a percentage of Cyan dots and a percentage of Yellow dots.
Paper Weights
How can 100# paper be thinner than 80# paper? The BASIS WEIGHT is a measure of the weight of 500 sheets of paper of specific size in pounds (#). Here's the confusing part of what should be a simple answer, each type of paper (cover, book, writing, etc.) is measured with different sizes.
That's how 80# Cover can be thicker than 80# Book. The 80# Cover is the weight of 500 sheets of 20" x 26" sheets, while the 80# Book is the weight of 500 sheets of 25" x 38" sheets. Here's a brief list of types of paper and sizes that determine the basis weights...
BOND & LEDGER PAPER (20#, 24#, 28#, 32#) is the weight of 500 sheets of 17" x 22"
OFFSET, BOOK & TEXT (50#, 60#, 70#, 80#, 100#) is the weight of 500 sheets of 25" x 38"
COVER PAPER (65#, 80#, 100#, 120#) is the weight of 500 sheets of 20" x 26"
OK. We didn't make this stuff up and there will definitely NOT be a test after this. We're here to make sense of this for you.
Either you can remember all of this, or you can let us demystify all of this for you.
There are many options in coating a marketing piece after it's printed. The choice to coat a piece may be for effect or durability.
Aqueous coating is a fast-drying, water-based, vegetable cellulose product used as a protective coating that is applied in-line on some presses.
It's a biodegradable and recyclable option of coating that does not add much to the cost of a project. This clear coating is used for any project that requires a more durable finish, protecting the surface from fingerprints, dirt, smudges, and scratches.
Aqueous coating improves postcards durability as they go through mail or inserted in pockets. It is also applied on brochures, catalog covers, fliers and other visual aids.
Available in Gloss, Dull or Satin finishes, the aqueous coating is applied on press during the print run and dries in minutes after it comes off the press allowing for immediate finishing in the bindery.
Aqueous is generally considered to be one of the most sustainable coating options because the formulas are non-toxic and treated paper can be recycled in standard municipal systems without emitting harmful byproducts.
This low-cost, high-impact coating is one of our favorites because it can speed up the printing process on rush projects because there is no wait for cutting or folding.
The only downside to aqueous, as we see it, is that it cannot be used in spot coating applications. The entire sheet must be coated with the same finish.
