Posted by: Catherine Morley
Category: Designers Working With
Bookmark on: del.icio.us

Here’s a typical scenario. You’ve got a hot project. You’re working long hours, slaving to get the layouts done for show and tell, when you think, “Dang! I forgot to sort out the print side!” So, you start making some calls to ask about the job. “Quantities? Oh rats! I forgot to ask the client. Paper? Oh geez, I don’t know. How about your house sheet? Yeah, I think it will be just four-color …”

It happens. In the heat of a project it can be easy to lose sight of getting the information you need. Sure, you could request budget quote after budget quote. With each one, the printing estimator is probably requesting you be banished to a lower level of Hades.

There’s a better way. Relax. Make a printing quote check list and bring your printer in early. Beyond that, read the following and learn what your printer is hoping you’ll bring to the table.

“What are the main points that you’d expect / want designers to know before contacting you about a project?”

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Alex

1. The scope of the project
2. What it’s for
3. How many printed books
4. Paper types
5. Amount of colors
6. And where the finished books are to be delivered

Alex Noguera | Prepress Operator
www.bowne.com

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Brad

At least know what their project is. Approx quantity (4 different quantities at the most), what size is the piece, what colours, bleeds or not, how is it finished. They simply need to have a good understanding of what their client wants and how the piece is used so we can explore possible options with the designer.

Brad McAuley | Printer
Kwik Kopy | Canada

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Chris

Offset and digital are totally different and you must expect different results from each. That is not to say that one is better than the other, but you will be able to see differences in hue/saturation, gradation and so forth between both.

There is also an issue of setting up a file for digital vs offset. The majority of offset printers will accept bleeds that are 1/8″, but for me personally, I prefer 1/4″ bleeds. The paper running through a machine such as mine can easily have a very slight skew to it, whereas an offset probably would not. Allowing the extra 1/8″ of bleed for digital printers would be something I think most POD’s (Print On Demand) would appreciate.

Chris Tomlinson | Owner: Gonink - Design & Print
Gonink - Design & Print | A Designer’s Journey | USA

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Derald

The designer should know the following:
Size, number of pages (if multi-page), colors (spot and process), quantity, paper stock preferred, special finishing (e.g. varnish, die-cut, binding method, etc…), delivery date and address, and finally end use.

The last is important because the printer may be able to recommend paper or processes for the job. Specifically, they should consider if it is a throw away piece, one that will be used multiple times, and finally if it will addressed by a mailing house.

Derald Schultz | Atlanta Graphic Design + Web Design + Printing
Mediarail Design, Inc. | USA

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Elisabetta

They have to know what the want. Paper weight, number of copies, where the job gets delivered. The designer needs to be able to deliver press ready files of course. He/she has to know how to make PDFs, how to set bleeds, how to embed fonts in PDFs (you have no idea how many printers say, “Embed the fonts!” as soon as they hear you are going to send them a PDF—it’s the first thing they tell you) and make sure those fonts aren’t corrupted.

The printer will ask for specific settings, but aside from those specific settings (such as what kind of compression to use, LPI, DPI—which is different from PPI) the designer should know how to make a PDF. The designer should also know images need to be 300 PPI actual size (there is no use in having an image that is 5×7 inches at 300 PPI if the designer then blows it up 500%) and they need to be CMYK. Even better if the designer knows how to make PDFs that are PDF/X standard (different printers will ask you different standards: some want PDF/X-1a some want PDF/X-3 2002) In other words, the designer needs to provide a file that doesn’t require printer intervention, aside from the imposition.

Elisabetta Bruno | Graphic Designer / Prepress
ThinkCreation | Forum host and contributor of
About Desktop Publishing and About Graphics Software | Italy

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Genie

Ink: CMYK or spot colours, stock, any specialty things like embossing/diecutting/foils etc. Do they require a colour hard copy proof before printing?

Genie Ho | Prepress and design
PDQ Print | New Zealand

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George

First of all is the size of the print. Some offset machines have limits on the printing sizes. We also need to know where you want to print. Is it a poster or a box?

The number of colors to print is also required. Is it pantone or CMYK colors?

George Lee | Printer
Nan Sing Printing | Thailand

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John

I would hope that they are familiar with basic preflight standards. Ideally I want someone to prepare their files as well as I do when I submit to a print shop; but realistically, if there is a way I can make something work, I’ll make it work. Sometimes that means suggesting added design services. Most people are very open to having their designs “improved” if they are confident you are a professional. I deal mostly with the final clients directly, so I rarely get print jobs that are prepared correctly (or at all) that I haven’t actually designed myself. I worked at a large format trade show graphics company for several years, we got graphics provided by corporate firms, freelancers, web designers, and government agencies, and the majority of the files were prepared quite poorly.

John Carvalho | Owner/Graphic Designer
Mixed Media: Design & Printing Services | USA

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Lyn

• Paper stock (weight, finish, colour)
• Page size (final trim size)
• Page orientation (landscape, portrait)
• Number of pages
• Print quantity
• Number of of inks (process only, spots only and how many, combination of process and spots)
• Finishing (trim, fold, score, staple, bind, perforate)
• Special finishes (coatings, varnish, embossing, diecuts, lamination)
• File format preferred (native application such as InDesign, Quark or PDF) and version number
• Method of transferring file to printer (CD, email, FTP)
• Responsibility for imposition, trapping
• Whether proofs are required and what sort
• Scheduling of file submission prior to delivery of completed print job

Lyn Eggleston | Australia

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Matt

From a short run digital stand, this is what I’d expect/want from designers:

1. Making sure the design was colour formatted properly for the type of machine it will be printed on - in other words don’t set it up in pantone if it’s going to a CMYK digital machine (and vice versa). Research the machine that will output your project and design with it’s specs in mind.
2. Bleeds. Is it bled properly? Making sure there is a 16th to quarter inch, and that text is not right against a cutting line. Cutting is not an exact science for most of us and you can expect some play. Short run digitals also don’t have perfect registration, those points must be taken into consideration.
3. Fonts. Include your fonts or convert your text beforehand to curves/outlines. Including the fonts with the design is recommended.
4. Got stock covered yet? Did you really think that yellow toner/ink was going to show up on dark blue media? Researching stock is essential to make sure you get the results you want. Every major paper supplier will provide samples for free. The stock will determine the end result of your colour project.
5. Provide a hard copy mock up of your finished project. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but certainly helps us to understand how you want it finished (cut, folded, etc).
6. The colours on your monitor are not going to be the same as what’s printed (always get the proof from the machine it will be output from, or a desktop that has been calibrated to the machine producing the job). Also realize that the colours your RGB desktjet prints are not going to be what a CMYK machine will print.
7. Supplying a suitable file format. By far the PDF is the preferred format for submitting files to be printed. Be aware that your PDF is more than likely going to be imported into another graphics program if it’s not laid out properly. In my area I import 90% of PDF’s I receive.
8. Bitmaps - Are your bitmaps high enough resolution? A bare minimum resolution for printing is 150 X 150, a resolution of 300 X 300 is recommended. Please check that bitmaps are not unnecessarily large - there is no reason to have 1200X1200 dpi bitmaps when most digital machines run at a maximum of 600X600 with 16 bit depth.
9. Did you get an ETA from your printer before you told your client when it was going to be ready? Don’t ever assume/guess, always get it from the printers mouth and follow up to make sure it’s on time (even if you’ve dealt with this printer since time began).
10. An emergency on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part - if it is a rush project, expect rush charges.

Offset printing opens up a whole new checklist and this area is not my specialty. Things GD’s should study up on are properly done colour separations, taking dot gain into consideration, film vs. paper plates, and using pantones.

When in doubt, pick up the phone and ask. Don’t think you are bugging your printer, we want your job printed correctly as much as you do (trust me we do).

Matt Beazley | Printer
www.eyemean.com | Canada

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PrintDriver

A designer should have the following information when calling a wide format printer:

• Process you would like to print in (continuous tone, solvent, eco-solvent, water base, UV-cured, dye sub, or if it’s a specialty like porcelain, hpl, fiberglass etc…) If you don’t know, you should ask. Wide format is mutating daily. There are processes now that weren’t available even 6 months ago.
• The material you want to print on. Do not use the term ’scrim’ to describe your material. Give an actual product number or ask to see samples. Scrim can be any number of fabrics, meshes or vinyls.
• Indoor or outdoor
• Length of use (how long will the graphic be displayed)
• Are seams acceptable
• VERY IMPORTANT - what is the viewing distance?

PrintDriver | Print Consultant | USA

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Tom

All of the specifications of a job as is relates to the vendor quoting the job. For example, if a piece needs to be foiled and die cut on a duplex cover stock, this should be related to the vendor at the time of quoting. There should also be a digital or hard copy composite (to size if possible) provided to the vendor. Depending upon how up to date with current technology trends a given vendor is, a designer may want to provide information about the native application(s) used to create the artwork. Some older RIP’s may not be compatible with new applications or file saving conventions.

Tom Stege | Lead Prepress Operator - Seattle Location
Print Time Online | USA

And there you have it. Follow what these printers / prepress operators have to say and you’ll make your life a whole lot easier. Plus, you’ll be in a much better position to sleep well at night and make your clients smile.

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until the next
Designers WW,
cat