Simmons Printers Lecture
Today we had a lecture from Simmons Printers about everything we need to be aware of as graphic designers that relates to printing.
Building a Rapport with a Printer
The first thing that was discussed was why it is a good idea to build up a rapport with a printer. Being able to discuss a particular project with the printer is one of the positive reasons that was spoken about, it makes it a lot easier to talk things through with them and think of new ideas and how things will actually work when printed. Just because something looks good on screen, doesn’t necessarily mean it will look good any way you print it, so having a trusted printer to discuss your options with is always a good thing to have. Talking things through with a printer can push you away from or towards certain processes, as you can really find out how the professionals will think things will look printed. Simmons printers said that the most interesting projects tend to be the ones that require thought and discussion so discussing more interesting print alternatives with a printer can be something that’s really helpful to the standard of your final outcome. Print shouldn’t be something that’s just thought about at the end of a project, when all the designing has been done; it should be thought about from the start, and developed alongside the rest of the project. There is no point spending ages designing something that realistically, will never look good printed.
Even though it can sometimes save money to print online, the quality will almost never be as good as if you had talked it through with a printer. There is a certain acceptance that outcomes will never look as good if you've saved money by printing online, and you get them back thinking they aren’t exactly what you wanted, but you saved money. Should that really be what’s happening? If you’ve spent hours designing an amazing piece of print material, is it worth it not looking how you’d actually envisaged just to save a little bit of money? When you’ve built up a rapport with a printed, it will help everything to go as planned, as long as you keep them updated through the design process. You will normally be able to get free samples of materials and dummies to show clients if you’re conversing with a printer in person. This is great, as then the client knows exactly what they are getting, and there will be no surprises later on when they receive their products.
Print Specs
Print Specs were another thing that was spoken about. The main things that you need to include when writing a print spec are:
Paper Weight
Paper Type
Finish
Size
Colour (CMYK) - Full colour plus any specials (Eg Fluorescent/Foils)
Quantity
Number of Pages
Binding (Eg Perfect Bound)
Lithographic and Digital Printing
Next we talked about the differences between digital and lithographic printing, and the pro’s and con’s of each of the processes. Offset lithographic printing is the most common, high-volume, commercial print option. Using a laser, the image is burned onto a metal plate which is then loaded into the printing press. The image is then transferred onto a rubber blanket, and then onto the printing surface. Oil and water are used to make this process possible. The image that is getting printed gets ink from the rollers, while the areas that are not being printed get a thin layer of water on top; as oil and water don’t mix, these areas remain ink free. There are definite pro’s and cons of each process:
Lithographic Pros
High quality, consistent image
Suitable for a wide range of surfaces including paper, card and plastics
Unit cost decreases as the quantity increases
Able to cope with long runs with out losing quality
Special inks available – Pantone Spots and metallics
Lithographic Cons
Expensive set up on short runs
Longer turn around on jobs
No variable data option
Smaller colour gamut therefore colours can be less bright
Digital printing didn’t used to be great quality 10-15 years ago, but with technology it’s become an awful lot better, and now can be a cheaper alternative if you only want a short run. Now digital printing can be run in hours, where-as in the past it would of taken up to a week. The quality of lithographic and digital is now more or less the same. Digital printing can also be the better option if you want small details changed on each copy such as names, addresses etc, as it is easy to personalise whereas if the image is being burned onto a plate, this is clearly not as simple. With digital printing the ink sits on top of even the uncoated stock, giving the finish of a coated piece.
Digital Pros
Quick setup time leading to fast turn around of orders
Bright, vibrant images on a range of materials
Cheaper option for low volume printing
Personalisation using a database where text and graphics can be changed on each item without stopping or slowing down the press
Digital Cons
Expensive on longer runs
Less colour control
Not suitable for all printed surfaces
Quality can be inconsistent
Can be difficult to match pantone colours
Paper Types and Finishes
There are two types of paper that are used regularly, coated and uncoated. The most common types of coated are gloss and silk. When printing on coated stock, the ink sits on top meaning that it doesn’t run into the paper, sometimes producing a better quality image. When printing on uncoated stock, the ink sinks in and becomes a little darker as it spreads out into the paper. Although uncoated stock may feel nice to touch, it doesn’t always produce the best looking images when printed on, so this is something to consider. People often think a gloss finish will be more expensive than an uncoated stock, because of it’s ‘glossy’ finish, but it is often actually the cheaper option. Putting lamination or foils onto a product can be expensive, but can really add that look of ‘quality’ to a product. Soft touch is a common lamination and it does exactly what it says, gives the finish a soft touch. This can be particularly nice for business cards as again, it gives the feel of quality which is important when you’re essentially trying to sell your services. HD lamination is another common one, this is popular for brochures as it gives a finish that is harder to mark, especially on colours like black where scratches and finger prints are extremely visible. Foiling and embossing are other processes that can be done. The amount they cost goes on size, for example for an A5 sized area, the dye is around £70 to produce.
Simmons gave us a couple of other tips such as allowing yourself more time than you actually need for printing. Set earlier deadlines than you need, so if things go wrong it’s still okay. It can also be a good idea to set an even earlier deadline with the client, so if they run over slightly you’re still on track. It is important and reassuring to see proofs. When you’ve sent your file off to print, a proof will be produced (normally digital but can be requested to be printed) and you will need to check this through and sign it off for print. You can then sleep easy, knowing that there will be no nasty surprises when you get the material back. When the printer receives a file, it will be put through a RIP to be basically converted to a PDF. This is why it can be a lot quicker to supply the printers with print ready PDF files, as they go into the RIP and straight out again, where as source files will take a lot longer. When getting quotes for printing, it’s a good idea to get quotes from more than one company. Different companies have different equipment meaning that some will be able to do it cheaper than others. If you haven’t landed the job with a particular client yet, getting the best price for printing may mean they choose you over another designer as they are saving money. If you have built a rapport with a printer then there may be some wiggle room in there to bring the price down if you find out they are quoting more than elsewhere, as you are a loyal customer. Always mark up print estimates by 10-15% before giving them to client to account for print production (you), as you’ve probably spent a lot of time trying on this process and you deserve to be paid for your time.
Overall this lecture was probably one of the most useful ones I’ve ever had. Its taught me invaluable skills that will be necessary during the duration of my career.
Thank you Simmons!