Achieving Stunning Print

Welcome to DUSZA's article on achieving stunning print. This article intends to give you an insight into what great print is, what it can offer you and what it takes to achieve it. Fantastic print isn't a coincidence, it is the culmination of creative concept, interpreted into a relevant communication, skillfully designed and art worked to a high standard that will allow printers to be able to accomplish a perfect printed finish.

But it doesn't stop there.

Who do you get to print your finely crafted communication? Placing print is actually as important as creating the design and can cost you, both in terms of time and money, if it is wrong.

If you find this article of interest we welcome your comments, if you feel we can help you and your company please don't hesitate to get in touch, call us on 0845 094 6442.

What is a print?

printing is a process for reproducing text and image. The traditional print method is ink on paper using a lithographic process. More recently another method of paper-based printing has been developed. Digital printing predominantly uses toner, which through electrical charge, is applied to the material it is printed on. There are positives and negatives for both paper based print processes, which we will look into in more detail below.

However there is another print process, which can be used for printing on materials such as plastic, fabric, and ceramics. This is known as screen-printing and has it's own set of benefits and possible problems. If you would like more information on other print processes please call us on 0845 094 6442 or email hello@dusza.co.uk.

Lithographical print process

Lithographic printing is more economical for medium to large print runs. In simple terms lithographic (sometimes referred to as litho) is similar to potato printing. In essence each colour that is printed is coated on a plate, which in this instance is the potato. The cmyk colour palette Pressing the coated plate or potato onto the paper creates an impression of the 'potatoes' surface and there it is, a single colour print. A typical photograph is made up of four colours. These colours are cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black (cmyk). When printed onto white paper, the paper mimics a white light source. When using the cmyk process, depending on how a printer sets up the press, variations in finished colour can and will occur. Slight percentage variances of colour strength in one of the colours will change the overall colour of the print.

It is because of this variance that the Pantone Colour System was created. Pantone colours allow for exact colour reproduction because the overall colour is not made up of cmyk. However even with Pantone colours the finished colour can still vary depending on the print press, paper and finishing processes used. When printing one or two colours it can be more economical, both in terms of time and money, to use Pantone Colours rather than Four Colour Process (cmyk). Pantone 072, for example, is a vibrant red and only made from a single colour and thus a single plate. Each plate incurs a charge for setting up and applying colour. Once printed each piece of print requires a drying time before the next colour can be applied. Drying times can vary widely between paper materials (stock), inks and the quality of the printing press itself.

“ Pantone colour could be more economical... less ink... less drying time... less technician hours... less money!”

It quickly becomes evident why a single Pantone colour could be more economical than the four colour process, because less ink and drying time is required, which equates to less technician hours and therefore less money. Also the larger the print run the cheaper the printer can buy in the stock because it is being bought in bulk. It is for these reasons that the larger the print-run the more economical the cost per unit.

What if you can't afford a larger print run or simply do not require thousands printed items? The answer is that you probably want to go digital...

Digital print process

Digital printing is more economical for small print runs. All the benefits of litho for large scale printing are completely reversed for small scale printing. For instance computers do most of the maths with digital print machines, much like a home printer. There is less of a need for a skilled technician as digital printing presses are Digital printing is just not the same financial commitment and whilst no one wants to waste money, if digital goes wrong it rarely is financially disastrous. generally more user friendly and targeted at a wider audience of user. Digital printing costs per copy and by increasing the quantity of the print run broadly speaking the cost per unit remains fairly constant. The cost of mistakes are minimised because of the nature of smaller runs. Committing to a litho print run means you are likely to be spending a substantial amount of money so getting it wrong really is not an option and if it happens it can be disastrous. Digital printing is just not the same financial commitment and whilst no one wants to waste money, if digital goes wrong it rarely is financially disastrous.

Digital printing is only available in cmyk, pantone colours are not available. However the digital Four Colour (cmyk) process does not produce exactly the same colour as a litho Four Colour process as the ink used is different. Digital printing can also cause 'banding' in certain block colours and this will need to be taken into account when creating the design. Finally digital and litho papers are different and it is not often possible to accurately match paper types.

Finishing process

You may decide on a special process to finish your item. A special finish could be a spot varnish (spot UV), foil block, matt or gloss laminate, perforating, folding, stitching, gluing etc. Most printers will not carry out finishing processes in-house. The reason for this is simple. Finishing is as complex and skillful a technique as printing itself. An eample of a spot varnish (spot UV) finish So a company that specialises in print may not specialise in finishing. It is worth asking whether you chosen finishes will be carried out in-house and taking into account what effect this additional supplier may have on your project. For example lets assume that you have finally sourced a printer that you are confident can fulfill your requirements, if the finishing house carries out the finishing process incorrectly the whole print job has to start again. This may lead to deadlines being missed (although most printers would not charge you for a mistake which is theirs).

Even as an experienced print buyer, the only way we ever begin relationships with new printers is to give them a small and relatively simple project. Even placing this project is after seeing samples of previous work, visiting their plant and talking to some of their happy customers. We have printers who are experts in a variety of different mediums that we have worked with since 1996...
they look after us extremely well We judge their turn around, quality of print, level of customer service, finishing services and of course their price. We would never place a large, ultra complex or a deadline critical job with a new print supplier. We have printers who are experts in a variety of different mediums that we have worked with since 1996 and the reason is simple, they look after us extremely well. Maintaining good supplier relationships is also something to consider. If we were to continually ask for discounts, we know the level of service we would receive would suffer. That's not to say we don't negotiate, but to us good relationships are worth maintaining and sometimes are worth paying for, because there are always times where we need favours!

Print fulfillment

Print fulfillment is the process of collating and distributing printed materials. Fulfillment is normally only a necessary consideration with direct mail. Fulfillment companies are able to mail-shot hundreds of thousands of unique addresses extremely efficiently. On large-scale projects it is likely that the cost of 'doing-it-yourself' will not be as economic as paying for fulfillment due to the sheer volume of administration time. When deciding on whether or not fulfillment is necessary always consider return on investment. With this in mind, it is unlikely your employee's time is well-spent mail merging addresses onto labels and then sticking address labels and postage to envelopes. It is also worth bearing in mind that fulfillment houses may be able to get bulk postage discounts, which you will not get directly from Royal Mail.

“ Fulfillment companies are able to mail-shot hundreds of thousands of unique addresses extremely efficiently.”

Print goals

Knowing whom you will be using as your print, finishing and fulfillment suppliers is critical, but it could all be a fruitless effort if the items you are having printed do not fulfill your goals. Understanding your goals, what you actually want to achieve from your item of print is the starting point of every print project. Once your design agency understands your goals then they can create a bespoke piece of print that effectively communicates your message. Be it a business card or a vehicle wrap the concept remains constant, to effectively communicate your message to your chosen target audience.

Design methodology

The very nature of design briefs set out parameters and constraints to work within. Once the brief is understood and the medium has been selected the design team can unleash their creativity. In order to achieve great design, knowledge of composition, marketing, typography, image manipulation and the medium are essential Intelligent design is a creative talent. Learning software applications such as Quark, Photoshop or Indesign does not make you a designer. In order to achieve great design, knowledge of composition, marketing, typography, image manipulation and the medium are essential. It is advisable to be wary of 'have-a-go' designers, they can be a false economy and could waste your time, money and damage your brand. For an informative read on creativity and innovation you may like to read our article 'Creative Concepts - The Ideas People'.

Marketing

Each different type of printed material has a different purpose; each business card, flyer, folder or poster has a different aim. Each compliment slip, letterhead, brochure or vehicle livery has its own target audience to communicate with. In order to get the communication as clear and as loud as possible, your chosen design team must be skilled in graphic design and have experience in the medium in which they wish to communicate. Creative executions are very different from art working. Self-respecting designers thrive on challenges and the thought of delivering exciting and beautifully crafted material that stimulates conversation is what drives them.

In order to be able to produce the different types of printed communication your design team must have relationships with the correct type of print supplier and the understanding of how to create print ready art work for that specific supplier. With each type of printing and even with each different printer, the requirements for receiving art work can differ enormously. Sending the wrong file in the wrong format can result in loss of time or possibly incorrectly printed materials and loss of money. Having established relationships, with a high level of understanding between the designer and the supplier ensures the print process can run smoothly.

“ Having established relationships, with a high level of understanding between the designer and the supplier ensures the print process can run smoothly.”

Content

The quality of content is key to your printed communication. Even if your content is simply an image, if the image is not composed correctly or reproduced at the right quality your message will not be conveyed. If your content is textual then writing clear concise content prepared perfectly for you target audience is crucial. Target audience really plays an important role with text, creating a piece of text that has a reading age of 16 when the target audience is aged 12 years will create serious communication problems. Good Things Come To Those Who Wait How you set the tone and style of your text and keeping that style consistent is equally important. Advertising companies are extremely well paid because they can create single sentences that communicate more than the sum of their parts. For example, 'Good things come to those who wait' - Guinness' advertising agency took one of the potential pitfalls of their product and spun the idea around, so that waiting was actually a good thing. Waiting would increase the pleasure of drinking Guinness. Words and emotions can go together like fish and chips. Get the words right and the emotions will follow - that is the power of great copy writing.

Conclusion

A question that should be asked before investing any money into print is whether or not you are prepared to contemplate all the potential advantages and disadvantages before you invest. There is a world of difference between in quality from one agency to another and one printer to another. Price does play a major factor in where you place your print project, however it is important not to get caught up in a false economy. Great print can be worth its weight in gold and bad print can create disasters.

DUSZA's only advice here is; if you find a supplier who delivers your expectations and has the ability to exceed them, then time spent cultivating that relationship is always a great investment.

DUSZA are not a budget agency and that is because we believe you get what you pay for. Similarly we would not want all our suppliers to be low cost. We understand where savings can be made in print and where they can't. Ironically, even with this philosophy, because of our great relationships with printers we can source some extremely competitive prices, and we firmly believe we offer great value for money. Before you get in touch with us have a quick read of our vision and mission statements. These offer you an opportunity to find out the personality behind DUSZA. Alternatively get in touch now on 0845 094 6442 or email hello@dusza.co.uk for a free, no obligation print consultation with the lovely people at DUSZA.