Print questions & FAQ/Help Guide

[simplistik]

Alright so... lets post some questions that you guys want to know about print, be it screen print or offset printing. We want to get a nice little guide together with some of the most common questions and not so common, and hopefully answer them all appropriately, and/or provide useful links concerning the question :D. So for example...

What's "bleed"?

We'll add to the FAQ

Q: What's "bleed"?

A: Bleed is the portion of a print job that goes beyond the document boundries that will be cut off during print, to help insure that color or image provides a clean edge to edge display.

Lets say I had a magazine here's how the setup would go:
http://www.beyondthepixel.com/print_faqs/doc_bleed/index.html

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Anyone else is more than welcome to provide their input on an answer, or even the answer to a question just PM me and I'll ammend it to the FAQ :D

[simplistik]

BLEED

Q: What's "bleed"?

A: Bleed is the portion of a print job that goes beyond the document boundries (aka Trim) that will be cut off during print, to help insure that color or image provides a clean edge to edge display.

Lets say I had a magazine here's how the setup would go:
http://www.beyondthepixel.com/print_faqs/doc_bleed/index.html

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Q: What is a good bleed size?

A: Bleed sizes are always dependant on your printer. But a good standard bleed size is .25" larger than your document size.

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Q: When do I need to use a bleed?

A: You only need to use a bleed when you have a edge to edge document that uses color, or an image. You do not need to bleed anything that is contained inside of the document bounds.

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RESOLUTION

Q: What's Screen resolution and Print resolution?

A: Screen resolution is the number of dots per inch on your monitor. for Windows it is 72 dot per inch and for mac it is 96 dot per inch

Print resolution is also the number of dots per inch on something you print on. This is set higher depending on what type of materials you are printing on
eg.
glossy paper or normal paper = 300 dot per inch
newspaper (paper that are porous) = 144 dot per inch (because the ink will bleed over)

provided by Gupps http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1829287&postcount=4

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COLOR

Q: What is CMYK, RGB and what should I use for Print and Web?

A: RGB is the color mode used by your monitor is should be restricted to Web. CMYK is the standard printing format using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black to create all it's colors. Never send an RGB file to print.

Provided by durtyburd http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1831341&postcount=7

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Q: What is PANTONE?, Why is it used?

A: Pantone is a color matching system (commonly called PMS colors). This is used when you want a specific color and you can pick it from a PMS book. These are common in logos and T-shirts or low cost print jobs that won't use the full 4color process. Pantone goes even more in depth too with metallic, flourescent and opaque inks. There's alos tons of other benefits for specialty printing where you'd add a PMS color after the 4C process. Try to pick up a pantone book and you'll understand more fully, way too much to discuss here. You could start with their website too www.pantone.com/

Provided by durtyburd http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1831341&postcount=7

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Q: My artwork is in Spot Colours/or/RGB and my client wants to print CMYK, Do I need to convert it? Can I Convert it? what would give me the closest convertion result?

A: As mentioned early don't ever print RGB. If you have am image in RGB you're best bet is to use photoshop to convert (Image>Mode>CMYK). The color won't be exact so you may still need to go in and color correct some. The same with spot colors, use photoshop to convert images and illustrator to convert vector art.

Provided by durtyburd http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1831341&postcount=7

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[Gupps]

RESOLUTION

Q: What's Screen resolution and Print resolution?

A: Screen resolution is the number of dots per inch on your monitor. for Windows it is 72 dot per inch and for mac it is 96 dot per inch

Print resolution is also the number of dots per inch on something you print on. This is set higher depending on what type of materials you are printing on
eg.
glossy paper or normal paper = 300 dot per inch
newspaper (paper that are porous) = 144 dot per inch (because the ink will bleed over)
T-shirt = ? not sure never tried it

This is just a rough explaination. Please expand on this

[.soulty]

Nice start Simp :thumb:

Here's a few question:

Q: What is CMYK, RGB and what should I use for Print and Web?
A: ..........

Q: What is PANTONE?, Why is it used?
A: ..................

Q: My artwork is in Spot Colours/or/RGB and my client wants to print CMYK, Do I need to convert it? Can I Convert it? what would give me the closest convertion result?
A........

[Jeff Wheeler]

Great so far. Keep on going… :thumb:

[durtyburd]

Here's a few question:

Q: What is CMYK, RGB and what should I use for Print and Web?
A: RGB is the color mode used by your monitor is should be restricted to Web. CMYK is the standard printing format using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black to create all it's colors. Never send an RGB file to print.

Q: What is PANTONE?, Why is it used?
A: Pantone is a color matching system (commonly called PMS colors). This is used when you want a specific color and you can pick it from a PMS book. These are common in logos and T-shirts or low cost print jobs that won't use the full 4color process. Pantone goes even more in depth too with metallic, flourescent and opaque inks. There's alos tons of other benefits for specialty printing where you'd add a PMS color after the 4C process. Try to pick up a pantone book and you'll understand more fully, way too much to discuss here. You could start with their website too www.pantone.com/

Q: My artwork is in Spot Colours/or/RGB and my client wants to print CMYK, Do I need to convert it? Can I Convert it? what would give me the closest convertion result?
A: As mentioned early don't ever print RGB. If you have am image in RGB you're best bet is to use photoshop to convert (Image>Mode>CMYK). The color won't be exact so you may still need to go in and color correct some. The same with spot colors, use photoshop to convert images and illustrator to convert vector art.

[simplistik]

Updated above thanks guys :D

28 are you lookin for like a home setup and execution process?

[durtyburd]

There's a lot that goes into this. Obviously the first and most essential tool is the printer itself. I would say to do some networking and internet research to find where you can buy used equipment for cheap because printers can run into the tens of thousands. I have a friend who started his t-shirt company that way and he got a few printers and other tools to start his shop for only about 3g (it's actually really cheap). the other important tool is your ink. With screen printing you'll mainly be using Pantone colors which was mentioned earlier in this thread. This too has many outlets you can purchase from so do some research. The best advice to give for the entire setup would be to go to your local bookstore and get a book about it. there's thousands out there on this subject and it's too vast to write all the variations for setting up here. Here's a good site too from a supplier that'll give you an idea of every single possible thing you could have.

http://www.ryanrss.com/

[CanisMajor]

Just a quick explanation on Screen Resolution versus Print Resolution:

Screen Resolution is actually measured in ppi (pixels per inch)

Print Resolution is measured in dpi (dot per inch)

Many people use the terms interchangable, but technically they are different things.


If you send something to the printer they speak in terms of dpi

So if they ask for something at 100 dpi, you would make it 200 ppi on your computer.

:)

ref:
http://www.tildefrugal.net/photo/dpi.php
http://www.rideau-info.com/photos/mythdpi.html
http://www.photo.net/learn/resize/
http://www.design215.com/toolbox/print_guide.php

[.soulty]

nice answers guys, thanks for answering my questions durtyburd I was too busy lately to answer those myself, so thought i would throw in some question for others to answer. ;)

to expand on Pantone colours, we should mention that they consist of one colour dye or a specific colour which are not created by a combination of CMYK as a normal 4 print job would do.

Meaning: if you look closely at a magazine full colour print and focus in on a colour say a solid background colour you can see that the colour was created by a mixture of colours in the cmyk range. While if you look closely at a spot colour print you will not be able to see a mixture since a spot colour consists of that colour only.

::feel free to rewrite that simp to something that adds to the answer above.

[ApixDesigns]

what is 300 DPI and how can we set it and other industry standards.( pretty much just explain this)

[CanisMajor]

If you click on those links I provided above they will explain it better than I can right here.

Basically, 300 dots in a square one inch by one inch.

The quality of your printer really sets the standard for what you can print at.

My home printer works best at around 225 dpi. Anything above that is a waste because that is the best it can produce.

Some professionals will request your project to be at 100 dpi, some higher.


But your computer works in Pixels per inch (ppi). Notice we say an image has become pixelated. The computer works with squares not circles so technically it is pixels per inch.


The web works at 72 ppi and 96 ppi because of the limitations of your computer.


Hope that helps.

[.soulty]

we need more questions people!!.. make sure you point member to this sticky when print questions are asked so we can build this up. :)

[Machuse]

What are good printers to go with? What questions should I ask?

What is this stuff about paper weight?

What is UV coating?

What are some advanced techniques that really make things pop, how much do they cost and who can do them?
i.e. spot uv - die cuts

Explain to me metallic inks?

Theres tons of questions;

[B L U E]

One I still haven't found the answer to:

What do the number weights of paper represent? Ex: What does the 100 represent on 100 pound stock? Where is the number derived from? One reem of that particular stock?

[.soulty]

Q: What do the number weights of paper represent? Ex: What does the 100 represent on 100 pound stock? Where is the number derived from? One reem of that particular stock?

A: Paper weight is usually represented by GSM (grams per square meter). It basically represents the thickness of the paper stock. Most common paper stock for fax machines/printers can be 60-90GSM, while stock for items like business cards can range from 180 to 300+ gsm.

Here is a link to more info a little more detailed and well... confusing lol. :P
http://www.paper-paper.com/weight.html

*I'll post a better link if i find one

[hybrid101]

what are the basic sizes for a5, a4, a3, etc. paper?

[.soulty]

^ can you clarify that? what do you mean by 'basic sizes'?

[keskin]

Color profiles for print? Explane those please...sRGB, Adobe, Apple etc...and what's best/ and or most common...

[keskin]

Can somebody explain to me how to prepare file for billboard / jumbo printing (500 x 235 cm)?

What format, colors, profiles etc...what's the most common practice

Thank you :)

[albinus]

Q: What are good printers to go with? What questions should I ask?

A: You should shop around your local area for a printer - Yellow Pages and word-of-mouth worked best for me. Most local printers should be able to handle your projects unless you're publishing the next Forbes magazine or Harry Potter book. ;)

Q: What is this stuff about paper weight?

A: Once you establish a relationship with your printer, you should head over to their operations to take a tour and meet them face-to-face. You should also request samples of previous work they've done, as well as inquire about the papers they use. The paper weight, as well as the texture, is largely preference. For me, I typically build a 44-page catalog every year. The cover is 100-lb gloss paper, and the contents are 80-lb paper. I searched through the printer's stock paper selections, and chose the paper that would be the most cost-effective, while retaining quality.

Q: What is UV coating?

A: UV Coating is a special treatment that can be applied to paper. It makes for an extremely slick, glossy cover, and also protects the ink that's been printed on the cover from fading - it's UV protection, similar to what's on your sunglasses.

Q: Explain to me metallic inks?

A: Metallic inks are specified by Pantone Spot colors. They literally look like gold or silver has been printed on the paper. These are usually a "fifth" color - meaning another special color in addition to the original four (CMYK) that were printed on the paper, and it costs extra to print a metallic ink.

[Limitlis]

What's a good printer to go with? Meaning brand wise Epson, HP , etc..?

How to correctly work with ICC profiles?

[.soulty]

^It's shown in the second post.




RESOLUTION

Q: What's Screen resolution and Print resolution?

A: Screen resolution is the number of dots per inch on your monitor. for Windows it is 72 dot per inch and for mac it is 96 dot per inch

Print resolution is also the number of dots per inch on something you print on. This is set higher depending on what type of materials you are printing on
eg.
glossy paper or normal paper = 300 dot per inch
newspaper (paper that are porous) = 144 dot per inch (because the ink will bleed over)

provided by Gupps http://www.kirupa.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1829287&postcount=4

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[bikozak]

One I still haven't found the answer to:

What do the number weights of paper represent? Ex: What does the 100 represent on 100 pound stock? Where is the number derived from? One reem of that particular stock?
I am a pressman, so I consult this stuff all the time.
Basis Weight is the designated fixed weight of 500 sheets,
measured in pounds, in that paper's basic sheet size.
The size however can differ from various paper types.
To find out the size, goto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_density#Basis_weight
This is a term that is used in the printing industry as well. You might do well to educate yourself with a site like http://www.printingpressman.com/articles.html
Does that clarify things?

[mmaier262]

we r having a weird printing problem at work.....no one can figure it out.