It’s not often you get the opportunity to fully appreciate the work involved for those you might deal with on a daily basis. For me, getting a chance to take a look around a local printer’s workshop and better understand their side of things in the whole creative production process, was too good to pass up! I met a great guy at last night’s Creative Networks: Peter Biggins, the owner of Target Print, a Leeds based digital and litho printer. As we were chatting, it slowly dawned on me that I should probably ask if I could come visit his print workshop (as I’d always intended to do that at some point, as part of my ongoing learning) and Peter kindly agreed.
This was as great a time as any to swot up on my print knowledge and so I headed out today eager to learn! Peter spent the best part of the morning (and into the early afternoon too!) showing me around his workshop. It was a real eye-opener to see the scale of the printing presses and machinery that printers use.
Peter even took the time to explain Lithography and Offset Lithographic Printing to me. To see the lithographic printing process in action was incredible! Sheet-fed presses chugging away, tubs of Pantone process colour inks, Font Furniture – it was all just fantastic!
Huge Heidelberg presses churning out thousands upon thousands of prints!
We know it as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) but did you realise that it’s printed in this order: Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow? The darkest ink, black, goes on first (although this used to be the last to go on years ago!)
The inks come in large pots
All the colours of the rainbow!
I never considered that some inks took time to dry (although now it seems obvious) or that printer’s often work night shifts to get a print run completed! I think many people just don’t realise what it takes to print their work and expect instant results.
How do they achieve that perfect alignment every time you ask? With Lays! (Read the print terminology below)
Spray powder (starch) is applied to help separate the sheets
The console desk – check out all the buttons! :O
…and here’s where all the prints come out
All the off cuts are taken away and pulped down for recycling. How eco-friendly!
Heidelberg Cylinder
Font Furniture!
Forme Cutting
Shelves packed with Formes
Heidelberg Cylinder
Heidelberg Platen
…and here’s how they do all those Z-Folds! (and to think, I used to believe it was all done by hand, yup)
I asked what problems they encountered the most from Graphic Designers when they send their files in for print and I was a bit shocked to hear that designs with no bleed area was a common one. Files being sent over as RGB instead of CMYK was another! I’ve been reading up on colour workspaces/ colour calibration so as to avoid unrealistic expectations when you send your work to print (and that of your client when they look at your beautifully designed PDF on their RGB monitors) so I was really surprised by that one. I know there’s still much to learn but if I can steer clear of these obviously amateurish mistakes I think I’ll be well on track 🙂
Understanding the history behind our craft (and it is a craft, no matter how much it evolves over time) really helps me to appreciate our beginnings. I can see how Graphic Design has changed with the introduction of the Macintosh computer and I can see how the Print Industry has gone from Letterpress to Lithographics, Repro and Digital (and much, much more!). So, it’s good to know that there are still those out there who care deeply about their craft. I will continue to care deeply about mine.
Many thanks again to Peter Biggins and his team from Target Print for spending so much time showing me around and answering my questions!
Target Print Leeds Ltd… …print that targets your needs
Target Print is a Leeds based digital and litho printer producing a wide range of work including flyers, company brochures, stationery, folders, posters, leaflets and much more.
To find out more visit their website here: www.targetprint.co.uk
If all that wasn’t enough for you have a read through this handy, nifty list of Print Terminology that’ll have all your peers pantone green with envy!
Work-and-Turn and Work-and-Tumble
“Sheetwise, work-and-turn, and work-and tumble sound like just so much gibberish, but grasping their meaning can save you money buying printing”. Read more here:
http://www.printindustry.com/Newsletters/Newsletter-45.aspx
Dot Gain
“Dot gain (also known as Tonal Value Increase) is a phenomenon in offset lithography and some other forms of printing which causes printed material to look darker than intended. It is caused by halftone dots growing in area between the original printing film and the final printed result. In practice, this means that an image that has not been adjusted to account for dot gain will appear too dark when it is printed”. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_gain
NB: Avoid serif fonts at small point sizes, or pinch and swell type (e.g. the Loki Cola typeface) when using reverse type (e.g. white type on a black background) as you run the risk of the copy becoming unreadable. It might look sharp on screen but the ink may spread!
Lay Edges
“The two edges of a sheet which are placed flush with the side and front lays on a printing machine when feeding”. Read more here: http://www.twpg.com.au/Retail/glossary.htm
Lay Mark
“An area of ink on the edge of a sheet to make the lay corner easily identifiable. It appears on the side lay edge and is closer to the gripper edge than the trailing edge”. Read more here: http://www.twpg.com.au/Retail/glossary.htm
UV (Spot) Varnish
A varnish applied after printing, either as an overall finish to give a high gloss finish, or applied as a ‘spot’ varnish to certain previously printed images, then cured using ultra violet light. Read more here: http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/UV%20varnish
NB: Ultraviolet Inks – Set instantly, by light! Read more about UV inks and Flexographic printing here: http://www.flexoexchange.com/gorilla/uvink1.html
or check out this useful tutorial from Computer Arts Magazine about using spot colours and varnishes here.
Forme Cutting
“A process of bending a knife’s edge to the desired shape and punching out the form in the required material – just like a cookie cutter”. Read more here: http://www.conceptforum.com.au/formeCutting.php
Die Cutting
“A “forme” or “die” is pressed onto a flat material to cut, score, punch and otherwise shape the material”. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_industrial_processes
Letterpress
“Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a “type-high bed” printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image”. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterpress_printing
