Hot answers tagged print-design
23
I like the accepted answer, it has good advice, but I thought I'd expand on it a bit.
For wall sized graphics and large banners (e.g 3m x 5m), what is an acceptable PPI/DPI for print.
Here's definitions, so we know what we're talking about.
DPI = Dots per inch = units used to measure the resolution of a printer
LPI = Lines per inch = The offset ...
17
To answer the first question: you want a printer who says they can do white. It's not a matter of 5-color printing, it's more whether that printer does that kind of thing.
As you can tell from a look at the Pantone swatch book, there is no white ink in conventional printing. The translucency of the few whites that are available makes them unsuitable for ...
16
In general you should use vector graphics in the artwork wherever practical, and deliver final artwork to the printer in PDF or other vector format. Your finished print will then be limited only by the output resolution of the print device.
This is particularly important with text and line art -- visible rasterization in the finished print will be very ...
16
I personally would let it slide since they are a regular client. It sounds as if it was a communication issue, so you may want to let them know somehow, "Hey we removed this item from the invoice due to a misunderstanding, but please note that our design fee is XXX for furture reference."
That way they are aware, and you look like the "good guy" to a good ...
14
I've always thought DPI was somewhat of a misnomer... It really only applies if you are printing an image, otherwise, well, pixels are pixels. For an image on a site, well, it really doesn't matter, just get as many as possible, to fit the required size. Printers vary somewhat, but around 300 DPI is usually a good rule of thumb for anything around the size ...
14
In addition to Philip's excellent answer (money always gets their attention), point out that the MMs are changing the documents so that they no longer reflect corporate standards. "The company branding is being diluted" is a good way to put it. Your job is to make everything look good and look consistent, and they are damaging the company's appearance.
If ...
13
You have a problem with how the process of creating these marketing materials gets handled, and some clear policies need to be put in place.
At my company the designers, and only the designers, create layouts and make changes. Any changes that the MMs want simply get marked up and handed over. A few rounds of changes aren't out of the ordinary, but the ...
11
It is not as standard as one would hope of. The common aspect ratios range from 1.423 to 1.8.
For the most ID cards and credit cards ID-1 from ISO/IEC 7810 (wikipedia) standard tells the dimensions, which are 85.60 × 53.98 mm (3.370 × 2.125 in) and aspect ratio is 1.586. This is also the standard business card size in many situations as it is highly ...
11
I've never dealt with this, but I can tell you what I would do:
If you already have a printer lined up, ask them for the print specifications. If you don't already have a printer lined up, find one and ask them for the print specifications. I'm sure most are accustomed to clients sending them artwork and they will lay it out for them on their template. ...
10
Advertising. While it's a noble idea that it was done for readability, newspapers, in general, have columns that are overly narrow compared to most given readability information/data.
Having multiple columns allows for a very versatile ad grid, and, traditionally, newspapers were in the business of selling ads.
It also allows more stories to appear on ...
9
In a word: "No." Your concerns are exactly on point, and I'd echo Philip's and Lauren's suggestions. There is a point where office politics on the one hand, and the scramble to meet deadlines on the other, become destructive. If ever there was a case, this is it.
Besides the points already covered, I would suggest looking to an InDesign/InCopy workflow as a ...
9
Standard US and European paper sizes have different origins, both with deep historical roots, but you'll have a relatively hard (and relatively expensive) time finding US Legal paper stock in Europe or A4 in the US. Even in the US, the standard legal size is increasingly rare and much more expensive. The UK may still have "Foolscap", which was standard there ...
9
Linked below is a short but good read summarizing different studies on line lengths. Studies were done as far back as the 1880s demonstrating that optimal line-length for reading was between 3.6 - 4 inches. Even 50 years later, this was still the deal:
One of the best studies was done by Tinker and Paterson in 1929. Using 10-point black type on white ...
9
Yes. Do one or more of these:
Use larger text
Use a bolder or simpler typeface
Use a spot colour, varnish, foil or clear laminate for the text
Increase the tonal contrast:
If your text is black, make it rich black and/or slightly lighten the darkest areas of the image
If your text is reversed out (white paper), slightly darken the lightest areas of the ...
9
Honestly, this is the print provider's job. There's no reason a designer should be doing pagination for press. That being said, I realize that some print providers are lazy or at times, honestly don't know how to paginate native files, or aren't using a PDF workflow yet (unbelievably) and don't know how to paginate a PDF. There are software packages ...
9
The answer is to create your logo artwork as vector rather than raster graphics. You can then use this artwork directly for print work, or export raster artwork at the size you need for web graphics.
While Photoshop has some vector support, if you have Creative Suite, Illustrator is the tool for the job. If you don't, then Inkscape (which is free) is worth ...
9
I can't remember a single academic poster, from my 'scientific years', that was (at all) well designed. All I can think of are walls and walls full of text (usually in the same font), and me not reading even 10% of them. But to be honest, most teams wouldn't have the budget for (or the tradition of) hiring designers to do them.
Posters usually need to ...
9
What you are looking for are "flatbed cutter" or "flatbed cutter plotter".
The "flatbed" part is important.
Standard vinyl cutter do not need a flatbed since the vinyl sticks to a backing paper. This enables the cutter to roll and unroll the material(vinyl) without having to worry about loose pieces of material jamming the mechanisms. The backing paper ...
8
To maintain brand identity a logo should generally have a set color scheme.
Generally...
Full color
Two Color (if appropriate)
One Color
Reversed
If you vary beyond this and start swapping colors for every projects you greatly degrade any brand identity unless the color variations are for a very specific reason.
Think of any major brand... does their ...
8
e100's advice is spot on. A vector application such as Illustrator is the best tool for logo design, whether you start on paper and scan it in, or work directly within the program.
This isn't the whole story, however. Scalability doesn't just involve vectors; the detail in a logo must also be adjusted for the size of the finished artwork. Just as with ...
8
Design isn't solely about 'being creative'. It's part of it, but a big part is about 'effective communication'.
What is the purpose of a resume? For the most part, it's to effectively communicate something.
A vast majority of the time, a resume should be a utilitarian tool. That doesn't mean it needs to be plain, nor that care doesn't have to be put into ...
7
I recently read jrista's marvellous q&a from photo.stackexchange.
While the question is titled "How do I generate high quality prints with an ink jet printer?" it covers DPI & PPI relationship to quite an extent and has real-world print examples.
Current Q&A contents:
Summary
Detailed Explanation
Empirical Studies:
Does PPI really matter?
...
7
A bit of overlap with what I just answered here, and you can grab urls from there, but yep, a Gimp and or Inkscape --> Scribus workflow might be ok. ( Edit: or maybe just sk1 )
Actually done it? Yep. I indeed work with mostly free and open source tools. No complaints :)
In my experience, you often have to use heavily your brain and create your tricks to ...
7
Grande format resolutions, as various folks have pointed out, depend on viewing distance. Several answers refer to line screens, but technology has moved on. Very few, if any, grande format jobs are printed that way, and in any case, none of the answers indicated how to translate from PPI (dots) resolution in Photoshop to LPI (lines of dots at different ...
7
Image size/dimension/resolution can be a confusing topic; I routinely encounter graphic design professionals who don't really understand how it works.
The main thing to keep in mind is that "size" could be either size on screen or size on paper when you print the image out. Pixels are different sizes in different contexts, so the pixels in the image get ...
7
It will be inkjet printed, so 300 ppi will give you plenty of quality. If the file size on disk gets excessive, 150 ppi would also be fine, but for a seating chart that's unlikely to be an issue.
Export to ("Save As...") PDF using "High Quality Print" as the preset, and you'll be fine for printing at your local FedEx/Kinko, etc., or on a desktop printer if ...
7
If you'll be going to a digital print shop to make the posters (which would be usual for a small run for a local event), you'll be fine at 150 ppi, and for a background image you probably wouldn't be in trouble at 100 ppi, particularly since it likely won't contain a lot of high-frequency detail that would conflict with your text.
An 11x17 poster is mostly ...
7
It's OK.
A handbill (or a flyer as I'm used to call it) is given by hand and read in hand: everyone is used to look at the both sides of the flyer hence they are used to "operate" the flyer. So: rotating the flyer is not an odd action for the holder to do.
Compare to e.g. a poster which is always read from a fixed position and can't be "operated" (ie. ...
7
Any contract should clearly state what the client is purchasing rights to, what those rights are, and what the designer is retaining.
I never sell rights to sketches, preliminaries, notes, etc. They are always retained and the client is purchasing the final image/design/product only.
I will sell the rights to the final product if it's negotiated - this ...
7
Where a logo is concerned, or similar identity material, the client would have to be very naive, or very foolish, and the designer unethical, not to ensure that all rights in the finished design are transferred to the client upon acceptance of the finished work. As the designer, you never lose the right to display in your portfolio (including your website) a ...
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