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What is "trapping"?
Trap
is the slight overlap two abutting colours must have to allow
for minimal press misregistration or paper stretch. In multiple
spot colour pieces, trap is essential. Since printing inks are
not opaque, but are translucent, overprinting two colours will
give you a mix of the two rather than the true foreground colour.
Therefore the background colour must be "knocked out"
to allow the paper colour to be the canvas for the foreground
colour.
As the
"grippers" pull the paper through the press, the sheets
are squeezed from the impression pressure and stretched from
the tug of the grippers. This stretch combined with plates mounted
or shifting slightly off register could mean a slight paper
show-through between the abutting colours where the images have
shifted. So to allow for this, we create a "trap".
If the lighter colour is in the foreground, we "spread"
it into the darker colour (background). If the lighter colour
is in the background we "choke" it into the darker
colour (foreground). (Trap allowance is different for each printer).
Trapping
can become a very tricky situation. Some applications can do
it, others can't. Contact your film outputting service or service
bureau to prepare for the best possible output.
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What is "PMS"?
"PMS"
(Pantone Matching System) is the most widely accepted process
for colour matching. Each unit in the press can only be
inked up in one colour, and that colour must be mixed and applied
manually. The Pantone company has created a system by
which thousands of colours are mixed from a few basic colours
using a given recipe. Each recipe is assigned a number.
The end result is that a printing company in Bristol, CT will
get the same PMS 200 Red as a printing company in Nerja, Spain.
Be warned
that the normal Pantone inks are not laser printer compatible.
The ink base is usually plastic. In the laser printing
process, plastic toner is melted onto a sheet of paper.
The heat created from this process can melt offset printing
inks and dirty Quality Print's rollers. Be sure to ask for laser
compatible inks in the event that you may need them. If
you have ever seen a Pantone colour Formula Guide, you may have
noticed that there is a coated and uncoated section. This is
not a difference in the ink, but in the paper. The same
recipe is used for PMS 200U (Uncoated) as for PMS 200C (Coated).
The difference is in how the ink sits on the paper sheet.
The same ink printed on two different sheets will look different.
The major
colour deception occurs on individual computer monitors.
The PMS system may have a much different look on my monitor
than on yours. So, when designing a printed piece consult
a Pantone colour Formula Guide so that there are no surprises
when you receive the finished product.
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What is "bleed"?
When
images are arranged right up to the edge of the paper, a "bleed"
is needed. We will actually run the printed piece on an oversized
sheet of paper and print the image off the finished edge, trimming
off the excess. This allows for "draw" in the trim.
Though the sharp edge of a cutting blade is razor sharp, there
is still some degree of pull during the cut. This minute difference
between the sheets in the top and bottom of the cut pile (draw)
would never be noticed unless an image were slightly touching
the edge. So bleed is given to eliminate noticeable difference.
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What is a "screen"?
A "screen"
is a grid pattern of dots applied to an image to create a percentage
of full ink coverage. The size of the dot is what makes
the percentage higher or lower. The use of screens can
make a single colour printed piece appear as if it were printed
with multiple colours.
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What is "stripping"?"
Stripping"
is another term for image assembly. This process involves
aligning and arranging negatives to burn in the right places
and register on the plate. A crooked assembly means crooked
printing and a crooked end result.
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Are fonts the "hell" of desktop publishing?
Why,
yes they are. Font files cause the most trouble in outputting. There are many font manufacturers and formats.
The first step in coordinating a printed piece with minimal
trouble is to use a fixed number of fonts. Then, be sure
that you have the postscript and screen version of each font.
When you are finished with your design, copy all of those
font files from your desktop onto your disk. Good luck...
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What does "camera-ready" mean?
This is the term
used to describe artwork that can be photographed to yield a
negative. Camera-ready is clean black and white artwork
without gray images adhered to a sturdy background (card stock)
with a waxing machine (a removable glue stick will do, but DO
NOT use tape - it will distort the images it covers).
Only flat thin items can be placed in the camera. If you
have a three-dimensional piece or a thick book, have it photographed
beforehand by a professional.
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What is resolution (dpi/lpi)?
DPI (dots per inch)
and LPI (lines per inch) refer to the definition or potential
clarity of the image output. The higher the resolution;
the better the possible output. Different media have different
resolutions. Check your desktop printer for its specifications.
In supplying
film to Quality Print resolution is an important point of contention.
You will need to know what dpi/lpi is needed. The other
spec you will need to know is on what side of the film is the
photoemulsion. The images can be arranged right-reading
emulsion down or right-reading emulsion up. Ask Quality Print
for specs.
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How many colours are in my design?
Any ink
used in the process is counted as one colour. Which means that
black and varnishes are counted as colours. To get two
colours, the printer will need a "spot colour" setup.
This means one negative for each colour; just straight colour
(no CMYK/RGB colour separation).
The opposite
of spot colour is "four colour process" (CMYK).
This is the process by which photo quality images are made.
The entire piece is comprised of combinations of Cyan, Magenta,
Yellow, and Black dots (K for black so that there is no confusion
with blue). To see this you only need a magazine and a magnifying
glass. In this process there are four separate inks.
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How do I prepare computer files for outputting?
The key
step here is to call us at 705-722-0428
. Be sure that we have the applications (Corel,
Adobe etc.) and storage media (Zip, SyQuest, etc.) you are
using. Then be sure to bring all of the involved document
files; layout files, graphics, fonts, etc. If you have
graphics be sure that the resolution is set properly (dpi/lpi)
and the file format (EPS, tiff, etc.) is correct.
If you
have photos to be scanned or shot, be sure that you have indicated
cropping and size percentage to be used. If you are outputting
multiple colours be sure that the separations are correct.
And bring a mock-up of what the end result should look like.
It is okay if that mock-up is a grayscale (black and white)
version of a colour project, but the more visually accurate your
description is, the less room there is for error.
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