print essentials

							                     print essentials
Does “bleed” sound painful? Is a “Die-Cut” a fatal injury? Dealing with a printing company can be
daunting for a first timer. Using professionals with a high level of knowledge and technical skills is
crucial to achieving the best results, especially considering the financial outlay involved. This Catalyst
Media Essentials Fact Sheet provides background knowledge on printing processes and how industry
professionals are vital to the creation of quality marketing material.

Printing EssEntials                                                            Finishing touChEs
Experts consider the following marketing tools to be essential:                Extra “zing” can be added to your print job by using techniques
business card, letterhead, with compliments slips, envelopes and an            such as matt or gloss laminating, special die-cuts, embossing, spot
information flyer. Additional tools worth considering are presentation         varnishes and metallic inks. Ask your designer for their ideas.
folders, glossy A4 brochures, brochures or flyers for individual
products, A7 promoter cards, posters, signage (inside, outside and for
vehicles). On a budget? Your essential top three are a business card,
                                                                               onE last thing …
letterhead and information flyer.                                              Printing is a specialised industry. Working with a printing company
                                                                               that will do the design and can guarantee results, or working with a
Colour oPtions                                                                 graphic designer who is competent in setting up artwork for offset
                                                                               printing is highly recommended.
One of the first questions a designer will ask is whether you want a           Before any print job is signed off it must be proof read: over and over
one colour, two colour or CMYK colour printing job.                            and over and over again! Finding a mistake when you open up a box
One colour printing involves the use of one spot colour (one                   of thousands of brochures is a sickening feeling that can be avoided
specific ink colour). Only that ink colour is used on the press. A clever      through the use of a professional and by thorough checking.
designer can make the most of a one colour print job by setting up
artwork that uses tints. The final result can include several colours of
the same hue. Reproducing full colour photographs is not possible
when printing with one ink colour. However, printing a one-colour or             ChECKlist
monotone photo is possible. One colour print on cheap paper stock
can be a cost effective, quick promotional tool. Two colour is the use           1. Printing is a highly technical and sometimes expensive
of two spot colours in the same fashion.                                            enterprise: always use a professional.
CMYK (or process colour) stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black:             2. top three marketing essentials – picked by the experts
the four colours used on a press that, when combined, create full                   – are: a business card, letterhead and an information flyer.
colour imagery. To print in CMYK, artwork must be separated into the             3. a one colour printing job involves the use of one specific
four separate colours, and each colour gets its own printing plate.                 ink colour (and tints of this colour). two colour is the use
This is called “separation”. Usually a printing house takes care of this            of two spot colours and CMYK (or process colour) is the
process, but sometimes it is up to a designer. Each colour is printed               industry name for full colour printing.
separately, layer upon layer. Once these four layers are combined, the
                                                                                 4. a designer will advise on the most suitable colour option
print is “full colour” and may contain thousands of different colours.
                                                                                    for every individual print job.
CMYK, or process printing has decreased in price over time, but
requires a minimum quantity of usually 1000 or 2000.                             5. the main information contained in a print quote are
                                                                                    quantity, colour (1, 2 or CMYK), paper stock (weight of the
                                                                                    paper expressed in gsm and any special touches such as
Know Your Print quotE                                                               gloss), folding, stapling or finishing (such as lamination,
Printing quotes contain the following information: quantity, colour (1,             embossing, varnish) and the size of printed document (Dl,
2 or CMYK), paper stock (weight of the paper expressed in gsm and                   a4, a3, a1 etc).
any special touches such as gloss), folding, stapling or finishing (such         6. it is cheaper per item to get a larger print run than separate
as lamination, embossing, varnish) and the size of printed document                 smaller runs due to the printer’s set up costs.
(DL, A4, A3, A1 etc).
                                                                                 7. Printing techniques such as matt laminating, special die-
Quotes may outline estimated turnaround times details of what has                   cuts, embossing and spot lamination can provide stunning
to be delivered to the printer, eg. Press-ready artwork. The more you               special effects.
have printed, the less cost there is per item. This is because there
                                                                                 8. Proof read: carefully and repeatedly!
are the same setup costs from the printer, regardless of the amount
printed.


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       catalystmedia                          Po Box 743, level 1 / 10 Barolin st, Bundaberg qld 4670 • p 07 4131 9700 • f 07 4131 9797
                                              info@catalystmedia.com.au • www.catalystmedia.com.au