It isn’t just black that creates a problem, any dark colored printing paper presents challenges. The biggest hurdle is that printing inks are transparent. CYMK (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Black) dots are meant to be seen through. Overlapping dots create the color variations, you know, blue + yellow = green or yellow + red = orange. So what happens when you print transparent ink on dark paper? Right, the stock overwhelms the ink and you either don’t see it or the image is so faint as to be useless.

“Why do the mills create printing papers that won’t work well on press?” you might ask. Ah, that is a good question. Those wily paper mills know what Graphic Designers want and bold colored paper is often the best choice for their project. Strong color adds drama that you just can’t get with pastel shades. Again, “Why use it if it won’t yield a good result?” Printers have more than one trick up their sleeves. There are other processes that can be employed to print on dark paper.

Reverse Image:

Reverse image and type

The simplest way to achieve a dark background with a light image is to print it. Print the background with solid black, plum, or forest green on a white stock. Leave a window for the images, and you can achieve almost any look you want. The difficulty here is that offset printing is done with dots, as we discussed in an earlier blog. Print the dots on a textured or soft paper surface and you’ll probably end up with streaky, or splotchy solids. The paper surface makes a big difference. Make sure you discuss these issues with your printing professional before you go to press. Streaky, splotchy surprises are not fun.

The  poster to the right for the Rhythm City Dance School is a good example of reversed images. The type is white, but the dancer is gray. White is the color of the stock and the gray was achieved by using a screen of black (separating the black dots).  The point is, that while this piece appears to be printed on black paper it is really printed on white paper with a lot of black ink.

Foil Stamp:

Most foils are made opaque on purpose. They will cover any background color. The problem is that foil stamping is more costly than offset printing because it requires a die, the foil, and equipment that runs slower. The good news is that foil is available in a wide spectrum of colors, and finishes. For example you can get gold foil in satin, flat, shiny, and really shiny. It also comes in many shades. Gold foils are available in yellowish tints, greenish tints, and nearly bronze. Other foils that work well are white, silver, or clear.

Blind Emboss:

An excellent treatment to employ using dark paper is the blind emboss. Blind embossing raises the surface of the paper creating an image that is perceived by its height. It’s like a white-on-white blouse. The color is the same, but the pattern is revealed anyway. Blind embossing will cost more also than offset printing. Dies can get very pricey depending on the number of levels in your image. Most blind embosses are one level, but I’ve seen sculptured dies with a face or animal that are very complex. Sculptured dies, as you might imagine, can get into the thousands of dollars.

Foil Emboss:

As you might expect foil embossing uses both techniques. The image is foil stamped and then raised via blind emboss. A combo die can be created for this effect. Combo dies, as you probably guessed, cost less than buying two separate dies.

Opaque Inks:

Most opaque inks are not as opaque as you would like them to be. Imagine painting a light color over a previously dark wall. If you’ve had this experience you know that one coat won’t be enough. You might have to do two, three, or four coats before the wall is right. It’s the same with opaque inks. To blot out a dark surface the printer may have to double-bump (hit the image twice with the same color) and that probably won’t be enough. Additional bumps should work, theoretically,  but with each pass through the press you risk slurring your image or ruining paper. Paper is not indestructible, you know.

Metallic inks usually work better for this purpose. Metallic inks are made with up to 70% heavy metals, but even with metallic ink you will probably have to double-bump the image. And, this technique is not recommended for large areas.Type works better than swaths  of color which may show up blotchy.

Black-on-Black:

I’ve seen some excellent results with combinations of  black. For example, black paper on the market is almost always uncoated, which means that the color is a little flatter. If you use a black foil stamp or clear foil you can create a striking look by contrasting the paper surface with the shiny image.

Spot UV Coating:

It used to be that UV coating on uncoated paper was a no,no. There are new formulas that will allow spot UV, but aren’t guaranteed. Much depends on the paper you select. If you want to try spot UV coating, be sure to get samples from your local paper merchant, and have the printer test it.

What do you look for on a proof? That seems like an easy question and it used to be a little easier to answer than it is now. The first thing you need to understand is that your signature on the proof releases the printer, or the broker, from all responsibility for the printed piece. By that I mean, if the product is a close match to the proof, but you don’t like it after all, or you found an error, the problem is yours.  Don’t blame the printers even if they were the ones who introduced the mistake. Proofs are your chance, often your last chance, to make sure everything is right before printing. I often hear customers say they don’t need a proof, or they don’t want a press check. That, in my opinion, is a big mistake. More than once I’ve seen jobs get  all the way to the press before the customer notices a critical error like a wrong phone number, or address.

wrong + wrong = right

Printing, in general, is an imperfect process. I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating, you start with the premise that oil (ink) and water (fountain solution) don’t mix and proceed to make it work. It’s a case of two wrongs making a right.

Back to the question of checking a proof. What you look for depends on the kind of proof you received. Most printers are now using direct-to-plate technology. Direct-to-plate has revolutionized the plate making process. A print shop of not too many years past used to have large rooms with big light tables throughout. The light tables were used to strip the film. Now the tables are gone and the rooms are empty, leaving lots of space for an arcade, or shuffleboard. I’m kidding, but what do they do with the extra space? Maybe shuffleboard isn’t a bad idea. In the era of the light table and hand stripping proofs they were  either bluelines (for one color printing), or color-keys (for four color printing). You aren’t likely to come across these terms anymore, but you might, so I’m telling you about them. There were other kinds of proofs too like Matchprints, or Chromalins. No matter what kind of proof was presented to the customer there was always one flaw–the color proofs were good for four color process, but if you used a PMS color from the Pantone book, you had to guess at the result. Kind of like looking at a small  paint chip vs. painting a large wall. Most printers will provide a digital hard-copy proof.

What do I look for?

Generally you want to check a hard-copy proof for:

• Color. Does it look like the color you expected to get? Remember though, the color that appears on your computer monitor might not be the actual color. Ripped (separating the colors into dots) color is different. Your monitor’s pixels are RGB (red, green,blue) and ripped color is CYMK (cyan, yellow,magenta, black). If the color is way off, you might have to go back and fix some things or have the printer help you fix it. If the color is close, don’t make yourself crazy, let it pass.
• Size. If your image was supposed to be 8 1/2″X11″ and it comes out as 4″X6″ there is a problem.
• Type. Because computer design is done in layers, it is very easy to cover a portion of your type block with a window. You may not see it on your screen, so you need to watch for it on the proof.
• Reflow. This is becoming less of a problem than it used to be, but you should still watch for it. Reflow usually happens when the font you are using doesn’t match the font in the printer’s system. If you haven’t downloaded your fonts they will default to the printer’s defaults. Small sizing or kerning (the space between letters) can throw your document off. Particularly if you are using a PC and the printer is on Mac.
• Missing or Added elements. I think this one is self-explanatory.
• Bleeds. If you want your piece to bleed (ink goes to the edge of the sheet) did you allow a 1/8″ overhang beyond the trims?
• Back up. Does the front back up correctly with the back? You might need a second low-res proof to see this, but unless back up isn’t important, be sure you get a folded proof.

wait til the press check

What to ignore or save for the press check.

• PMS or Spot color. Ripped proofs are still using four color process dots to create approximate color. It can be way off. If you are concerned about the spot color, do yourself a favor and attend a press check.
• Small dots. The computer picks up very small dots and reproduces them on the digital proof. A 1% to 3% dot may not appear on the plate. If those dots are important to the design be aware that they could disappear. If the dots are fighting your design the same is true. To be sure, go to a press check.
• Paper. The proof you see will be different when ink touches paper, particularly if it is an uncoated sheet. All proofs are approximations. To know for sure you have to see the ink on paper.

Respect the proof. That might sound funny, but if you attempt to glance at the proof and give it a cursory approval, you are bound to have mistakes. Stop, take a deep breath, and concentrate on the proof. You’ll have fewer errors. And maybe, fewer times called on the carpet.

Yesterday’s blog was a continuation of bid specifying. We shot a photo of my specification sheet that I use, but it came out too dark, and is too small to read, so we will try to correct that problem shortly. In the meantime, I thought a specification list would be easy for you to follow and if you want to create your own spec sheet you can. You are free to use the following information:

I. Customer’s Company Name

A. Contact Name, Address, and Phone or email address

B. Date including when estimate is required, when the job is due, when customer art is expected, and if a partial delivery will do.

C. Does the Customer want proofs? How? What kind? Attend a press check? How much notice is required?

II. Job Title

A. Description, for example: 16 page booklet, self-cover, saddle-stitched.

B. Quantity

C. New or Pickup? Is it a new job (never been run before) or a rerun (pickup) from a previous order? If pickup provide last invoice or job number and date.

D. Size, Flat,  Finished, Page Count, Self or Plus Cover

E. Are There Bleeds? Where, head, foot, right side, left side, full, or none?

F Printing Method? Digital, Sheet-fed offset, Cold Web, Heat-set Web, Letterpress, Other.

G. Any Other Special Requirements?

III. Customer Furnished Art and Proofs

A. Customer supplies: disk, PC or Mac, Program Name and Version, Dummy. Will send by email, or ftp?

B. Printer supplies: Typeset, Layout, Design, Proof, What type of proof (hard or electronic?)

IV. Paper

A. Describe Paper for Each Part i.e. Cover, Text, and page count for each. For example, a 16 page booklet with cover and flyleaf, saddle-stitched would be: 4pages cover, 4 pages flyleaf, and 16 pages text, for a total of 24 pages.

1. Weight of stock or thickness (cover weight, book, text, ledger, etc.)

2. Color of the Paper?

3. Description: Mill, Paper Line, Finish (linen, wove, etc.)

4. Coated or Uncoated? If coated is it Gloss, Dull, Satin, or Matte?

5. If it is an envelope will it be custom (converted from flat sheet, windows) or stocked? Size, prints face, flap, inside?

6. If it is a form, how many plies, color rotation for carbonless (w/y/p).

V. Ink

A. How Many Color on each side? Does it print 4/2 (four color one side and two on the other? Or maybe 1/1 (one color both sides). Is it the same color on both sides, i.e. red ink on one and blue on the other.

B. How Much Ink Coverage? Heavy, Medium, or Light.

C. Specialty Inks, laser ready, quick dry, hard dry, etc.

VI. Bindery

A. How does it Bind? Saddle-stitch, Perfect Bind, Wire-o, Plastic Comb, Hard Cover, Velo, Plastic Coil, Spiral, etc.

B. Does it require–Folding, Scoring, Collation?

C. Padding? How many sheets per pad, with chipboard or without, std. padding glue? Where, top, or sides.

VII. Other

A. Die Cutting

B. Foil Stamp/Foil Emboss/Blind Emboss–die required? What size? What material: Copper, Brass? How intricate? One level, two or more?

C. Numbering–beginning number, ending number. Red or Black?

D. Tabbing–how many banks? How many positions? Each sheet unique or are faces common and tabs the only variable? Mylar reinforce tabs, color? Three hole drill or other? Reinforce holes?

E. Gluing–as in pockets for a kit cover. How many? Other?

F. Perforation–Corner, “L”, or straight? Standard perf or micro? Laser ready?

G. Drill–how many holes and where? What size hole?

H. Shrink wrap–How many to a package,number of packages.

VIII. Packaging and Delivery

A. Bulk Box–product placed in box without any other wrapping.

B. Paper Band, Rubber Band, Shrink Wrap–how many per package, how many per box?

C. Standard Boxes, or special?

D. One local delivery address or more? Specify how many to each location.

E. To Ship? How (FedEx, UPS, USPS, other)? Use customer account or printers?

F. Samples? How many to customer, or other?

Can you believe that I was able to boil down all these points on one 81/2″X11″ form, and still have room to make a sketch to communicate more thoroughly? The real trick is understanding the job, and writing it down in such a way that the vendors will have the same clear information for giving you their best bid. If done right, a spec sheet removes all guesswork. Guessing, and assuming are the bane of printers. When they are all working from common specifications you’ll see their bids will come in much tighter. Wild pricing differences will be a thing of the past, and you won’t have any more surprises after the printer receives the art. They won’t call and say, “This is different than the way we bid it. There will be additional charges.” Had you budgeted for that contingency? I doubt it.