March 13th, 2012
Posted in Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Printing | 4 Comments »
Traditional offset lithography depends on the fact that oil and water repel each other. The image area of a traditional lithographic plate attracts the oily ink and repels the dampening solution (water and alcohol), while the non-image area attracts water and repels the oily ink. When the commercial printer achieves the correct ink/water balance, the press can accurately print type and images from the planographic (flat surfaced) printing plates. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Printing | 4 Comments »
March 11th, 2012
Posted in InDesign Software, Prepress, Proofing | Comments Off on Custom Printing Options for Creating and Proofing PDFs
We are inundated with PDFs today. Almost every application you own can create a Portable Document Format file, from OpenOffice to Microsoft Word to Adobe Acrobat. But if you are a graphic designer, how do you know that the PDF you are creating for your commercial printer is appropriate for the target offset or digital printing technology? How do you know your job won’t go horribly wrong? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in InDesign Software, Prepress, Proofing | Comments Off on Custom Printing Options for Creating and Proofing PDFs
March 5th, 2012
Posted in Book Binding Options, Book Printing, Paper and finishing, Soft Cover Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Attending to Details in Cover Design and Production
I’m brokering the print production for a perfect bound book with a unique cover. It has images and type on both the outside and inside covers, as well as French flaps. Therefore, the design and production of the cover reflects a number of concerns for both graphic artists and production managers. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Binding Options, Book Printing, Paper and finishing, Soft Cover Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Attending to Details in Cover Design and Production
March 1st, 2012
Posted in Catalog Printing, Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Printing | Comments Off on Printing Companies Can Stay Relevant by Shifting Their Approach to Marketing
A close friend recently gave me a book called Disrupting the Future. Written by Joseph W. Webb, Ph.D., and Richard M. Romano, this book proposes ways commercial printers can continue to be relevant as ink on paper becomes only one of many channels for communication. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Catalog Printing, Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Printing | Comments Off on Printing Companies Can Stay Relevant by Shifting Their Approach to Marketing
February 27th, 2012
Posted in Book Printing, Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Prepress, Proofing, Soft Cover Book Printing | 1 Comment »
There are a lot of proofing options. Clearly. You have inkjet, laser, press proofs, and on-screen soft proofs. Which do you use and when? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing, Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Prepress, Proofing, Soft Cover Book Printing | 1 Comment »
February 23rd, 2012
Posted in Offset Printing, Prepress, Printing, Proofing | 5 Comments »
A close friend emailed me a commercial printing blog comment asking whether any proofing device could really match ink colors on press. Not just close, but dead-on. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Offset Printing, Prepress, Printing, Proofing | 5 Comments »
February 19th, 2012
Posted in Book Binding Options, Book Printing, Offset Printing, Prepress, Printing, Proofing, Soft Cover Book Printing | Comments Off on Print Buyers: Anticipate Production Problems to Avoid Them in Printing Process
They say that timing is everything, and in print buying this is especially true. It is essential to think ahead and plan for all contingencies. Here are two diverse case studies to illustrate my point. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Binding Options, Book Printing, Offset Printing, Prepress, Printing, Proofing, Soft Cover Book Printing | Comments Off on Print Buyers: Anticipate Production Problems to Avoid Them in Printing Process
February 18th, 2012
Posted in Book Printing, Digital Printing, Large-Format Printing, Magazine Printing, Offset Printing, Paper and finishing, Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: The Right Tools for the Task at Hand
I had two thoughts about printing that I wanted to share. They appear unrelated, yet they both address the appropriateness of custom printing vs. digital communication. And they both, perhaps, are good starting points for future articles. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing, Digital Printing, Large-Format Printing, Magazine Printing, Offset Printing, Paper and finishing, Printing | Comments Off on Custom Printing: The Right Tools for the Task at Hand
February 12th, 2012
Posted in Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Printing, Screen Printing | Comments Off on Case Study for Multi-Channel Marketing
There’s a new buzzword in printing. It’s “multi-channel marketing.” Multi-channel marketers embrace the new digital technologies rather than hide from them. They integrate offset and digital custom printing with social media and other Internet-based modes of communication. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Digital Printing, Offset Printing, Printing, Screen Printing | Comments Off on Case Study for Multi-Channel Marketing
February 12th, 2012
Posted in Book Printing, Digital Printing, Prepress, Soft Cover Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Why not Choose Both a Print and an Electronic Version?
I recently received an interesting (and yet also quite appropriate for the times) request from a client for whom I had just completed the design and art file production for a print book. She asked for a PDF of the book optimized for tablet computers. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Book Printing, Digital Printing, Prepress, Soft Cover Book Printing | Comments Off on Book Printing: Why not Choose Both a Print and an Electronic Version?