Title: Module 02 graphic print production

Intro Slide

Module 2

graphic print production

The content in the lecture corresponds with CHAPTER 1 of

A Guide to Graphic Print Production, 3rd Edition

This book is required for this course and can be purchased in both hardcover and ebook format by clicking the link above

Materials from this lecture are sampled from A Guide to Graphic Print Production, 3rd Edition​ By Kaj Johansson, Peter Lundberg, Robert Ryberg​ ISBN: 978-0-470-90792-4 and are published and copyrighted by John Wiley & Sons, Inc and are being used with the permission of the publisher or under the Canadian Copyright Act fair dealing provision.

Module Overview

This Module will overview

- The graphic print production flow
- What affects costs?
- Choosing a service provider
- Planning graphic print production

Questions we will answer

Who actually does what in graphic print production today?

What is prepress?

What affects the price of a printed product?

What should you think about when getting a price quote?

How do you avoid additional costs?

Who is responsible for what parts of the production?

Eight Steps and Four Phases

[Image: Figure 1.1 on page 8 of the course book shows the various stages and steps of the Graphic Print Production Flow]

Graphic print production can be divided into eight steps and four phases. The first phase deals with strategic and creative work; the final result consists of idea, concept, and sketches of graphic design. The following phase could be labeled as creative production–here the product is still being designed and changed. The third phase, which consists of prepress, printing, and finishing and binding, is primarly industrial, with a goal of carrying out what has been decided on and formed in the previous steps. The last step deals with distributing the finished printed product.

Review

Let's Review!

Q: Graphic production can be divided into:
- twelve steps
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again
- four steps and eight phases
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again!
- eight steps and two phases
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again!
- eight steps and four phases (correct)
  Hint: Correct! Great work
- ten steps and fifteen phases
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again!

Choices in Reverse

[Image: Figure 1.2 on Page 9 shows that choices are made in reverse order]

Choices are made in reverse order.

- In each production phase, you need to know what the following steps will require, and adjust your work accordingly.
- Distribution can account for a large part of a printed product’s costs
- It is common to choose a paper with a lower weight to reduce costs.
- This can affect finishing and binding as well as printing.
- The requirements of finishing and binding can determine the choice of paper.
- the choice of paper and printing methods determines how the image will be prepared for printing

Creative Work

Phase ONE - Idea, Concept & Outline of Work

Strategic Work

  Define the product

  What are the goals of the project?

  For whom is this product intended?

  What will this product be used for?
 (inform/educate, convince, persuade)

[Image: Idea and Concept (Phase 1)]

Creative Work

Develop the design

What type of printed product should be created?

What should this product say?

How should it say it?

What should this product look like?

Images and Text

Phase TWO -Working with Images and Text

Images

- Technology is for everyone and is everywhere
- lack of knowledge/experience
- digital does not mean ready for press
- pixel vs. vector
- pixel images need enough resolution 300 dpi
- Image formats - TIFF, EPS,PSD, PDF, Etc

Text

- Text is generally produced in Microsoft Word
- not suitable for print production,
- but excellent for producing and editing text

[Image: Phase 2 (Creative Production)]

Layout

Phase TWO - Layout

- Common software used is Adobe In Design or Quark Xpress.
- Working with layouts involves putting together text and images to create finished original pages.
- Whoever prepares the layout document for printed products has to be conscious of the fact that creating an attractive layout isn’t enough.
- It is just as important that the document works well both as a printout and for preparing a printing plate.
- Documents that are not properly produced can increase costs, delay production, or have unintended final results.

[Image: Phase 2 (Creative Production)]

Prepress

Phase THREE - Prepress

[Image: Industrial Production, Prepress, Printing and Finishing]

All the work steps before you begin printing Those work steps and techniques required to create print-adjusted digital files that can be the foundation for the production of a printing form.

Three proofing steps during the prepress stage:

- preflight
- color and image proof
- imposition proof

Printing

Phase THREE - Printing

- Printing method is determined by quality requirements, edition size, printing material, format & type of product.
- The most common printing press techniques are off set printing, gravure printing, flexographic printing, and screen printing. By contrast, printers don’t use any printing plates, which means that every printout can be unique.
- Digital Printing is better suited for smaller print runs, from approximately 500 copies down to single examples, and the most common techniques are xerographic, inkjet, and dye sublimation.

[Image: Industrial Production, Prepress, Printing and Finishing]

Finishing and Bindery

Phase THREE - Bindery and Finishing

- Though it is the final phase of the graphic print production process, finishing and binding have an impact on a project from the very beginning, and should be taken into account when the product is being designed.
- There are many reasons why printed sheets have to be given a finish. It gives you the opportunity to create raised areas on the paper, emphasize a picture with partial varnishing, or create metal effects with foiling.
- die-cutting the printed product is die-cut into another shape or is given perforations, punching the printed product has holes punched in it so it can be put into binders, folding  used to form pages from the printed sheets , and creasing the printed product is creased to mark a fold.
- Binding is the joining of a number of individual printed sheets into a single entity,  examples of binding include metal-stitched brochures, spiral-bound manuals, soft cover books, or hardcover books.

[Image: Industrial Production, Prepress, Printing and Finishing]

Distribution

Phase THREE - Distribution

[Image: Industrial Production, Prepress, Printing and Finishing]

- The printed product is now ready to be distributed to the fi nal user. The costs of distribution often surpass the printing costs.
- Distribution is often handled by the printer or, when it is on a large scale, by companies specializing in it.
- Normally the customer approves the final quality of the printed product before it is distributed.

What Affects Cost

What Affects Costs?

- All the information that will affect the final price needs to be included.
- Pricing in graphic print production is far from standardized and can vary greatly from service provider to service provider.
- Above and beyond the actual costs of printing, there may be costs for the advertising agency that develops the concept, writes the text, and prepares the design.

Cost - Size of Run

What Affects Costs?

- The print run is the number of copies you want, the format is the size of the actual printed product, and the volume is the number of pages. These three parameters define the printed product and also mainly determine the costs.
- the costs of a printed product The relative costs when you produce a printed product are divided up differently depending on the size of the edition. With small editions the creative costs, such as images, text, and design, have a great effect on the total cost, while with large editions and large volume the distribution costs dominate.

Cost - Color, Editing, Layout, Prepress

What Affects Costs?

- Colors - Black and white printed products are cheaper to produce than products in four colors. If you want to add special colors, such as one or two Pantone colors, the printing cost is increased further.
- Image Editing - deals basically with retouching, selections, proofing, and different types of adjustments. Such work is often charged by the hour; the price generally starts around $65 per hour and can go up to $300 per hour.
- Layout Work - can include everything from simple template-based work to advanced design from a sketch or even just an idea. Simpler layout work may use proofs of an available document or the typography from an existing document, or may involve fitting advertising into a given format or fitting text into existing templates. More advanced layout work might involve developing an original layout from a sketch, or starting completely from the beginning, including design.
- Prepress work can include creating and/or checking PDF files or QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, or Adobe Illustrator files. It may involve adjusting documentsand images for printing as well as producing printer’s proofs. Finally, it can include impositions and setting up printing forms. Pricing for prepress tasks is not at all standardized; today this work is more or less automated.

Review

Let's Review!

Q: Technology in graphic design print production just keeps getting more and more expensive and less accessible, as time goes by.
A: false
If right: Correct! Way To go!
If wrong: Sorry, Please go back and review the slides and the corresponding content in the book

Cost - Bindery and Finishing

What Affects Costs?

Finishing and Binding can sometimes account for half the cost of a job, some of binding and finishing processes can be very labor-intensive.

Finishing and binding can include:

- treatment of the paper surface, such as, varnishing, laminating, foiling, stamping
- handling the printed sheet of paper, such as, cropping, hole punching, perforating, creasing, die cutting
- bindings of different types, such as, spiral binding, glue binding, or thread sewing

Prices for finishing and binding are based on the start-up costs (the makeready)

Cost - Paper, Distribution, Archiving

What Affects Costs?

- Paper - When you choose paper you should also think about the cost. A ground rule is that the larger the print run, the larger the paper’s share of the production cost. The fact is that most ordinary qualities of paper do not differ more than 15 percent in price from one another. Certain specialty papers can cost significantly more.  The basis weight of paper stock has a nearly proportional effect on cost. If the weight is halved, the paper will cost approximately half as much. It is therefore usual that with large print runs, you choose a lower-weight paper. If thickness is important, you can choose a high-bulk paper, which will feel thicker but still have a lower weight.
- Packing and Distribution- Specify if delivery is included in the quote; otherwise you will have to bear the costs of delivery. Most printing houses have services such as packing, placing in envelopes, addressing, and distribution. With large print runs the cost of distribution makes up a very large part of the total cost.
- Archiving -  Some companies offer digital archiving of documents and images for future use. Remember that not all service providers automatically file a job digitally. It is a service that many will offer for a fee.

Environmental Concerns

What Affects Costs?

[Image: Recycle Logo]

Environmental Concerns - are linked to the whole process, from the idea to the finished product - the product’s life expectancy, how and where it will be used, how it will be disposed of, and whether it can be recycled. Being environmentally conscious means opting for energy- saving processes, reducing use of materials, taking advantage of recycling opportunities, and avoiding toxic and non-recyclable materials.

Environmental Questions

What Affects Costs?

Here are some questions to ask:

- How are the raw materials needed for paper and other materials sourced, and how are the materials produced?
- What types of printing inks are used? Do they contain dangerous metals or are they plant-based? Are the leftovers recycled?
- How much transport is required, and what can be done to minimize it?
- Is recycled paper an option?
- Which chemicals have been used for bleaching?
- How are chemicals handled in the process?
- In what way do the finishing and binding affect the possibility of recycling the printed product?
- Are the toner cartridges from printers and digital printing presses recycled?
- Is the printing house environmentally certified?

[Image: Recycle Logo]

Choosing a Service Provider

- Quality and competence
- Delivery times and delivery guarantees
- Capacity and resources
- Organization and working together
- Proximity and availability
- References and communication
- Standard practices and conditions
- Quality and environmental work
- Economy and future

Some important factors when choosing a service provider

[Image: Crop Marks]

Planning a Job

Planning Graphic Print Production

- Graphic print production can be very difficult to plan, since in most cases there are many participants involved and you are dependent on a good working relationship with all parties.
- Unexpected incidents often pop up, and there are few objective measures as to what is right or wrong.
- Communication is key

Review

Let's Review!

Q: Pricing in graphic print production is standardized.
A: false
If right: Correct! Way To go!
If wrong: Sorry, Please go back and review the slides and the corresponding content in the book

Tracking a Job

Planning Graphic Print Production

Production plans are helpful for keeping track of the project. Don’t forget to plan for checkpoints at every step.

Review

Let's Review!

Q: A broad term that describes the design of pages and graphics.
- Image editing
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again
- Prepress
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again!
- Book Bindery
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again!
- Layout (correct)
  Hint: Correct! Great work

Review

Let's Review!

Q: This stage is where the printed product is finished by treating the surface of the printed sheets, folding and cropping them, and then finally binding them. They are packed, stamped, addressed, etc., in preparation for distribution.
- Prepress
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again
- Finishing and Binding (correct)
  Hint: Correct! Great work
- Printing
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again!
- Layout
  Hint: Please review the slides or the corresponding chapter in the book again!

Moving Forward

Great Work!

Now make sure you login to elearn and complete the real quiz as well as any other required learning elements to gain access to the next module!

Questions?

If you have any questions or comments be sure to check out the course forum or discussion board on eLearn, you can also email the course instructor!