The Whitley Printing Company

Designing for Print

Tips for Better Print Design

If you’re relatively new to the printing process, these suggestions will help your project run smoothly while saving time and money during the printing process. You should always contact your Whitley representative if you have any questions about preparing printing work.

When you’re ready to send your files to Whitley for printing, be sure to review Art Preparation and File Submission.

Bleed

When a project requires ink to run to the trimmed page’s very edge, you must allow for that image area to bleed, or slightly extend past the page’s edge. Bleeds need to be indicated in the document files. A standard size bleed is ⅛ inch and can be built into graphics files simply by extending color or images ⅛ inches past the edge of the document.

All critical copy must be at least 3/16 inch from the final trim to avoid possibly being cut off.

Folding Panels

All layouts should be built at the intended finished printed piece’s size. Remember to indicate folds and allow proper margins.

Proofreading

This can’t be stressed enough. Any changes made once the files have reached the printer can add time and expense to your project. Changes made on press are very expensive. A reliable, professional proofreading service can pay for itself many times over. At the very least, have several people carefully proofread any document to be printed.

Typography and Fonts

Include all screen and printer fonts used in your files (don’t forget fonts used in graphics you’ve placed into your document). When sending fonts, it’s important that you send both the screen and printer fonts.

Reverse Type

To make reversed text readable, avoid using type that is too small or delicate. Limit the use of reverse type to block (bold), gothic, and sans serif styles. Use a font size of 8 pt or larger to guarantee readability.

Image Resolution

Images with a resolution below 300 dots-per-inch (dpi) are not ideal for printing. The end result is often blurry and fuzzy.

Converting RGB to CMYK

The colors you see on your computer monitor will never exactly match what comes off the press. A press sheet reflects light through pigment; your monitor projects colored light. It’s important to prepare files for print by converting them from RGB to CMYK. You may also benefit from using Whitley’s Color-Certified Digital Proofing system. For more information about this, see RGB to CMYK Conversion.

Spot Color

Sometimes designers want a color that is not achievable through the four-color CMYK process. This is called “spot color” and depending on the press, can be part of a single pass through the press, or may require an additional run. (For example, a CMYK four-color process plus two spot colors requires a six-color press to complete in a single press run.) A varnish may also count as a spot color. If a spot color is used, specify by using the PANTONE® Matching System.

Printer Spreads vs. Reader Spreads

When you read a magazine, you’re looking at the equivalent of “reader spreads” — pages that are in numerical order left to right and front to back. However, saddle stitched (stapled in the center) books and brochures are printed as “printer spreads.” Printer spreads are how the pages appear when they are printed on press, before being folded, trimmed and stitched. “Signature” refers to a group of pages printed on an untrimmed, unfolded sheet of paper. The number of pages per signature depends on the page size and the press sheet size.

Printer Spreads vs. Reader Spreads

Before requesting a quote for a project, it’s necessary to know:

• finished piece quantity
• dimensions and number of pages
• number of process or spot colors for the project
• paper’s color, feel, and weight on which the project is to be printed
• project’s completion date.