wordle - generate an interesting type graphic

This website has been running a while now; it generates excellent graphic type effects from any text or website. Great for inspiration!
 

Pantone to CMYK conversion, the problems + A few tips

Pantone to CMYK conversion (but it doesn't match?)
There has been a long standing problem with matching the industry standard 'Solid Pantone' colour swatches when printing them in a 4 colour process job. A pantone ink colour is a solid ink colour, where as the 4 colour process colour is tints of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & (K)Black which creates the optical illusion of that colour; and therefore is limited in the range of colours it can reproduce. For example, the 4 colour process system has great difficulty in producing bright orange colours.
Colours and their reproduction has always been a reoccurring issue with printing. There are far too many possible issue to list out here. However, we can point to a few of the obvious problems, and a few solutions, especially from an artwork point of view.

The Pantone Swatches - A long standing colour system for guaranteeing colour consistency.
Unfortunately not, there are some issues. Pantone supply software manufacturers with the relevant cmyk breakdowns of the solid colours. These breakdowns however, are not consistent. There are constant revisions in the specification of colours, and these are passed on with every new version of software. For example, an old version of Quark 3 may well have a different cmyk breakdown for a colour when compared to the same colour in Quark 8! An obvious issue, possibly, but one that isn't always considered. There are further differences in the handling of colours from Photoshop to Illustrator! On top of these issues, there is the introduction of colour profiles which alters the colours within a file to simulate a type of printing-press & paper, an in-depth subject not to be explored here (yet).

Paper - coated, un-coated & the finish will affect colour!
The type and quality of paper the job is produced on, will have a large affect on the final colour. Also, if there are any extra finishes, such as laminates, these will change the colours.

Without writing a volume of manuals and help books, there are few tips you can have in mind to help, or avoid these issues;

Have you got the latest colour books?
It is worth having the suite of latest pantone books, visually they will give you the best idea of how your colour will look (ON SCREEN IS DECEPTIVE!). Despite the cost, they are cheaper than re-prints!

Not all pantone 'solid' colours are reproducible in 4 colour process.
Check you intended colour in an up-to-date Pantone Colour Bridge book. This will show you how different the Solid Pantone Colour will be in 4 colour process, some colours are never going to match when produced in 4 colour (orange 021!!).

Is the paper coated or un-coated?
On top of the reference in the colour bridge book, you can cross reference your colour with the coated and un-coated books. There is a noticeable difference in the colours on different paper types. You may need to adjust your choice of colour for different papers.

Is the final job having a laminate or coating?
If your are having a laminate or coating, this will affect the colour greatly. It is not always possible to predict the result, so be aware.

Do the cmyk break-downs match the up-to-date colour bridge? Is your artwork set-up correctly?
If you have the latest colour bridge book, you can make sure you are creating colours with the right 4 colour breakdown, as the book will give you the correct percentages of cmyk. In particular, if quark or indesign is suggesting the wrong break-down, you can manually change the colour in the file to get the best result.
A good way to check the final artwork, is to check the PDF in acrobat professional. See the tool: advanced > print production > output preview This gives you a tool to check colour breakdowns (and overprinting!).

If you have any further ideas and thoughts, please leave a comment. If you found this post useful, pass it on with the retweet button!

Image resolution's for print? (A few pointers)

To put it simply the image resolution affects the quality and size of an image file. There are many confusing 'crossed definitions' in design programmes, some may use ppi (pixels per inch), others use dpi (dots per inch). For litho print and to a lesser extent digital print, an ideal image size would have an effective resolution of 300 dpi @ 100% to ensure no loss in quality.

For example, if you wanted to print an image at A4 size, the file would need to be A4 in size and 300dpi (expressed in pixels as 2480 wide x 3508 high). You can achieve an effective resolution in two ways:

• You could use an A2 image, with a resolution of 150 dpi, which would be reduced down by 50%, creating an effective resolution of 300 dpi.
• or alternatively, an A6 image at 600dpi, increased by 200% to A4 would also have an effective resolution of 300dpi.

Both techniques aren't ideal; they are very dependant on the original quality and size of the image to be used. For example, it is particularly apparent when up-scaling an image from a small resolution: this often happens when images are taken from the web at screen resolutions of 72dpi, just increasing the resolution (resampling) in a package like photoshop will not make the image 'ok to print from'. This is largely due to the way in which the software has to squish more pixels into an image which doesn't have the required information. It has to guess what pixels to add in, and invariably, this creates a 'pixelated' effect (see image below).

If the 72dpi image has a 'physical size' much greater than the required 'print size', the resolution can be increased to 300dpi by reducing the physical dimensions, usually this is done by resampling the image in a programme like photoshop; and because the number of pixels is high enough to populate the 300dpi image space, this has the least effect on quality. (You will find with most digital camera's they produce large scale 72dpi images which can be reduced in 'physical size' whilst increasing the dpi resolution.)

There is a quick sum that can give you effective resolution of an image:

Finally, your images should be saved in a format which has the least affect on the quality. JPEG compression is known to create artefacts in images, so where possible use a 'lossless' format like TIF's.

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Reduce Costs Without Cracking

A heavy crease, about 3mm wide, is pressed into the board before folding to assist with the prevention of cracking along the fold in papers & boards over the weight of 160gsm. Creasing is especially important if the job is printed over the folded area.

There are various methods in producing the crease, but the two most popular are detailed below.
The most reliable is using a Heidelberg cylinder, which presses the crease into the board.  Although you achieve a quality crease and it would be recommended for anything over 250gsm in weight, it is expensive. A die needs to be produced, the sheets run slowly through the machine and there is the separate process of folding.

A Tri-crease can be used as an alternative.
This is an attachment which fits onto the folding machine, allowing a crease and fold to be produced in line and will run as fast as the folding machine. Although a more cost effective process, there are limitations in the weight of material that’s suitable, usually up to 200-250gsm.

So next time you think a job needs creasing... ask yourself,
"Can I get by with a Tri ?"