Every so often, a client asks for a job to include what is known as “throw outs”. These are pages that fold out away from the foredge of a publication to create a spread that is wider than the rest of the job, and may themselves fold again to form multiple leaves. These can be very useful in highlighting a particular image, such as a map, or a wide format picture that cannot easily be accommodated in the format of the rest of the job, for example, but they do require a bit of thought at the planning stage.

Whether a job is saddle stitched or perfect bound, it will usually go through a three-knife trimmer after the staples or glue are applied. This cuts the job flush at both head, foot and foredge. When a throw out is included it is usually necessary to ensure that the folded edge falls short of the intended trim for the rest of the job, or there would be a risk of cutting through the fold, leaving a loose sheet of paper.

Similarly, it is also necessary to ensure that the edge of the page that folds back towards the spine also falls short of the spine edge (particularly with perfect bound jobs), or there is a risk that it could be stapled or glued into the spine, leaving the spread completely inaccessible. On perfect bound jobs we would recommend that the edge of this page is planned to fall about 10mm from the spine, since even if the page edge stops short of the spine, it can risk being difficult to recognise as a separate page if it is too close, causing the reader to turn over the folded leaf as if it is a regular page.

As above, the page (or pages) that fold back towards the spine need to be smaller than the rest of the job, but in order to avoid the three knife trim, the page which abuts the fold out page also needs to be smaller (page b in diagram). And what applies to one side of the piece of paper naturally also applies to the other, so the pages that make up the back of the spread need to be sized to run from smallest to largest, left to right.

This also means that when creating the artwork for a spread containing a throw out, the regular sized page on the other side of the spine – page (a) – needs to be included.

These considerations mean a bit of careful calculation is needed on the part of the designer or planner of the job.

But when all these factors are peoperly taken into account, it is possible to create stunning effects with the use of well planned throw out sections.

We must have printed hundreds of jobs that are finished as “perfect bound” books. This means the text sections are folded, and “milled” (to produce a rough edge that glue will adhere to on the spine edge); then they are gathered one on top of the other, and a cover with a spine is wrapped around the text blocks, with glue injected into the spine to hold the text sections in place, before the whole thing is trimmed on three edges to produce a neatly finished book. (We usually recommend a slight variant of this process called “PUR binding”, which is the same process, but uses a stronger glue.)

In order to make the books as strong as possible, the binder creates what is known as a “hinge flap” on the front and back covers. This is created by placing a crease approximately 5mm from the edge of the spine. The glue that is injected into the spine also goes here, so that for this small area the cover glues down flat onto the first and last text pages. If you check any books produced in this way you will find that most have this feature.

However, this creates a problem in the supply of artwork that is almost never addressed in advance. This is, that if the intention is to have an image that reads over between the inside front cover and first text page (or the last text page and inside back cover), an allowance needs to be made for the image being lost in two places; both on the inside of the front cover and on the first text page.

Below is an example of what one of our clients wanted to act as a spread on the inside front cover and first text page of a book we produced for them.

If we hadn’t made the adjustments for the hinge flap allowance, we would have ended up with something like this.

To correct this problem, in fact you have to duplicate the image twice, and (in the case of the front cover) move the duplicated left hand side to the left, and duplicated right hand side to the right, to allow for the two areas being lost. So in the end what you print will look something like this.

But of course, when the duplicated areas are stuck to each other, what you will see will be the image going (seamlessly – we hope) across the join.

The same applies (in reverse) to the inside back covers.

What files should I supply to my printer?

We are often asked by our clients and designers how and in what format to supply files. In almost all cases, we usually ask for press ready PDF’s. There are many reasons for this. You may want to take a look at what a press ready PDF is first and also how to create one.

Adobe Acrobat PDF

When you are familiar with Adobe Acrobat press ready PDF’s, understand how they are made and what their purpose is, you will probably have answered this question already but it helps to highlight these points which may not be obvious if you haven’t worked with PDF’s before. In short, the main reasons why we ask for most final artwork to be supplied in PDF form are as follows:

• A correctly made PDF is all we need to print your job. This means you do not have to collect and send over pictures and fonts. One file covers all.
• This can sometimes mean that your file size may be smaller and so easier to supply to us.
• The PDF will have been made from your machine so all fonts and pictures should be correctly embedded. Sometimes when we open files, we have font conflicts and subtle differences can happen as a result. These then need to be picked up before print which takes time and extra care when checking proofs.
• We will not have platform issues on a PC or Mac as PDFs are cross platform.
• We have some great software that enables us to make minor tweaks to the PDF’s so they are still editable up to a point.
• It means we do not have to send you a PDF proof because you have already sent it to us!
• Cutting out the PDF proofing stage means that we are able to send you impositions quicker as there is much less repro time involved.
• So this means in theory, you should be able to get your job quicker!

There are lots of other reasons why PDF’s are our preferred format of choice but the above cover the main ones. Each printers will work differently but we have found that working in this way facilitates the most streamlined of workflows. Once you get to grips with working with PDF’s, you will realize their potential; working with one file recognized as an industry standard, in a clean and efficient way.

You may also be interested in our recommended PDF/X-1.a standard print settings that are available to download from our website here.

If your print job requires extra finishing, such as a folder with a pocket, packaging or a die cut business card, you may be asked to supply the printer with a cutter guide. It is important that this is set up properly in order that the final job is cut and folded correctly.

There are a number of things to consider when designing your job if you will be using a die cut. For example, it will add to the amount of time the printers and finishers need to complete the job and it may be expensive depending on how complicated the design is. Therefore, it is always worth asking the printer first if they have a template available that can be used in which you can build your design around. This will mean you do not have to create the cutter guide saving you time, it will be correct from the printers point of view so no costly revisions or time lost at this stage and the finishers will already have the die made so may not charge you what it would cost for making a new one up.

This is an example of a standard 5mm capacity folder cutter guide.

If you require a bespoke design, there are a few things to be aware of when setting up your guide.

You can supply it as a separate PDF or incorporated into the actual design. Either way, it is best to make the edges of the cutter line a solid spot colour at 0.5pts and any folds as a dotted line also at 0.5pts and in the spot colour. It would be wise to rename the spot colour Cutter Guide.  In addition to this, you would need to make sure the guide overprints the artwork below so the artwork below is not knocked out when printing.

Your cutter guide will then be constructed using a Gerber machine. The solid lines denoting the cuts will be made from sharp metal and the dotted fold lines are converted into recessed blunt metal strips. This die is then punched into the print, giving you the final product ready to assemble, etc. The punching is usually done from the front as this gives a much cleaner edge. Therefore, it is best to always design your cutter when looking at the design from the front. Just makes it easier for the finisher.

At Printhouse, we have a library of templates for various cutter guides; some of which may already be made into die cuts and others that have been used previously that we know to be correct. Should you require any help with creating your cuttter guide, just contact us and we will be able to advise you. You may also want to check out our templates page here.

One of the things I most like about working at PrintHouse Corporation is the fact that a fairly sizeable proportion of the jobs we do are different in some ways to anything we have done before. This means that each job can pose us different questions – usually, but not always, in the technical sense of ‘how are we going to do that?’

This is particularly true for a job we produce twice a year for a London based publishing company called Starkmann. The company produces a twice yearly catalogue of their major reference works (MRW) detailing their current titles and prices for their customers, who are primarily academic libraries.

Mark Melvin T.R.Y. 2009 Dimensions: 64x46x18 Materials: Aluminium cased light box, lit with fluorescent tubes, with coloured vinyl Series: 1-5 (+artists proof x 1) © Mark Melvin

However, Starkmann, led by their managing director Bernard A. Starkmann, endeavour to use contemporary fine art, both in their working environment and in the production of their printed materials, to provide thought provoking and inspirational elements that can engage the viewer/reader in unexpected ways.

In practice this means that Starkmann will commission an artist to work on a piece which will be displayed in their offices, and which will in some way be incorporated into the production of their literature. Sometimes (speaking as a printer) this is relatively straightforward – if the artist generally works with photography, there is usually no problem in incorporating a number of their works in the MRW, for example.

But some artists, who may of course be very concerned with matters of the production and reproduction of images, become very engaged with the processes that we are involved in. (Some, indeed, are already very engaged with printing/bookmaking issues before we even meet them.)

Mark Melvin T.R.Y (REWORKED), 2009 Spot UV on black card (matte), © Mark Melvin

This can lead to various print/finishing techniques being deployed to reflect elements of their work… UV varnishing can act as an echo of light coming from a light box; embossing can hint at the sculptural. Or an unused corner of the pages can be used to create a ‘thumbnail cinema’ effect showing Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman endlessly kissing and separating. One artist in particular, Tom Benson, was very concerned with notions of the representation of colour – which led to us printing a 9 spot colour cover and text section for the book – and with the question of what happens – what are you really seeing? – when colours are represented in black and white. (Now that is not a question that I am asked every day.)

I think what Starkmann do with these books is great. They’ve found a way of turning something that could be merely functional into something rich and fascinating. I really look forward to seeing the next one.

This is an important question when it comes to print; dpi or dots per inch is an older and general term that has been used sometimes incorrectly to apply to many things relating to digital images and printing. More recently, the term ppi or pixels per inch has become popular due to the description being more specific to the actual term itself. It doesn’t help when many programs still use the older terminology. Confused? Read on…

Dots Per Inch

Dots per inch refer to the printer and its printing process and not the resolution of the image itself. Printers have a small and limited amount of ink colours to print from and they need to be able to mix up as many of the colours from the image as possible. To do this, each pixel on screen when printed is made up of a series of small dots from the printer. The higher the dpi from the printer means the more printed dots per inch and so the better the colour range and tonality of the image.

For example, a 1200dpi printer will print 1200 dots per each inch of the image. Generally, this should give much crisper and smoother blended colours as opposed to a 30ppi printer or setting in which only 300 dots would be printed. Most printers have the option to choose the output resolution depending on the type of image you want to achieve. You will save time and ink if you print a rough image at 72dpi which will probably appear jagged and blocky in colour and will use more ink if you want to print out a sharp and colourful photo for best which will also take longer to print. It’s common sense really; the more dots per inch, the better the printed image.

Pixels Per Inch

So, what is ppi or pixels per inch? Well, the term describes itself and is literally the number of pixels that make up each 1″ square of digital image and is the correct way of measuring the resolution. For example, if a square image is created at 100px x 100px and measures 1″, its resolution would be 100ppi because there are 100 pixels per inch of image.

The ppi will determine the quality of the image and there are a lot of sources of information that give various numbers as to what is correct for printing. In theory, the higher the ppi, the better quality the image and less chance of seeing a jagged and pixellated image (where you can actually see the pixels as squares making up the image rather than smooth blended colour). We usually recommend supplying/using images that are 300ppi at the correct size of final print for most items. Larger banners and posters often can get away with less if viewed at a distance as the pixellation will not be as apparent but will be visible on closer inspection.

Resampling

A very brief explanation of resampling is needed here. Some programs such as Photoshop have the option to resample an image. Resampling will change the number of pixels per inch in an image. If you are told an image is too low in resolution, taking the image into Photoshop and resampling it by adding more pixels per inch to increase the resolution does not work. This is because Photoshop has to guess the pixels to add which can cause all sorts of strange colour and quality issues. Best to find another image or a better version of the one you are using. Resampling downwards to decrease the file size in most instances is fine, particularly when using the image on the web. Should you choose to change the file size and not resample, altering the ppi will change the final print size, but not the actual amount of pixels per inch.

For example, if we take the 100px x 100px image we talked about earlier and resample it by changing the ppi to 10ppi, the dimensions will not change. The image will still measure 1″ but the computer gets rid of the extra pixels so it now it contains 10px x 10px instead of 100px x 100px. If we choose not to resample and the same square image is enlarged in size, the resolution will reduce and if scaled down, the resolution will increase. So, if this square was enlarged to 2″, the resolution would half to 50ppi meaning there are only 50 pixels per inch and if the square was reduced to 1/2″, the resolution would double to 200ppi. You may also see cm per inch in some circumstances though this metric measurement is generally used less than inches.

It may seem pretty confusing on paper but is actually very simple in practice. The best way to get your head around ppi and dpi is to experiment with a program such as Photoshop, using the image size window and a decent printer with various dpi options.

We are often asked about the various methods of binding books. So I thought I’d just give a simple description of some of the different techniques here, plus a note on some issues arising from them.

Saddle stitching

This is a very common finishing method, which basically involves folding the text pages in sections so that they run in the correct order, and stapling, or “stitching” them together (or to a separate cover, which is often printed on heavier material). Very occasionally, books can really be “stitched” using a material such as ribbon, to create a decorative effect, but more often the term refers to the use of staples. Using this technique, folded sections are collated one inside the other, with the staples being applied through the spine, and the books are then “three knife trimmed” to give a clean top, bottom and front (“fore edge”).

There is a limit to how many pages can be finished in this way. There has to be a minimum of 8 pages, but, depending on the material used for the text pages, it may be worth considering one of the other binding techniques below for anything above, say, 60 pages in total.

One issue that may arise when jobs are saddle stitched is “creep”. Creep is caused by the fact that the outer pages in a saddle stitched book have to wrap around the outside of all the inner pages, which means they are in effect larger than the pages towards the centre of the book. This can mean that unless an appropriate allowance is made, page elements – page numbers, for example – can be nearer to the fore edge of the centre pages than on the pages nearer the cover. This is a factor that should be considered during the process of designing a document – particularly if the document is to have a large number of pages.

Perfect, or PUR binding

Perfect binding is a great method of finishing books containing more pages. Like saddle stitching, this involves folding text sections so the pages run in the correct order, but instead of collating the sections one inside the other, they are “gathered” one on top of the next. The pages are imposed in such a way to leave a small gutter at the spine. After folding and gathering the sections, the gutter on the spine edge of the pages is milled away, and glue is applied to the fresh paper edge. The covers are then drawn over the text blocks, and the book is again three knife trimmed – forming a book with a spine. This is how most paperback books are created. The only real difference between perfect binding and PUR binding is the use of PUR glue in the latter process. This is immensely strong, and avoids the problem of text pages falling out of bound books, which did used to be an issue with perfect bound jobs in the past.

Burst, or “notch” bound books

This is a very similar technique to perfect or PUR binding, except instead of milling away the gutter in the spine before applying the glue, the spines are instead notched, and glue is injected into the notches. This means the books can lie flatter when open than perfect bound books, but some people find the appearance of the notches when the book is forced flat a little untidy.

Thread sewing

This technique involves folding sections as above, but prior to the application of any glue, the sections are sewn together by a machine to make book blocks. These can then be bound to covers, either using the perfect bound/PUR method, which provides extremely durable paperback books where the internal pages open very flat; or by casing them into hard covers – usually cloth covered boards. This is the method used for creating most hardback books.

A common mistake we often encounter in the Repro department involves incorrectly setup artwork for documents that fold more than once. A good example of this would be flyers and brochures that contain 6  or more pages. Documents such as these are normally designed to either be finished with a concertina fold (also called a ‘z’ fold) or a roll fold. Both names are fairly descriptive of their outcome.

Z Fold Leaflet

The z fold leaflet is folded in equal parallel parts much like an accordian and will resemble a ‘z’ from above when opened out. This zig zag style of leaflet is much easier to setup as it requires the flat page to be divided exactly into the required number of panels and will back up perfectly on the reverse.

Example:

A typical DL sized Z fold with 6 pages will fold into three equal sections measuring 99mm x 210mm. This leaflet size is very common as it originates from an A4 page which is in effect just folded twice. Because of this, the guides and back up will be exactly the same on the reverse.

Roll Fold Leaflet

The roll fold is a little more tricky. It involves the largest two panels being the same size at one end with the rest of the panels being incrementally smaller so that they can fold into each other and nest correctly. This means each panel is slightly different in size and the designer has to consider the back up very carefully.

Example:

A typical DL sized roll fold will have three sections, two of which will make up the front and back cover and are the largest at 100mm each. The third panel needs to fold inside neatly without buckling the leaflet and therefore needs to be slightly smaller. As this leaflet will usually originate from an A4, so the last measurement must be 97mm. The first diagram shows the outside spread of the leaflet which includes the front and back cover on the right. The second diagram shows the inside spread which is the exact inverse and reverse of the measurements on the front. This is where most people slip up. The outside spread must start with the lowest measurement on the left and the inside spread, the lowest measurement on the right – remember, they have to back up correctly and so they are not the same on both sides!

The simplest way of checking that everything works is obvious. Print it, cut it out and fold it up! If the margins and text line up correctly and the folding is flat without buckling, you have successfully created your leaflet. Congratulations! Output a high resolution PDF (don’t forget the bleed!) and send it to us for fast turnaround, quality printing.

For Christmas, we thought it only fair to treat the Repro department here at Printhouse to a whole new chemistry free plate making system. Making our previous processor redundant was an absolute joy. Gone are the days of dirty plates, chemistry fumes and high maintenance machinery. We are happy to introduce the new Presstek plates and water washer which, so far has been a pleasure to work with.

We are now using Aurora Pro plates which are specifically designed by Presstek for thermal CTP systems and works seamlessly with our Screen PlateRite. These are

daylight safe, require no chemical processing, are non-photosensitive and require no special handling. Independence from darkroom conditions and elimination of variables in exposure, chemical stability and manual intervention mean fast, accurate, repeatable results. – Presstek Website

So how do they work? Well it’s pretty simple. The plates are layered with a carbon and ceramic coating. During exposure, the carbon is broken but not removed. After the plate is exposed, it enters the washer through rollers into a bath of hot water and is then followed by a process of passing through pressured brushes and rollers which remove the carbon and leave the ceramic image intact. The plate is then rinsed in a cold bath and finally dried by a large roller. No chemistry, gum or hot air drying is needed.

Chemsitry free printing systems

Understandably, not only is this system much nicer and economical to work with, it is also a step nearer to reducing our own impact on the environment. At Printhouse, we take our environmental footprint seriously and are continually making efforts to make the printing process as environmentally friendly as we possibly can. The eradication of chemistry at this stage is a very positive move for us and we are extremely happy with the printing results too. Keeping up to date with modern printing methods enables us to stay confident in the quality of print that we provide and of course, we can sleep easier at night knowing we are conciously making efforts to improve our working practices, environmentally and otherwise.

If you would like to use a printing company that is continually making efforts to reduce its impact on the environment, please contact us for a quote or to discuss your requirements.

Credits: Presstek

The next company publication is coming out and you have the final say on what goes to print. You may be a designer who has full creative reign over the project or you may, by your own admission, be as clueless as they come when it comes to making creative decisions. Either way, how do you know that amazing design you see on screen is going to work when printed and how will you know until you get that call from the printers, or even worse, receive a very bad printed product? (OK, so you won’t get that from us as we will let you know if we see anything that is going to make your print look bad but why let it get to that stage?)

I have seen some great concept designs at Printhouse; some our own work and some supplied by external graphic designers. Most work out beautifully and yet others just don’t look as good on paper as they did on screen. Naturally, our creative team knows where it’s at when it comes to good design **smiles smugly** but how do we know what we know and who told us? Well, one of the benefits of a graphic studio and a printers all being under the same roof is real time communication. In other words, there is no-where to hide when one of the printers gets the hump and brings you the printed sheet to see why your design idea may not have been considered practically. You see, a bad design makes hard work for a printer which results in a long hard lecture about why you shouldn’t use 5pt serif text reversed out of 4 colour, etc. Have you ever seen a grumpy printer? And that’s how we know…

So, to spare designers and non designers the hassle of receiving that call, I have a list of,  lets call them annoyances, from our lovely printers. In no particular order:

1. OK, so I have covered one already. Try to avoid using small type, especially thin serifs or intricate script fonts in 4 colour work, reversed out or as the text colour. On screen it looks good and small type can often look more professional but not when it isn’t in register. Try a sans serif font and a spot or single colour instead.
2. 4 col black small text. Very similar to the above point. It is best to either pick a spot colour if you are going to have pages and pages of small text or just leave the text as black. 4 col text does not register well, and the smaller it gets, the harder it is to fit.
3. Colours that contain a high percentage of reflex blue. This is a colour that looks very blue when printed but when it dries, often appears more red. Therefore, the printer has to make allowances for this which adds difficulty to the job.
4. Very fine text or elements when printed on uncoated stocks. Uncoated stock is porous and therefore, small elements, particularly text can spread. Best avoided if possible.
5. High percentage tints on uncoated stock. Again, because of the porous nature of this paper, the printer as to apply more pressure to the job which results in spreading of dots, meaning small details may be lost.
6. High percentage tints used with solids. If a job has lots of solids through out , the printer will often have to bump up the colour for these too look good. Having lots of tints means that these are affected by this also. It makes the printers job quite hard to balance all of these elements.

Consider these little grieviances and you will be well on your way to making a printer very happy and even more importantly, receiving a printed product that will look good, professional and that the company can be proud of.  Of course, these are just suggestions and ways that you can cut out potential problems but a skilled printer will be able to manage these issues and we are very confident in ours. Whatever way you want to look at it, to be aware of the printing process can only help you make better design decisions  and give you an appreciation of the skills involved on the printing press.

Footnote. OK,  so I have given the printers a hard time all in the name of good fun. They are a good bunch of guys really!