top ten print production mistakes
As a quality control manager at a large Advertising Agency, I learned that mistakes can be made by the best and most careful artists.
It boils down to the old adage.
YOU CAN HAVE YOUR JOB DONE:
QUICKLY
CHEAPLY
ACCURATELY…
PICK 2.
At the best of times, taking a moment to have a second look at your job before going to press is always worth it. What I am compiling here is a list of the top 10 most common errors made by experienced and inexperienced artists alike, based on my own experiences.
So have a second look at your job with these quick checks in mind:
1. Using quotes for inches and inches for quotes.
Closing quotes are not inch marks and inch marks are not quotation marks. Proper typesetting demands we be careful with these.
Quotes on the MAC:
Open Double Quotes: option + [
Close Double Quotes: option + shift + [
Open Single Quote: option + ]
Close Single Quote: option + shift + ]
In InDesign
When placing text from a Word Doc, click “Import Options” and select or deselect “Use Typographer’s Quotes” as necessary. This option is also available under PREFERENCES / TYPE so be aware of what it converts or not if you have a mixture of measurements and quotes in your document.
2. Not allowing for a shorter panel in a tri-fold brochure.
What is a tri-fold?
Tri-folding is one of the most common brochure formats. Usually printed on letter or legal paper and folded to create 6 or even 8 panels depending on paper size.
The problem is that unlike an Accordion or Z fold, these panels fold in on each other so one of the panels has to be shorter than the others in order to achieve a flat fold. One Sixteenth to One Eighth of an inch is usually sufficient for lighter stocks.
Remember that the shorter panel is on the RIGHT side on the INSIDE of your brochure (pictured below) and on the LEFT on the OUTSIDE.
3. No Mockup for your printer.
It is very important to make a mock-up of your piece both during the creative stages and when sending the disk to your printer. This is true for all double sided, folded or glued jobs. With reference to mistake #2 above, a mock-up is the best way to realise you may not have made your inside flap short enough to fold flat.
You may also be interested in my post on How to Ship Files.
4. Improper use or non-usage of rich blacks.
Using a rich black, ie 30C30M30Y100K on small text is asking for trouble. If your printing is even slightly off register then your text will appear blurry.
On the other side of the coin, large areas of black need that extra punch. Adding 30C to 100K will give you a rich cool black. If you have coloured text or images on your black field then 30C30M30Y30K for your black will ensure your colours have a nice seam with your background.
And never use “Registration” as a colour. 100C100M100Y100K is too much ink for any job.
If you have very large areas of flat colour, you may want to consider a Pantone. Please consult with your printer on this.
See also my blog posts on Watch Your Blacks or Ink Densities.
5. Failure to convert all Pantones to CMYK for a 4 colour job.
This speaks for itself. Your Pantones may be embedded in your Illustrator files or simply part of your InDesign file. Depending on your relationship with your printer or film house, leaving a Pantone in may get you a fifth colour you were not prepared to pay for.
6. Failure to convert RGB images to CMYK.
When outputting to film your RGB images will simply come out on the black plate. Hardly the colourful effect you were promising your client. It is always worth checking the colour space and resolution of your images before committing to print.
7. Too high or too low resolution for job specifications.
It is often tempting to just dump an image into your project and go from there. But if an image has way too much resolution then your production time, file saves and proofing are all slowed down unnecessarily. If you are that unaware of the resolution of your project’s images there is also the chance they will be too low.
Take a few moments to optimise the image sizes for your project and things will go smoother and faster for you and your end results will, of course, be spectacular.
8. Failure to run a spell check and mixing American with Canadian spellings.
OF instead of IF is hard to find with a spell check so there is no substitute for proofreading. But a spell check is your last line of defence before putting ink on paper.
Oh, and watch your COLORS, or is it COLOURS? Decide early on if your project is to be based on American or Canadian (British) spellings and stay consistant.
Since most Spell Checks default to American english you may find this website handy: Spelling differences between American and British English.
9. Insufficient safety and bleed areas.
Bleeds and Safety’s are for your own good. They ensure that everything that needs ink has it and all your important elements stay on the page and are not cut off.
Add One Eighth Inch bleed to all your projects as a default (unless your printer specs differently) and talk to your printer about your safety area. The safety can vary upwards from a minimum of One Eighth Inch depending on the folding, binding and trimming requirements of your job.
10. Covering your glue flaps with ink.
You have designed a lovely box for your client but your production file has your inks bleeding all the way onto the glue flaps. The usual One Eighth Inch bleed is all you need past the fold or score. My printer always warned me that covering the flap with ink can reduce the effectiveness of the glue and if your printer does not mask it off for you then your finisher may have trouble with the final piece.
david
