Printing 101
This page talks specifically about different printing techniques.
Remember - we provide customers with printed packaging on a variety of materials from paperboard to corrugated to plastic.
OFFSET LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING
PROCESS COLORS: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow And Black (CMYK).
These four colors are used to create a multitude of colors in offset printing. As paper passes each color unit of a printing press, printed imagery (in dot form) of each process color is transferred onto the sheet. As the dots overlap and combine (in CMYK succession) they form composited, full-color imagery.
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a printing plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier. Ink rollers transfer ink to the image areas of the image carrier, while a water roller applies a water-based film to the non-image areas.
Difference between print processes - flexo, digital, litho
SPOT COLORS + PANTONE + PMS
TRADE-OFF OF USING SPOT COLORS
• Additional print units are needed when printing in addition to standard process colors = Potential Added Costs
• Color conversion from a spot color to process color can vary greatly.
In offset printing, a spot color is any color generated by an ink (pure or mixed) that is printed using a single run, whereas
a process color is produced by printing a series of dots of different colors (commonly CMYK.)
PRIMARY USE: COLOR CONSISTENCY
If consistent color matching is important for the success of your design, spot colors may be the way to go. Pantone (PMS) colors are often used for a brand color (think Coca Cola red) and for large areas of the same color!
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Spot colors are an especially good choice for brand standard colors in a logo.
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Spot colors are also best for tiny type, tiny reverse type, and those precious 0.5-point lines.
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Spot colors often look cleaner and brighter than four-color builds.
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If your design includes large areas of tints or percentages of a color that must match from one spread to the next, using spot colors will make that easier to accomplish.
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Color Balancing: when used in conjunction with process inks, there is more flexibility with adjusting process color with no affect to your spot color target.
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PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM
The Pantone Matching System color guides are an industry standard. Spot colors are commonly referred to as PMS colors due to their frequent use by printers across the world. Pantone offers various swatchbook libraries of pre-built color for consumers to use when consistent color matches in production are critical.
Because process (or CMYK) printing cannot accurately represent the full spectrum of PMS colors (see example below), some companies print spot colors in addition to the process colors on their packaging materials. This creates a consistency and matching of the image assets from one printed piece to the next.
COATING TYPES
Originally used for protection of a printed piece, print
coatings now are a front-end creative consideration
well before ink hits paper. They can affect color and
overall visual presentation. Here we break down the
most common options used in our in-line offset
printing process.
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AQUEOUS COATINGS
Common Finishes: Gloss, Satin and Dull (Satin, Dull and Matte AQ are really interchangeable. It’s just the naming convention used by the particular coating manufacturer).
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Shinier and smoother than a varnish, has higher abrasion and rub resistance, is less likely to yellow.
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Environmentally Friendly.
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Aqueous coatings offer faster drying times, which means faster turnaround times on press.
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Applied as a flood coat or spot treatment on key art elements
UV (Ultraviolet) COATINGS
Common Finishes: Gloss and Matte.
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Offer the most protection, rub resistance and fastest drying time of all in-line coatings
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Uses UV Light sources to cure and harden with no emissions.
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More likely to show fingerprints and smudges compared to Varnishes or AQ coatings.
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Applied as a flood coat or spot treatment on key art elements.
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Needs a coated sheet for optimal results.
Soft Touch
An overall Aqueous Coating that provides a velvet-like feel to the printed sheet.
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Adds an extra tactile element.
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Environmentally friendly with no VOC content.
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Prone to scuffing/burnishing, especially on dark colors
FINISHING
You often see fancy boxes with high end brands and cosmetic companies.
Here is a high level review of some of the more common "finishes" you can put on a box.
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EMBOSSING AND DEBOSSING:
Take a look at the picture to the left. This is when you press text (or anything) to make it stand off the surface (emboss) or compress it into the surface (deboss).
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FOIL STAMPING:
Typically if you have seen gold on a box, its been foil stamped. See the image to the left right gold "printing". Foil can be applied through a few different process (cold foil, digital, or hot stamping).
SPOT UV:
See bottom image to the left. Spot UV gives customers to opportunity to print a specific area with a super glossy finish.
OFFSET PRINTING COLOR THEORY
With CMYK being the process color standard, there are other color modes frequently associated with printing, pre-press and design that are important to know about.
RGB (RED, GREEN, BLUE)
The defacto color mode for electronic display monitors and photography. While RGB color provides the broadest array of colors available it is a light-based color model where combining values of Red, Green or Blue produce color to block the dark background underneath. (Known as Additive Color Mixing)
CMYK
Since most paper used in printing is primarily some variation of white, pigmented color is needed to combine
and cover up or mask areas of the paper to achieve your desired imagery or color on the sheet. In reducing the
amount of white showing through, the CMYK color model combines values Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black to
cover or mask he white background underneath. (Also know as Subtractive Color Mixing)
While the range of color is smaller in the CMYK color model, it produces a more accurate result in the
reproduction process.