A guide to graphic print production

402 Pages·2003·34.979 MB·English

by  Lundberg, Peter, Ryberg, Robert, Johansson, Kaj

A Guide to
GrAphic
print
production
third edition
“But I, on the other hand, could perhaps measure the color as well: I might
guess it had a wavelength of five hundred forty millionths of a millimeter;
and then this green would apparently be captured and nailed to a specific
point! But then it gets away from me again, because this ground color also
has something material about it that can’t be expressed in words of color at
all, since it’s different from the same green in silk or wool. And now we’re
back at the profound discovery that green grass is just grass green!”
robert musil in the man without qualities
Musil, Robert, Transl. Sophie Wilkins and Burton Pike. The Man Without Qualities, Volume II “From
the Posthumous Papers” Part 1, Chapter 46, p. 1185. First Vintage International Edition, 1996, New York.
A Guide to Graphic Print Production, Third Edition
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
© Kaj Johansson, Peter Lundberg, Robert Ryberg, and Bokförlaget Arena 2011
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey.
English language edition distributed exclusively throughout the World by John Wiley & Sons.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States
Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-
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Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River
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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold
with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assis-
tance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in
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text Kaj Johansson, Peter Lundberg, and Robert Ryberg
Design Urban Gyllström
illustrations Robert Ryberg

photo Albert Håkansson (food)
Paul Brissman (food ingredients in chapter introductions)
Tomas Ek and Johann Bergenholtz, Fälth & Hässler (technique)
Robert Ryberg (technique and illustrating examples)
Henrik Svensson (examples of object graphics with mesh function)
Joanna Hornatowska, stfi (print in close-up)
Johanna Löwenhamn (authors’ portraits)
Susanne Wrethstig and John Nelander (screen shots)
translations Jennifer Bäverstam and Amy Oliver (glossary)
copyeDiting Sue Warga
proDuction Bokbolaget AB

typeface DIN Engschrift (chapter headings)
Scala Sans (image captions)
Minion (body text)
paper Multiart Silk 130 g/m2
print Elanders Fälth & Hässler, Hungary, 2011
isbn-10 0-470-90792-4
isbn-13 978-0-470-90792-4
Printed in Hungary

content
01. graphic
print 02. the 03. color 04. digital 05. image
production computer management images editing 06. layout
8 The Graphic 30 The Computer 53 What is Color? 84 Object 128 What is a Good 174 Layout Work
Print Production 31 What Makes a 54 The Eye and Graphics Image? 176 Text Manu script
Flow Computer Fast? Color 86 Pixel Graphics 129 Discussing 177 Mounting Text
16 What Affects 33 The Monitor 54 RGB: Additive 86 Color Modes Image Quality 180 Typefaces,
Costs? Color Mixing and Images
36 Software 92 Resolution Fonts, and
23 Choosing a 38 Storage Media 56 CMYK: 93 File Formats 130 Proofing Typography
Service provider Subtractive Images
42 Communication 100 Compression 184 Font File
25 Planning Color Mixing 140 Adjusting Formats and
Graphic Print 43 Network 58 Pantone and 103 Digital Cameras Images Functions
Production 47 The Internet HKS: Two Spot 110 Digital 156 Retouch and 187 Pitfalls with
49 Transferring Color Systems Photography Photoshop Fonts
Files 61 Why Are the 113 Scanners Tools
189 Images in
Colors Never 119 Scanning 165 Naming and Layout
Right? Images Tagging
190 Mounting
61 CIE: A Device 166 Adjusting the Images
Independent Image for
193 Color in Layout
Color System Printing and
62 RGB Color the Web 197 Pitfalls in
Managing
Standards 168 Editing Images
Colors
67 Color Manage- Effectively
199 Pitfalls in the
ment Systems
Layout Work
68 How the ICC
203 Proofing
Profile Works
207 Proofs
73 Creating
Effective Color 209 Sending Docu-
Management ments to Print
74 Color Manage- 211 Structuring and
ment in Practice Archiving
75 Color
Conversion
80 Problems
with Color
Management
4 | a guide to graphic print production
10. finishing
07. prepress 08. paper 09. printing and binding 11. glossary
216 Postscript 266 Coated or 292 Different 342 Different Types 359 A
219 PDF Uncoated Printing of Finishing 361 B
227 JDF: Job 266 Matte/Silk Techniques and Binding 362 C
Definition or Glossy 292 Xerography 342 Before 367 D
Format 267 Wood-free pulp 298 Inkjet Finishing and
230 Adjusting for and Wood-pulp 301 Sublimation Binding 370 E
Printing 267 Paper or 303 Offset 344 Varnishing 371 F
239 Proofing and Cardboard 318 Letterpress 344 Lamination 373 G
Contract Proofs 267 Plastics and Foils 345 Foiling 374 H
320 Screen Printing
246 Imposition 268 Paper Format 345 Embossing 375 I
322 Gravure
250 Halftone 270 Basis/Sub stance Printing 345 Cropping 378 J
Screening Weight 325 Flexographic 346 Die-cutting 378 K
270 Density Printing 347 Punching 378 L
and Bulk
329 Print 347 Folding 380 M
271 Surface Smooth- Makeready 349 Creasing 381 N
ness and
Formation 330 Checking Prints 350 Signatures and 382 O
271 Brightness and 336 Printing Sheet Order 383 P
Whiteness Inks and 351 Metal Stitching 388 Q
Environmental
271 Opacity Issues 352 Spiral Bindings 388 R
272 Grain Direction 353 Glue Binding 390 S
273 Dimensional 353 Thread Sewing 395 T
Stability 354 Thread Sealing 397 U
273 Strength 354 Covering 398 V
274 Age-Resistant 356 Casing in 398 W
and Archival
399 X
Paper
399 Z
274 Choosing a Paper
279 Paper and the
Environment
282 Handling of the A bonus chapter on legal issues is available
Paper online at: www.wiley.com/go/johansson
284 What Paper is
Made Of
a guide to graphic print production | 5

01.
graphic print
1.1 the Graphic print production Flow 8
1.2 what aFFects costs? 16
1.3 choosinG a service provider 23
production 1.4 planninG Graphic print production 25
Who actually does what in graphic print production
today? What is prepress? What affects the price of a
printed product? What should you think about when
getting a price quote? How do you avoid additional
costs? Who is responsible for what parts of the produc-
tion?
Graphic print production is a broad concept these days. It covers all the steps
that are taken to produce a printed product. Of course it includes printing,
finishing, and binding, but it also includes all the steps that precede these, such
as outline and execution of a design, photographing and editing images, pro-
ducing text and layout, and prepress production, which includes creating PDF
files, adjusting images for printing, proofing, and preparing printing plates.
In this chapter we will go over the graphic print production flow, giving an
introduction to the different steps and providing examples of the roles various
participants play. Before we begin, we will present a number of basic questions;
the answers to these determine to a large degree how you are going to set up
your project.
Graphic print production is more difficult than you might think, since there
are many people involved and you are dependent on a functioning partnership
with all of them. It is not easy to predict costs, either; it’s important to know what
kind of information you will have to provide to get an accurate price and avoid the
additional costs that are so common in the graphics industry. We will therefore
look at the underlying factors that influence the costs of printed products, and
review a checklist of what should be included in the price quote. We will also
go over how to evaluate and choose suppliers as well as how to plan the graphic
print production.
a guide to graphic print production | 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
t
k x
r k e
Strategic wo creative wor imageS and t layout prepreSS printing FiniShing and Binding diStriBution
1.1
e
gur idea and concept creative production industrial production loGistics
Fi
the eiGht steps oF Graphic print production
Graphic print production can be divided into eight steps and four phases. The first phase deals with strategic and creative work; the final
result consists of idea, concept, and sketches of graphic design. The following phase could be labeled as creative production–here the product
is still being designed and changed. The third phase, which consists of prepress, printing, and finishing and binding, is primarly industrial,
with a goal of carrying out what has been decided on and formed in the previous steps. The last step deals with distributing the finished
printed product.
1.1 The Graphic Print Production Flow
The technology in graphic print production has become cheaper and more
accessible in the last fifteen to twenty years, and as a consequence, many spe-
cialized jobs have disappeared. Today, the same person can carry out work
that previously required a number of different specialists. The boundaries that
traditionally existed between different kinds of graphic print production com-
panies have blurred, and the distribution of roles has been changed; it is no
longer entirely clear who does what. There are advertising agencies that edit
images and printing houses that arrange layouts; there are prepress companies
that do photography and purchasers of printed products who do a large part
of the production themselves. Materials, production, and information flows
have also changed, which has led to a certain amount of ambiguity as to who
is responsible for what.
One way to sort out the areas of responsibility is to break down the graphic
print production flow into eight basic steps:
• Strategic work
• Creative work
• Images and text
• Layout work
• Prepress
• Printing
• Finishing and binding
• Distribution
8 | a guide to graphic print production