Print Media test 1

Fibers

slender, thread-like cellulose structures that cohere to form a sheet of paper

Virgin Fibers

New fibers from raw materials such as wood and rag

Recycled Fibers

fibers that have been previously used

Wood Fibers

fibers harvested from trees. They are the most common source of raw fibers for paper making

Soft woods

such as pine and evergreen have long fibers resulting in strong but rough paper

Hard woods

such as pine and evergreen have long fibers resulting in strong but smooth papers

Rag Fibers

the fibers are harvested from plants. Cotton is the most common source

Recycled paper

is made from fibers that have been previously used

Pre-consumer

leftover paper from the mill. trimmings from the printing process, envelope conversions and damaged paper. Any paper that has not been used by the general public

Post-consumer

paper that has been printed, sold, used , discarded by the consumer. Newspapers, cardboard boxes, copy paper, notebooks, etc.

Paper weight

measured by pounds

Caliper

the thickness of each sheet measured in .001 of an inch called points

Quality

measured on a scale of 1-5 1=premium 2-3=common 4-5=rough

Grain effects…

folding, scoring, tearing

Fourdrinier

large, continuous, finely-woven wire belt that vibrates and moves filling and fibers onto screen. water is vacuumed off

Dandy roll

applies same texture to top of paper used to apply water marks

Calendaring

the “gloss”

Linen

subtle, crosshatch woven texture that mimics real linen cloth

Laid

distinctive texture from a grid of prominent chain lines (thicker, spaced vertically0 and laid lines (thinner, closely spaced horizontally)

Grain

directional alignment of fibers with a sheet, affecting flexibility, folding, and binding

opacity

refers to its ability to block light and prevent "show-through" from one side to the other, enabling better two-sided printing without distraction

finish

refers to the texture and reflective properties of paper's surface, with characteristics such as smoothness, shine, and embossed patterns

Coated

refers to the texture and reflective properties of paper's surface, with characteristics such as smoothness, shine, and embossed patterns

Uncoated

refers to the texture and reflective properties of paper's surface, with characteristics such as smoothness, shine, and embossed patterns

Felt

a non-woven fabric made from natural fibers (like wool or wood cellulose) or synthetic fibers (like fiberglass or polyester). the one that looks like a sweatshirt pressed into it.

Line art

any flat, one tone image that is made up of a solid color including vector

Continuous Tone

any image with a natural range of values such as photos, paintings, illustrations

Halftone

the reprographic technique that stimulates continuous tone imagery through dots, varying in size and spacing

Printing Plates

used to transfer an image to paper. Plates are made of metal, plastic, or rubber

sheet fed

paper is fed from stacks of flat sheets

web fed

paper is on a large roll and is pulled through the printing press

perfect press

press that prints both sides of a sheet at the same time

letterpress

reversed surface is inked and pressed to the surface

Gravure

image to be printed is recessed into a plate and the ink fills the holes and is transferred

Offset lithography

“stone writing” inked image is transferred from a plate to rubber blanket to paper

flexography

utilizes a flexible relief plate

on demand/digital

does not use a plate, printing from a digital based image directly to a variety of media without transferring the image to a plate

What is the most common type of commercial printing?

Offset lithography

Uses: Letterpress

-short run (specialty)

-invitations/announcement

-stationary

-embossing,dicutting,scoring

Uses: Gravure

-some books (bibles)

-high denomination postage stamps

-museum quality art prints or art quality photo books

-money

-high quality packaging and magazines

Uses: Lithography

-most printed products on paper

-brochures

-booklets

-direct mail

Uses: Flexography

-mostly packaging

-anything with a “flexible” surface

Uses: Digital printing

-most printed products printed on paper

-brochures

-booklets

-printed pictures

Method:Digital printing

different processes such as Ink jet or Toner

Method: offset lithography

most common commercial printing process

based on the concept that oil and water don’t mix

Method: Flexography

Uses raised surface like letterpress on a rubber (flexible) plate

Method: letterpress

printing area raised from surrounding plate. ink applied to raised area. paper pressed onto plate

Method: Gravure

printing area of plate is recessed from plate surface. plate cylinder is on the bottom and impression cylinder is on top. paper passes through in a rolling motion

Advantages: Letterpress

-capable of printing very fine detail

-easy to proof

-can do a wide range of thickness of material

Disadvantages: Letterpress

-expensive

-slow

-reproduces solids poorly

Advantages: Gravure

-capable of printing fine details

-best continuous tone

-prints at high speeds

-plates last a long time (no friction)

-can print thin delicate paper

-widest dynamic range

Disadvantages: Gravure

-Very expensive

-Long Make-ready

-Only economical for large runs

Advantages: Offset Lithography

-can print on wide range of textures

-economical

-good registration

-short make ready

-inexpensive plates

-excellent color consistency

-fine line screens

Disadvantages: Offset lithography

-ink transparency

-web limits paper weights to 100# text

-sheet fed prints slower

Advantages: Flexography

-Can print on almost any surface

-opaque inks

-thick coverage

-fast print speed

Disadvantages: Flexography

-short plate life

-coarse line screen

-ink spreads

-plates can wrap

-difficult to register

Advantages: digital Printing

-no plates needed

-economical for short runs

-can print very low quantities

-variable data can print different information on each sheet

Disadvantages: Digital Printing

-toner sits on top of paper surface

-limited paper types and weights

-not economical for large runs

-sheet fed prints slower

-does not print large

Additive

red, green, blue (digital)

Subtractive

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow (print)

Hue

name of color

Value

degree of lightness from white to black

Tints

mixture of a color with white

Shades

mixture of a color with black

saturation

pureness or richness of a color, reduced by adding grey or by adding complementary colors

Gamut

range of colors within visible spectrum that a devise can display/ print

Degrees kelvin

numerical value of color emitted by light source

Spot colors

printed using one matched color of ink

Process colors

made of subtractive primaries CMYK

Pantone matching system

system of specifying spot colors

Pantone color of the year

Mocha Mousse

Duotone

halftone printing using two inks using black and another color

tritone

halftone printed using 3 inks

quadtone

halftone printed using 4 inks

Screen angles

angle halftones are printed

rosette

circular patterns screen dots are printed in

Moire pattern

not correct pattern/angles

Accessibility

Be mindful of making your design accessible

color blindness

reduced ability to distinguish between colors

measuring light

using lux for the amount of light falling on a surface and lumens for the total brightness of a light source

Live Area

the part of the page that will print

Crop marks

thin lines placed at the corners of a layout to show where the paper should be trimmed

slug area

every part of a press sheet that will be cut off

bleed common

when an entire background or whole edge bleeds off the page

bleed uncommon

when a silhouetted images, graphics or type bleeds off the page

folds and preforations

indicated with dashed line/ dotted line

color bars

on the bleed area, helps printer monitor and control color

page information

file name and date in slug

imposition

the placement of the pages on the printer’s press sheet to ensure alignment

gripper edge

where the printer grabs the paper

sheet wise

printed on both sides

work and turn

rotated left to right

work and tumble

rotated top to bottom

signatures

groups of pages printed on both sides, paper is folded, cut

creep/pushout

center most pages have smaller image areas due to thickness of paper

gang up

add more to page to use less paper

saddle-stitch

stitched through center spine

side stitch

stitched up and down

perfect

flat spine

lie-flat perfect

cover is attached only at corner of spine, spine is loose across width