But production process has many variables involved in getting to this point, and it can be difficult to guarantee a perfect result every time, especially if you are dealing with internet printers and processes. Let’s look a little deeper at the paper production – and cracking – process by reviewing the following scenario:

• Fast forward to the day your [insert annual report, high quality digital gatefold or complex packaging POS] project is due in the office and you are nervous. Why?
• Because you have no idea how the finishing on your project’s paper stock is going to react to the [metallic ink] [die-cutting] [variable data insertion machine] it has been endured after your press check and before interstate delivery.
• And there is no extra time to return it if the finishing is not perfect. What do you do? At this point, you would be drinking coffee, nervous and pacing, but there are some expert tips from John Cole this month to help you rewind the clock:

Four essential paper production tips to make sure your spine doesn’t crack!

1. Make sure the paper grain runs the same way as the fold

Paper structure works the same way as material – there is a weft and a weave, where paper fibres are filled into one direction and other threads woven between them to create the appearance of a paper surface. This forms a chequerboard surface and has different surface textures depending on the type of paper, whether it is dyed, recycled or affected with some other manufacturing process or element, like metallic glitter or seeds.

Coleface-Warp-and-Weft

If your print manager estimates the paper to print in the direction that the paper moves naturally, it will avoid print cracking. Going against this will cause the paper fibres to raise against the surface of the paper, which looks like cracking. If you are printing on a press with other projects or do not have input into the sheet size of the paper, there is less chance you can find out whether the paper is doing what is described above – but you should ask your print manager anyway.

2. Score the spine before folding

Some printed papers will fold perfectly well, such as text-weight paper or lightweight cover stock, but scoring the spine will minimise most splitting and paper cracks without you needing to know the gsm weight or grainage (Point 1). Scoring reduces the stiffness of the paper surface by pressing in a line along spines or other edges to where the fold is located. This weakens the paper to ease bending of the paper to form folds, and is done through press scoring on litho machines and old style folding machine scorers (shown above).

3. Add a celloglaze

Adding a celloglaze to the outside or inside of a printed paper sheet adds a coating to protect it and make it more durable, but will also minimise paper cracking. Celloglazing is a process where thin plastic coatings are heatbonded to the outside (or inside) of a paper sheet.

4. Handfold!

If all else fails, try handfolding – machines can crush paper in multiple print processes like direct mail, where the paper is printed, varnished, labelled, packed and inserted into envelopes all by machines. Handfolding is just that little extra step that may solve all your paper cracking problems. The environment where the paper is being printed and stored, and its moisture, is also a factor how moist the paper prints..

So many considerations! Best to leave this to your print manager or if you are doing this process yourself, be aware of how your paper production process can prevent or cause paper to crack throughout different treatments.

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help printing, please consider printing it with Coleface – contact us now.

Sources: citywideprint.com.au

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

Sustainability as a practice starts with the concepting and design of the product, and is further enhanced by the printing process: they work together. Environmentally friendly or sustainable print materials are selected by production and timing constraints, cost and availability factors, and design considerations also.

According to Candace Hodder, Director of Clean Agency, a research-based sustainability consulting firm, a sustainable package represents a “fully optimised use of environmental resources through its entire life cycle.”

That lifecycle includes raw materials, the process of production into print, plastic or other substrate, construction and fulfilment, distribution and the end of the product’s life. The energy or footprint is also key to sustainable design values. Your print manager or designer should be able to justify each decision made in a packaging project relating sustainability.

Costs are higher sometimes for sustainable products/elements but if you have a choice in selling it to your clients, of course you are going to do it.

Some target groups are not attracted to the uncoated, recycled aesthetic in design that is associated with sustainable principles, but below are our top 5 best examples of sustainable products that may just change your/your client’s mind and in turn, the eventual design.

1. Wood

The package design for Wood uses real wood to evoke nature. Usually perfume packaging favors clean, cultured glass but in this case, wood could be a unique differentiator of the product and brand promise and end up being cheaper to produce.

2. 360 Paper Bottle

The 360 Paper Bottle is the first truly sustainable alternative to plastic bottles for beverages. Its’ shape is reminiscent of plastic bottles to convey a sense of sturdiness and is made from 100% recycled materials. It has a functional package and opening, and might work with water as well as other drinks!

3. Grass

This plantable packaging concept is attractive and optimised for disposal after supply to the customer: simply plant and it breaks down to nourish the seeds inside.

4. Puma reusable shoe bag

Consideration of customer needs post-purchase is used here to extend the experience of buying these Puma trainers into storing the shoes in a stylish way after use.

5. Goal Zero POP packaging

This attractive electronics packaging uses 100% recycled plastic waste generated by a thermoforming process, and recycled paperboard also.

Hard to tell the difference between virgin boards and recycled, isnt it?

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help printing sustainable packaging, please consider printing it with Coleface – contact us now.

Sources: SpeckyBoy, thedieline.com, aapack.com

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

It is an opportunity for the brand or product to extend the product or service appeal into a demonstration to the consumer, so the sky is the limit when it comes to creativity. Plastic factors into POS packaging success through:

• Display qualities
• Robustness
• Transportability
• Limits of the substrate material to fulfil the creative or marketing idea
• Sustainability

Here are ten of the best POS plastic packaging from the last few Pentawards competitions:

10. Diamond Pentaward 2015 – BEST OF THE SHOW – Established

Best of the Show – Diamond Pentaward 2015
Marc Jacobs Beauty Line created by the New York agency Established.

There are so many fantastic designs in the Pentaward pantheon that it is hard to choose the best but here it is for 2015: Best of the Show – Diamond Pentaward 2015, Marc Jacobs Beauty Line created by the New York agency Established.

The Twinkle Eye Stick, Kiss Pop Stick and Smart Wand Tinting Face Stick (we would so love to be the ones who name these ranges!) all allude through their shape and concept to crayons and art materials: literally colouring in the face-as-canvas. We appreciate the consistency of design and high level of production in the final range.

9. Silver Pentaward 2014 – Beverages – DAPY – DO International

This Ardbeg Escape Pack, designed by DAPY-Do International, won the French Beverages Silver Pentaward for its’ Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Case – it certainly stands out from the rest in its ‘melee’-inspired metal form with studded bands holding in the battle going on inside.

Silver Pentaward 2014 – Beverages – DAPY – DO International

8. Silver Pentaward 2014 – Luxury – Partisan du Sens

An innovative pret-a-porter solution with handle moulded into the classic Moet et Chandon bottle shape, with matching outer carton in either round or angular rose-coloured packaging. Love that embossed ribbon type!

PENTAWARDS-2014-146-PARTISAN-DU-SENS-VEUVE-CLICQUOT

7. Silver Pentaward 2012 – Luxury – MW Creative Limited

What a sensational and practical idea to communicate the purpose of the packaging at the point of sale and then extend it the shelf life into its next experience with the customer – very clever and am sure there would have been a few rounds of changes to this artwork as a flat!

PENTAWARDS-2012-119-MW-CLICQ-UP-ICE

6. Gold Pentaward 2012 – Beverages – Ampro Design Consultants

This Romanian design firm created a very retro-yet-futuristic milk bottle shape to promote a Pinot Noir varietal named ‘Milk Wine’. The finish looks great, we are not taken by the name…

Gold Pentaward 2012 – Beverages – Ampro Design Consultants

5. Bronze Pentaward 2014 – Other Markets – Samsung Design China, KHT Brand Management & Consulting

The Spot UV print on matt black board always looks so polished and in this piece, soundly echoes the culture of the country (China) where global giant Samsung is operating.

Bronze Pentaward 2014 – Other Markets – Samsung Design China, KHT Brand Management & Consulting

Bronze Pentaward 2014 – Other Markets – Samsung Design China, KHT Brand Management & Consulting

4. Silver Pentaward 2014 – Luxury – jkr

Penhaglion’s Christmas Gift Collection is certainly all the richer for using this gorgeous bird-cage inspired pack design. Another metallic tin packaging design which uses the substrate to print inks which use silver as a metallic colour, highlighting the mechanical bird illustrations in each inset panel.

Silver Pentaward 2014 – Luxury – jkr

Silver Pentaward 2014 – Luxury – jkr

3. Silver Pentaward 2010 – Luxury – Shiseido Co, Ltd.

The luxury feel of this packaging is helped by the wooden look design but achieved in moulded plastic – Poetic indeed!

Silver Pentaward 2010 – Luxury – Shiseido Co, Ltd.

2. Silver Pentaward 2011 – Other markets – Pulp

It cannot get any simpler that the white label packaging on these automotive product packs.

Silver Pentaward 2011 – Other markets – Pulp

1. Bronze Pentaward 2015 – Other Markets – Grupo imasD

The handle is the central concept idea for this Colombian natural detergent bottle, which omits the need for additional packaging as well. fantastic work!

Bronze Pentaward 2015 – Other Markets – Grupo imasD

Embrace your Plasticity!

The award-winning entries above set the bar high in plastic product packaging but even so, you are probably doing some fantastic work yourself or for your clients – why not get involved and show the world how your product pack designs measure up?

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help printing a simple or complex packaging project, please consider printing it with Coleface – contact us now.

Sources: http://www.pentawards.org

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

As a basic rule, anything that is digital should be RGB, and anything intended for print, should be CMYK. Why is this the standard? Different mediums need different setups, and as they all go through the computer today, the colour modes need to be setup to meet these print or output requirements. This quick reference from publicationspress.com shows a quick way to determine what to do:

But if you are interested to know more…

CMYK stands for Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black. These four colours make up what is called a ‘subtractive’ colour mode, because when they are all added together, it makes black.

RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue – these light spectrum colours, when mixed together at full opacity, make white – so they are called ‘additive’ for this reason.

A bit of history on the CMYK printing press setup

in the past, each pass on the printer was used to spread Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black ink to make the text and image compositions to match the print layout, made by a metal plate. The black plate was called the “key” plate because it usually defined key artistic or visual details. One after another would be completed, with each colour drying before the next one was added.

The same process is pretty much used today, with the exception of spot colours, made by using Pantone-branded ‘special’ colour mixes that match a particular colour, tone or shade. Many large corporations use a spot colour to identify their brand, such as ‘Cadbury’ purple P2685C (yes they do own that Pantone colour!!!!!)

RGB = what we see

Isaac Newton discovered and mapped out the modern colour spectrum and to this day, RGB is the colour spectrum we still view through our eyes. The computer monitor, more or less, is equivalent to this colour spectrum, which is why when you export PDFs, the colour will probably match what you see onscreen, but if you print it in the office printer, it will not.other factors affect the display of RGB colour on a monitor, including age of display device, quality, colour temperature and lighting. there are ways of adjusting your monitors to accommodate a more colour correct screen and many professional designers and printers do this on a regular basis.

Why do colours change between RGB and CMYK?

The CMYK colour range is also smaller in scope than RGB, although our human eye can only view certain parts of the spectrum also. When printing from RGB to CMYK and then onto a printer, pixels compress, colours darken, flatten and absorb different ranges of colour in print and also, the type of paper and amount of ink affects the output.

When printing the other way around there is less problems because the pixels interpret themselves into the additional space.

Document setup

Using Adobe Indesign CC as an example of software that can prepare your colour setup, see below for the three options they provide for the user at the very start of the process: when you open a new file. Right under the Document Preset, see the ‘Intent’ setting. It is here that you select either Print, Web or Digital Publishing options, which then set your colour mode.

• Print: CMYK colour mode
• Web: RGB colour mode
• Digital Publishing: RGB colour mode

The next instalment of John’s Print Tip of the Month will go further into exporting your document for the correct print destination or printer.

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help printing, please consider printing it with Coleface – contact us now.

Sources: www.publicationspress.com

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

Number 1: Perfect binding – plan for it

When a book is perfect bound and images or text go across the gutter (where the pages meet in the middle), they will appear to be distorted if there is not any allowance made for the curve of the pages. We recommend to shift the image or text so it does not go across the gutter, which minimises the possibility of failure at the print production process. A tricky and difficult alternative could be to shit the images and text so that they appear to duplicate part of the image on the other page – but this method will depend on how many pages you have in your book. Go the design option and avoid an epic print fail!

Number 2: Check locked layers

If the layer in your document is locked then the printer may miss it during their print preparation process. If you do not tell them, or show an example of what the finished item should look like, your corporate logo on that layer may not appear – and that equals Epic Fail!

Number 3: Few pixels = fuzzy pictures

The rule for printing images correctly is this: if, at 100% of the size that your image is meant to be, there are 300 pixels per square inch on the page, then it will print correctly. Setting the resolution too high is not generally a problem, but can sometimes result in images changing size on the page. Setting the resolution too low is a really common issue, especially in this era of 72-dpi web resolution. See below for bad pixels on the left, versus good pixels on the right.

Number 4: Read it

Yes, this tip is the worst Epic Fail culprit –  common-sense really, but the reason why it happens is because someone was not watching, reading or managing the job at hand. It is a sad factor in today’s busy business world that the simple things go amiss, but if you look at the signage below, you will see what we mean:

But on the other hand, if this is intended for possible viral use (like us picking up on it and mentioning it), then perhaps this mistake is actually an intentional epic fail.

Number 5: Check it

As you can see below, the purpose of this display is clear but once again, it has not been sense-checked. How will the product on offer (osteoporosis) be sold, I wonder? In a jar? It makes not sense and sounds unattractive, which is counter-productive for the business who is doing the promotion.

Hopefully these tricks help you avaoid an epic print fail – make a checklist, use a designer or printer, do whatever you have to for a successful print result!

Sources: http://www.andrewkelsall.com/printing-mistakes-errors-need-avoid/, adfailure.com, http://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/51499/do-i-absolutely-need-a-bleed-for-the-interior-of-my-book-if-images-cross-over-t

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help managing your next print project, please consider Coleface – we can definately help with the whole print management process to get you a great result!

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

They tell stories (some factual, some narrative) and all aim to portray the companies they represent in the most positive perspective. This is achieved through expert print management involved at the start of the process, when the concepts are developed, aims are set, budgets are decided. An annual report is one of the key tools that connect your company culture to its’ people: starting by documenting financial and business objectives, then through brand and marketing, performance of actual service or product delivery, and finally to customers and employees. Here are five of the best creatively strategic annual reports, presented by us because we appreciate the design and print standards in each:

Vrijwilligersacademie Amsterdam – 2011 Annual Report colab by three design studios

This annual report features the efforts of three design studios (Da Costa Design, Via Veneman and Studio Pino) for an Amsterdam academy. Using a simple and effective restricted colour palette, pages feature instructional design diagrams and bold type quotes (shown) to launch a new identity. The annual report was part of a suite of collateral designed in the new look and feel, including stationery, promo movies, flyers and posters. #verycool

Gutenberg Printers – 2010 Annual Report

The sustainability focus of the design for this Gutenberg-Werbering Gmbh annual report is palpable (not pulpable but probably is also). Its’ identity depicts understated ‘sustainable’ design and production values without all the usual green cliches, usuch as sophisticated red ink perfect binding with red ink for impact, together with spot UV varnishes on selected pages and uncoated paper stock. And then there is the design. Not usually a must-have reading selection for many, this annual report comes with a poster to stick onto the wall once unfolded – like the story of the company’s year performance, the process is interactive. Very ’sticky’ and attractive design.

Seguros Pelayo – 2012 Annual Report

This 2012 printed annual report showcases the design achievements of the company through an impressive series of pop-up characters, fold-outs, multi-colour layouts and then hand-folded finishing. A creative’s dream project, it really makes you think about what the company does. An add-on trend which promotes the annual report with shareholders is the making of a video, which also tells the story – watch it here.

Pirelli – Street Art Annual Report 2014

The #TakePArt video interprets the lead-up to the Pirelli brand’s annual report by filming Italian, Swedish and other European street artists re-interpreting a tyre in graffiti art. Graffiti artist Dome writes “innovation requires passion” in a mural, and as part of the lead-up to the release of the company annual report, the link to corporate financial performance is tenuous to say the least. But it doesn’t matter. The art is beautiful, the sentiment is there and most importantly, innovation is taking place as a merger between street and corporate needs – good idea! Watch the artistic process in action here here.

Caritas Kontaktladen – Annual Report

Caritas Kontaktladen annual report uses an identity that focuses on the interplay and importance of the drug assistance services provided by the company. The powerful relationship of visuals and text emphasises the commitment required to undertakes visits, risks and survival associated with the service.

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help printing your next annual report, please consider printing it with Coleface – contact us now.

Sources: http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/annual-report-design-2131905, http://theinspirationgrid.com/gutenberg-printers-annual-report-by-mooi-design/, http://jayce-o.blogspot.com/2013/01/annual-report-design-ideas-annual-report-designs.html

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

What is a print broker?

Print brokers organise print sales for both customers (you, your company, your client if you are a designer) and large print companies, are usually independent and rely on their networks to get better deals and options for both client and customer. They can help the customer find out what to solve in a print production scenario and let you know what they can do or cannot do.

Use print brokers if your job is $10,000 or more, this way you will get good value for money and trust in their expertise.

What is a print rep?

Print representatives (print reps) can do a similar role to the broker, in-house for larger print companies. They will have knowledge about the specific types of processes, stocks and finishes available within the company rather than out in the market, and their job will be to sell you a print solution from this pool of knowledge.

Use print reps if you use a particular paper stock and need to get sales efficiencies from volumes purchased for your company.

What is a print management company?

Print management companies generally specialise in one or more fields and service small-medium clients in their print needs. They are usually great at meeting deadlines, because they can broker print runs across multiple printers, and be more flexible than larger print companies because of this adaptability. They can offer a variety of print production finishes and papers because they are not locked into any ongoing process or resourcing contracts with print supply companies. Larger companies are and you may have been told before that they are out of particular paper stocks just so you are restricted to printing on their house stock or whatever is available.

Other thoughts to keep in mind:

• The online print production process: there is nothing at all wrong with ordering and managing your print online – many tasks are done like this nowadays – but the possibilities are limited to which buttons, pricepoints, stocks and finishes are available via the program. The potential of connecting with a human, who is an expert, who listens to what you are saying, in real time? Priceless. Not to mention making you feel more confident, happier and reassured if it is a complex job.
• Deal with a human: like any service, print companies large and small employ middle men to conduct more and more specialised tasks – just because you do not meet your paper engineer or foil specialist does not mean that there is one employed in the process behind closed (print factory) doors. Make sure that you meet your print manager at least once in your relationship and trust your instincts to let you know whether you would like to continue to use them ongoing, together with dollar figures and other criteria for service selection.
• How far is your print rep willing to go for the success of your project? Don’t be mean to your print manager – they can pull some very lovely strings through the use of their print networks to make or break your print project. It is best practice to always assume that they will be delivering you a finished production that exceeds your expectations rather than just meets it, but then again, if you have not talked to them about what you need, then how will they know?
• Keep in touch once you have placed the order: Make it a habit to call the printer once you have sent the purchase order over to them. Even if you have order online, there is still arep whose job it is to ensure your print order is delivered, so the gap in quality is generally equivalent to the gap inbetween when you place the order and when you receive it. Be interested in what happens to your project and they will to.
• Knowing which service you are purchasing, volumes and price when signing a contract with is smart management – print costs and planning can be expensive and ongoing, ways to save on your print buying.
• Knowing that your relationship with your print management company is solid, trustworthy and responsive (like any other service for you or your clients).

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help planning your next print project, please consider Coleface – we can definately help with the whole print management process to get you a great result!

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

We love packaging at Coleface. Not just as a print management company who works with some of the best paper engineers and designers in Sydney and the world, but because of the whole production process and how it makes us feel. Aren’t you the same?

Let’s break it down (get it? Packaging Joke?) – you may respond to how it looks, how it feels, how it connects with either a customer problem that you experience, or even better, solves the problem quickly and efficiently. These are all the basics of communication through packaging with your target customer, so no new information there. But as a packaging designer, marketer or company, how do you ensure that these elements are present in your packaging from despatch to delivery with your printer? Here are a few tips on how to maintain quality, cost and features of your packaging right through to the finished item, with your printer (the person/firm, not the machine!):

• Communicate: as the representative of your client or company when briefing how the packaging works with your printer/print management/print broker, just because you have despatched the file (and it is due next Tuesday) does not mean you sign off via email once the files are gone. In the print industry there is a saying that the production process is the most ‘variable’ in terms of outcome because of communication about stocks, timelines and costs. Stick with your project, let the print manager know what your intentions are, trust them to do their job and it will all work out perfectly!
• Be practical (in your packaging): practicality starts at the rough concept stage but really matters at the production end of the packaging process. Consider the shape, size and intended functionality of the product container as well as the label, wrap and hygeine or food requirements. The more practical the packaging the better it sells. Ask your print manager what works, what doesn’t. When I use both of the honey packs shown below, the one on the left is great, does the job and tastes wonderful, but the one on the right does not get sticky towards the end of its use period because of the way the inner cap seal drops out the honey. Good thinking!

• Design transparency: do not hide the product, unless it will not look any good for it’s intended use. We are living in an age where packaging should enhance product features, not hide them and the closer your potential audience can get to the product, the less selling that the packaging has to do. Include nutritional information on the pack panel in a point size that people can read if they want to: 10-11 point is usually fine, contrasted against the background or clear packaging.

• Sustainability: using recycled stocks and soy-based inks is an excellent method to demonstrating your brand commitment to the environment and customer, but be very careful when selecting stock and not discussing this with your printer. Some of the more sustainable packaging stocks and inks on the market can perform very unexpectedly once they are printed onto or with certain combinations – in other words, work with a print management company who has experience with this area of print production, do not ever order online as you have no recourse if you do not discuss beforehand and satisfy yourself of the potential hazards involved with printing with non-standard packaging materials.
• Artwork: Make sure that you have the same version of software as your printer does. Yes most printers ask for high-res PDFs nowadays, but if you go the extra step and supply native illustrator files with live text and fonts, then you actually empower them to do a better prepress job on your files. You may not want to acknowledge this little piece of information coming, but your printer is instrumental in translating the authenticity of your colour, shape and features after the packaging file leaves your hands or office – this also falls into the next point on relationships.
• Relationship: Your print management company is the make-or-break for delivery of the finished item to your client, outlet or office. Depending on your deadline, they will either have to work like crazy to get it done, or pull strings to make sure that every element of production and finishing is perfect during the delivery time frame. Either way, they are your best friend and you must treat them with every consideration to this end, as they frequently deliver extra service, time, quality or cost savings if you manage the relationship with them professionally, and even with some humour. I mention this because in reality, with time being the worst pressure of all, there is frequently no humour and lots of stress!
• Print packaging is a specialist industry: The print industry is made up of different specialist sectors, starting with the type of machinery (offset or digital) and branching out into purpose (packaging, point of sale, direct marketing, large format print). This type of specialist knowledge – and the ability to access a network for each different purpose – is held by your print management company, who create options for your packaging much the same way as you design or create products for your company or market. There is nothing quite as wonderful as working with a master paper engineer, or a print broker who understands which paper goes with what type of fold. Print knowledge like this is getting harder to find but regardless of where you do your packaging printing, make sure that there is a person at the other end who knows the production process – and can share it with you – as it will make or break your project.

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help planning your next packaging project, please consider Coleface – we can definately help with the whole print management process to get you a great result!

If you liked this post, please comment below, share it, and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

Photocredit:  Coleface – Robbie the Robot, Capilano.

Every now and then we get a correctly-set up print file, using the right software, with bleed and crop marks, and we sigh in relief. Yay – we can meet our client’s deadline because the file is set up to match the print specs. But more likely than not is the appearance of files that do the EXACT opposite of that, so we have to make sure that the left is talking to the right etc before the project goes haywire in the production phase.

Believe me, it ain’t easy. But as print management suppliers of large format banners, short-run digital and everything inbetween, we have to make sure the files are perfect in order to meet our client expectations as well as what is on the printer’s purchase order.

So this is why designers and editors have to understand the print production process: so we can help clients get what they are expecting. Here are a few ways to know your print specifications and process, as a designer or editor:

1. Know the difference between RGB and CMYK and Spot: it might be a swatch setting in Illustrator, Indesign or Photoshop but knowing which one is going to go through the commercial printer profiles will save you money and heartache, not to mention visual identity consistency.
2. Pixel perfect: work to scale and make sure that if you are using images that are from the internet, that they are 300dpi at 100% to size in your print document. harder for larger surfaces like large format banners, but they tend to print at lower dpis anyway – ask what dpi can be lowered to.
3. Bleed for it: printed items on sheet-fed machines will need bleed, so ask or stick to what the specs ask for. Point of sale are more flexible or don’t need bleed, but always check first before despatching your files.
4. Ink density: Checking what the density is for big print run publications may be able to be done via Websend or other portals, but its a good idea to lift dot gain and check the density before sending the images as they may look dull or dark as is.
5. Backsave files: Printers may not have the latest versions of Adobe Creative Suite so backsave your files if they don’t do it as part of the file collection on your despatch. Indesign saves an .IDML automatically with packaging.
6. Communication: Even if your file and artwork is perfect, a lot can still go wrong so it is incredibly important to talk with your printer and build a strong relationship. Know what stage your print job is at and plan for a window to troubleshoot or adjust proofs.

So if you are a small business, creative agency or Association and need help planning your next print project, please consider printing it with Coleface.

If you liked this post, please share it and click on the FOLLOW buttons to get more! If you love printing, get the latest email updates by subscribing here. Sydney print management experts Coleface Print Management and Production provide advice and support for our clients on all aspects of printing and production such as digital, large format and offset printing, point of sale, packaging and mail management. Written by @Olsonwells.

If you thought “YES!” then you are not one of the digitally-obsessed, under-30, stereotyped audience who most marketers assume do not use print at all.

Most do get their news digitally – we are not going to convince you otherwise, but some ten percent of millennials rely on print for this type of information flow. The infographic at left, courtesy of NAA, explains that your reader habits may in fact lend themselves to reading the odd newspaper (printed) while you wait for your morning coffee; in the course of one week some 56 per cent of 18-34s read a newspaper, with over 50% believing it to be “trustworthy”.

Direct selling methods in the body of a newspaper are effective also, with 68% of 18-24s reacting to printed coupons, two-step selling like website call-outs in the paper, etc – and 75% of 25-34 year-olds react in the same way. Connecting with news media is an important social activity and print, part of the information revolution for oh, around 600 years now, is not disappearing fast!

Pew print like experience

According to a Pew research survey, it all comes down to wanting that ‘traditional’ look, which makes news more ‘real’. 60% of under-40s and 57% of those 40 and over still want a ‘print-like’ experience on tablets – many digital designers still have to create the experience for readers turning pages, memory of words and sentences experienced as a book and even the smell of paper!

This is great news for small businesses who want to advertise in direct marketing ads in newspapers; for publisher-printers who bundle together client marketing in magazines; designers who know their grids, type and elements to look more ‘print’; and ultimately the marketing campaign, which is rarely not integrated with multiple forms of communication such as point of sale, packaging or digital print.