Our Print
Guide.

Introduction

Reading a printed newspaper can consume 20% less CO2 than viewing news online for 30 minutes. Swedish Royal Institute for Technology

For years organisations have been cutting down on the volume of printed items they produce and moving to digital, however, we are thrilled to say we are now entering a period of renaissance for print.

Why now? Well largely, eco-friendly print. The print and paper industries have made big strides to clean up their environmental act. Paper is a renewable, recyclable resource, and within most European forests for every tree cut down, two more are planted. Inks are now largely vegetable-based which are much less harmful to the environment, and even digital printing has come on leaps & bounds so that even the most conscientious of us can print guilt free again.

And with more companies taking their marketing efforts online, a printed piece stands out, we actually collectively enjoy receiving post again! With this in mind, designing and sharing a great printed marketing piece should be high on your list of strategic marketing initiatives.

UK Studies have shown that campaigns combining mail and internet yield up to an additional 25% response rate* *EMIP, The Facts of our Value Chain

Bindings

  • CASE BINDING

    CASE BINDING

    The industry term for a hardback book, generally made up of several paper sections which are stitched and glued together and then finished with a hard cover.

  • JAPANESE BINDING

    JAPANESE BINDING

    The industry term for a hardback book, generally made up of several paper sections which are stitched and glued together and then finished with a hard cover.

  • LOOP STITCHING

    LOOP STITCHING

    A method of saddle stitching where the stitch is formed into a semi-circular loop that sticks out from the spine. These loops serve as an alternative to hole punching as they can be slipped into a binder.

  • PERFECT BINDING

    PERFECT BINDING

    A type of book binding where the pages are held in the spine by glue. Many magazines and most paperback books are perfect bound.

  • SADLE STITCHING

    SADLE STITCHING

    A method of binding where folded pages are stitched through the spine from the outside, using wire staples. Usually limited to a maximum of 64 pages.

  • SINGER SEWN

    SINGER SEWN

    Binding that uses a single line of stitching that runs the length of the spine. (The stitching is done on a Singer sewing machine hence the name) spine and a cover is attached.

  • SIDE SEWN

    SIDE SEWN

    Also done on a sewing machine but instead of stitching along the spine it goes right through the book, 5-10mm inside the spine.

  • THREAD SEWN

    THREAD SEWN

    Used in book production requiring more durability than perfect binding. Printed sheets are folded into signatures (sections) which are collated & sewn by machine. Adhesive is then applied to the spine & the cover is attached.

  • THREE HOLE SEWN

    THREE HOLE SEWN

    Three holes are made in the spine, thread is then hand sewn through the holes and knotted on the inside.

  • WIRE-O BINDING

    WIRE-O BINDING

    Both are methods of wire binding books along the binding edge that will allow the book to lay flat.

  • SPIRAL BINDING

    SPIRAL BINDING

    As per Wire-O, this book can be laid flat. The wire a one continuous spiral rather than loops.

  • SCREW BINDING

    SCREW BINDING

    Holes are made along the edge of the pages and held together with specially made screws.

Folds

  • MOUNTAIN FOLD / VALLEY FOLD

    MOUNTAIN FOLD / VALLEY FOLD

    The mountain and valley folds are both named after the geographical features they replicate. Combined, these two folds form the basis of a wide variety of fold combinations.

  • THROW OUT

    THROW OUT

    A throw out is a folded sheet of paper that is bound into a publication to provide extra space to showcase a particular image or visual element.

  • GATEFOLD

    GATEFOLD

    A gatefold is a sheet with four panels that is placed in the publication so that the left and right panels fold inward with parallel folds and meet at the spine without overlapping.

  • FRENCH FOLD

    FRENCH FOLD

    A French fold is a sheet of stock this is printed on one side and folded vertically and then horizontally to form a four-page uncut section.

  • CONCERTINA FOLD

    CONCERTINA FOLD

    A concertina (or accordion) fold comprises two or more parallel folds that go in opposite directions and open out. This folding method enables many pages to be collapsed into a smaller size publication.

  • FRENCH FOLD

    FRENCH FOLD

    A roll fold is composed of a series of parallel valley folds, which are further folded in to one another.

Finishes & Varnishes

EMBOSSING & DEBOSSING
An emboss or deboss is a design that is stamped into a material. When it’s used alone it is described as ‘blind embossed’, however to add impact you can emboss/deboss with ink or foil. The results are three-dimensional, tactile surface that adds emphasis to certain elements of a design. A thicker paper stock holds an emboss (or deboss) much better than thinner stocks.

FOIL BLOCKING
Foil blocking is a process whereby coloured foil is pressed onto a substrate via a heated die. Several terms are used to describe this process including foil stamp, heat stamp, hot stamp, block print and foil emboss.

VARNISHES
A colourless coating that is often applied to a printed piece to protect the substrate from suffering wear or smudging. Varnish can also be used to enhance the visual appearance of a design or elements within it.

Stefano Marinaz Stationery White matt foil blocked onto duplexed board
Drew London: Stefano Marinaz Stationery White matt foil blocked onto duplexed board

GLOSS
This varnish reflects back light and is frequently used to enhance the appearance of photographs or other graphic elements.

MATT (OR DULL)
Used to diffuse light, reduce glare and so increase readability. It gives a non-glossy, smooth finish to the printed page.

SATIN (OR SILK)
A satin varnish is a middle option between gloss and matt varnished. It provides some highlight, but is not as flat as a matt finish.

NEUTRAL
Machine sealing is the application of a basic, almost invisible, coating that seals the printing ink without affecting the appearance of the job. It is often used to accelerate the drying process for a fast turn-around.

UV Varnish
A clear liquid applied like ink and cured instantly with ultraviolet light. It can provide a gloss or matt coating.

FULL-BLEED UV
The most common type of all-over UV coating, largely because it produces a very high gloss effect.

SPOT UV
The vanish is applied to highlight discrete areas of printed design, both visually and by imparting a different texture.

TEXTURED SPOT UV
Textures can be created with spot UV varnish to provide an additional tactile quality to a printed piece.

Common Paper & Envelope Sizes

Common Paper & Envelope Sizes

 

Common Paper & Envelope Sizes

The Environmental Bit

CARBON OFF-SETTING
The investment in schemes like tree planting, aiming to cancel out carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been produced. Off-setting cannot stop CO2 already in the atmosphere from changing our climate, it merely shifts the responsibility for reducing emissions. Instead ask what has been done to reduce CO2 emissions.

RECYCLED
100% recycled – old paper re-pulped, cleaned and bleached, this can be made up of:
Post-consumer waste: This is when the end product has reached the consumer, been used and then recycled.
Pre-consumer waste: Also known as post-industrial waste or mill-broke, this describes printers’ waste such as off-cuts and unused copies which may have been over-ordered.

FSC (THE FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL)
An international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world’s forests. Forests are inspected and certified against ten criteria, which take into account environmental, social and economic factors. In addition to forest management and certification, the FSC Chain of Custody tracks the timber from the forest to the paper mill and then to the printer.

IS0 14001
An internationally recognised scheme that provides a framework for environmental awareness, monitoring and continual improvement. The key areas are prevention of pollution and improvement in environmental performance.

EMAS
This stands for the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, an initiative designed to improve companies’ environmental performance.

WAYS TO SAVE…(MONEY & THE ENVIRONMENT!)

  • Icon Use a lighter paper weight (gsm).
  • Icon Print only what you need.
  • Icon If you are printing a short run (under 300 copies) avoid using Pantone or metallic colours & print digitally
  • Icon A clean database can considerably cut costs!
  • Icon Proof, proof, proof: no mistakes = no reprints.
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Drew London: Emmy London Foil blocking plate for stationery and marketing literature.

ADDED VALUE

Printing and finishing techniques provide both the designer and the client with the opportunity to add value to a print publication. While the use of such techniques will undoubtedly add to the cost of a print job they can help the piece communicate effectively and in more dimensions.*

* Ambrose/Harris Print and Finish.

The A-Z of Terms & Techniques

ARTWORK
Final design work, now nearly always electronic, that is set up in the correct format ready to be sent to the printers.

BLEED
As it’s near impossible to print all the way to the edge of a sheet of paper, it’s necessary to print a slightly larger area than needed (the bleed) we then trim the paper to the finished size.

BLIND EMBOSSING
A type of embossing where no ink is used. The design or text is only visible as a raised area on the paper.

CMYK
Short for the colours used in 4-colour process printing. Cyan (blue), Yellow, Magenta (pink) and Black, which combined together in varying proportions, can be made to produce the colour spectrum.

COATED PAPER
Paper that has received a coating to achieve a different texture. These could be matt, silk or gloss and are produced by applying a coating of china clay, chalk and latex to uncoated paper.

COATING (PRESS)
Press coatings are different from paper coatings. The paper is coated at the end of the print stage. Available in matt, silk or gloss, coatings can be given to paper to change the texture of the paper, to increase the colour intensity, or the longevity of the print.

CROP MARKS
Lines near the margins of artwork or photos indicating where to trim, perforate or fold.

CUTTER GUIDE
An outline drawn on the artwork, that isn’t usually printed, to show the size and location for cutting or folding with a die.

DEBOSSING
A design or text that is pressed into paper so it lies below the surface.

DIE CUT
Special shapes cut in a substrate by a steel die.

DIGITAL PRINTING
A technology related to photocopying and laser printing. Instead of inks these systems use toners that are ‘baked’ onto the surface of the paper. They work directly from electronic data and avoid the use of films and printing plates. Benefits are for very small quantities or for personalised print. Whilst very good, the quality is still not yet up to the standard of high-end offset litho.

DPS (DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD)
Two facing pages of newspaper, magazine or booklet.

DPI (Dots Per Inch)
The unit in which we measure print resolution. Often used as to describe the quality of an image for print (300dpi being the preferred size).

DUMMY
A mock up of a document that can be printed or unprinted. DUPLEX The bonding together of two stocks to give a thicker/alternative coloured effect. Triplexing (three stocks) is costly but popular.

EMBOSSED / DEBOSSED
Stamping a design into the paper that has previously been printed to produce a raised effect (embossed) or and indented effect (debossed).

FOIL BLOCKING
A process for stamping a design on paper or board using a coloured foil with pressure from a heated die or block; a nice effect, for single or special colours.

FOUR-COLOUR PROCESS PRINTING
The most common system for producing full colour print (CMYK), the inks used are translucent and they can be overprinted and combined in different proportions to produce a wide range of colours. The vast majority of printed material is produced using four-colour process.

GSM
Short for grams per square metre, a measure of the weight of a paper or card and can be used to indicate the thickness of a paper.

GUTTER
The central blank area between left and right pages.

LAMINATION
A plastic coating applied to paper after printing which can give a gloss or matt finish. Not biodegradeable or recyclable. Biodegradable versions are available but they are more expensive and the adhesive is still toxic.

LARGE FORMAT PRINTING
Prints that require larger than standard paper sizes such as window or exhibition displays. Large format is digitally printed and can be used on a wide range of substrates.

LASER CUTTING
Cutting out an area of paper using a laser, this can be done to quite a high level of detail.

LETTERPRESS
A relief printing process in which a raised image is inked to produce an impression; the impression is then transferred by pressing paper against image.

LITHOGRAPHY (LITHO)
A printing process based on the principle of the natural aversion of water to grease. The areas to be printed receive and transfer ink to the paper; the non-printing areas are treated with water to repel the ink. By far the most common type of commercial printing.

PAPER BLEACHING
The bleaching of paper to create varying levels of “whiteness” In the past this has been achieved with chlorine based chemicals. All European paper is now Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) but if you can use Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) or Totally Chlorine Free (TCF) paper these are even better for the environment.

PROOFS
A preview of a document/item to review for errors and make final amendments before print.
Digital Proof: A proof printed digitally, usually the most easy and accurate way to proof for a litho job.
PDF Proof: A proof viewed on a computer via a PDF reader.
Wet Proof: A proof taken from the litho press usually to check colour and paper but an expensive way to check for spelling mistakes!

REGISTRATION MARKS
Usually crosses or circles that are used in colour printing to position the paper correctly. These often appear on finished PDF artwork.

SCREEN PRINTING
A process where ink is transferred to a printing surface by being squeezed through a fine fabric sheet stretched on a frame. The screen has a stencil that defines the image area. The process can be manual or mechanical but is most suitable for short runs. Useful when printing on to difficult or unusual surfaces such as clothing.

SHOW THROUGH
Show through occurs when ink printed on one side of a page can be seen on the other (non-printed) side; show through is usually determined by the type of substrate used.

SPOT COLOURS
(Also known as Pantone colours). Spot colours are not made using CMYK, instead the colour is printed using a separately mixed ink – each spot colour needs its own separate printing plate. They can be matched to CMYK but will never be exactly the same. They can also come in metallic and fluorescent colours but can’t be used with digital printing.

THERMOGRAPHIC / THERMOSETTING INK
A print finishing process that produces a raised image. The process takes a previously printed image that, before the ink is dry, is dusted with a resinous powder. The application of heat causes the ink and powder to fuse and a raised image is formed.

UNCOATED PAPER
Paper that has been left without a coating.

UV VARNISHING
A gloss varnish that is applied as a finish to printed areas. The UV refers to the ultra-violet lamp under which the varnished sheets pass for rapid drying.

VARNISHING
To apply oil, synthetic, spirit, cellulose or water varnish to printed material, either by hand or machine to enhance its appearance or increase its durability.