
Explore print production fundamentals, from job flow in the printing plant to print ready files, and compare letterpress and web offset, process versus spot color, ink behavior, folding, and trimming.
Learn how print production combines designing print-ready files with understanding printing and finishing processes, plus the crucial designer-printer partnership, roles, and communication to meet deadlines and cost-effective results.
Learn to communicate with your printer by asking questions about file submissions, versions, deadlines, stock and ink choices, and finishing options like embossing or foil.
Follow a print job from file submission and unique job number through CSR, estimator, scheduler, and pre-flight to makeready, press check, and bindery finishing.
Proofing acts as warning system using scatter proofs and contract layout proofs to verify color, type, and crossover art; blue line dummies aid layout checks amid artist and printer alterations.
Attend the press check and expect delays due to scheduling. Bring comps, swatches, and ink chips, and verify against the contract proof for fonts, color, trapping, and color across sheets.
Compare sheetfed offset, web offset, letterpress, digital printing, flexography, and silk screen to match high-quality art, long runs, short runs, spot color, packaging, and irregular surfaces.
Explore the revival of letterpress and sheet fed printing, from embossed raised surfaces and one-color processes to artisan papers that add character. Learn how modern controls ensure ink coverage.
Explore how web offset presses enable high speed, long runs for publications, with inline finishing such as folding and gluing, while managing paper web tension and signatures.
Explore thermography to create raised, shiny surfaces with resin powder and a radiant oven. Compare digital printing’s flexibility and wide color gamut for short runs and personalization, with stock limits.
Explore color space concepts, from rgb additive light to cmyk subtractive printing, and how halftone dots create color. See why spot colors like Pantone extend beyond cmyk for brand accuracy.
Explore how total ink coverage affects print on coated and uncoated stock, and how to manage color limits, registration, and trapping to ensure reliable press results.
Discover printing on colored and specialty stock, including textured and metallic surfaces, using opaque white underlays and multiple ink hits to preserve brightness and color.
Build your document to the final trim size with correct dimensions, such as 3.5 by 2 inches for a business card, and include bleed and crop marks.
Learn to prepare artwork for die cutting and embossing, with beveled bleed for slight misregistration, early submission to accommodate the dye creation process, and convex and concave dyes for depth.
Explore font formats—PostScript, TrueType, and OpenType—and how they handle screen and printer fonts, 256-character limits for PostScript and TrueType, and up to 65,536 OpenType glyphs for cross-platform support.
Explore open type font features in InDesign, including ligatures, discretionary ligatures, automatic fractions, and glyphs; activate Adobe fonts from Creative Cloud for multilingual publishing and ornament glyphs.
Identify font embedding restrictions in pdf or eps, detect fonts that substitute with adobe sans and embedded subset behavior, and choose embeddable alternatives to preserve typography.
Vector graphics stay sharp when scaled, ideal for logos and maps; raster images lose detail as they scale. Learn formats like AI native, EPS, PDF, TIFF, and JPEG for print.
Run a thorough preflight before printing, checking size, bleed, margins, and color settings. Verify fonts, image resolution, file naming, and packaging to avoid reflow or substitutions.
In the course you will learn all about print production and best practices for your next print job.
Learn how detailed and complex the print process truly is, and the value of working with someone who has the expertise to ensure your job is handled correctly.
There is an enormous difference between a quality print job and simply sending your files to a local franchise print shop. In this course, we open the doors of our Art/Production Department to give you an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of what the print process looks
Learn how to better communicate with your printer, think about print as you're designing, and choose the correct paper, inks, colors, and fonts for your project.
We'll also help you understand how to create files that print with no surprises and how to catch print problems before they become catastrophes. The course will help you and your printer produce a professionally finished print job, whether it's a business card, brochure, or multipage magazine, and anything else.
By the end of this course you will have a solid understanding of the print production life cycle and be better prepared to print your next print project.
While it is tempting to hire a freelance graphic designer to create materials that can be sent directly to a low-cost printer, not all graphic designers know how to properly prepare files for printing. Once a design is approved, the files must be “packaged”. Unless the graphic designer is trained in production management, the odds increase substantially for a less than satisfactory print job. The reasons vary from missing fonts and/or images, to the use of incompatible software, for example. This generates delays, cost overruns, unanticipated proofing rounds, late-stage design changes, and sometimes disappointment over the finished job. Meticulous attention to detail at each step of the process is necessary to avoid these kinds of issues.