FAQ

As a leader in the printing industry, Nies/Artcraft continually seeks out new methods and technology to provide our customers with the very best services and products. The information contained here is provided to help you better understand changing technology and help answer questions.

Click on a subject below:

PRE-PRESS

File Building Tips
PDF Files

PROOFS

Color Laser
Iris Wide
Epson Proof
Kodak Approval
PDF

PRINTING

Paper
Coatings
Staccato Screening

BINDERY

Shingling

 

PRE-PRESS

FILE BUILDING TIPS

Page Layout Programs (Quark and Pagemaker are the most popular)

• When possible use a page layout program and work in the final page size.
• Build your document in reader spreads.
• Do your typesetting in these programs. Scitex trapping and imposition work best from the cropping and bleed information generated by these programs.

Illustration Programs (Adobe Illustrator and Freehand are the most popular)

• Used for vector based artwork and artistic headline creation.
• Be sure to delete unwanted objects and layers from final output files.

Photo Manipulation Program (Adobe Photoshop is the most popular)

• Do all image editing such as color correcting and outlining in this program.
• Avoid typesetting in this program because the type will be pixilated.
• Duotones out of photoshop now work correctly. There is no need to work in process colors to build duotones.
• Keep naming convention for duotones the same as other programs used.

Fonts (Adobe Postscript fonts are the most popular)

• Try to work with postscript fonts, they truly have an output for the bolds, italics, etc.
• Always send your fonts with your job, both screen and printer font.
• Remove the common fonts like Helvetica and Times from your system folder and use a utility like Extensis Suitcase to load fonts for your project.

Other Programs

• Stuffit Deluxe compresses files for e-mail or ftp.
• Suitcase is for loading fonts without placing them in your system folder.
• Pitstop is for limited PDF editing.
• Apple OS Launcher is excellent for organizing your desktop.
• Filemaker Pro is an easy to use database program for recording job number, registration numbers, etc.

PMS Colors
Pick the same name in all packages to ensure consistency; this includes upper and lower case, spaces, etc.

Scanned Images
Is there a universal protocol for saving scanned images?

Start with a logical name, the underscore, the size of the image, underscore, then resolution. This system gives you a descriptive picture of which image your dealing with instead of savings as Flag1, Flag2, Flag3, etc.

Rich Blacks
How do I get richer solid blacks when I have large coverage areas?

When using a solid black background, consider the following:
100K (Black), 40C (Cyan), and 10M (Magenta). Inks are laid down in the following order; black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. By adding magenta and cyan to your black you are adding a base coverage with your black ink therefore giving it a fuller, richer black fill.

PDF FILES

Most of us have heard about PDF (Portable Document Format) files or have viewed them online while browsing through our favorite Web sites. Although they have been around for a while, they still seem mysterious and most of us are unsure about how to use them correctly. Before you take the time to create a PDF file, you must be aware of the intended use and understand that limitations still exist when sending them to printers for output. The printing industry has embraced this new file type in certain applications but still has a long way to go before it replaces the original native files in which the artwork was created.

A PDF is a file format that is self-contained. If created properly, it captures information regarding fonts, images, printing instructions, and other details and embeds them in the file's architecture. This format can be viewed on both Macintosh and PC systems, regardless of which software was used to create the original file. All you need to see the file is the Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader can be downloaded for free from www.adobe.com.

Once a PDF file has been created, its uses are many. Instead of faxing documents, you can e-mail the files to colleagues who can then output them to a laser printer. The quality from a laser printer is much higher that what you can expect from a fax machine. If you are out of town and have access to a computer and the Internet, you can retrieve these files and proof them from your computer screen. You can drop documents into presentations without retyping the text or importing the images. PDF files are the best way to create a universal electronic format of your printed piece.

Nies/Artcraft can accept PDF files, but before you send your artwork to us in this format please contact your account executive for additional information.

PROOFS

What kind of proof do I need and when do I need it?

Color Laser

• WHAT: Single page proof
• WHEN: A low resolution proof for seeing composition or type changes even
  before ripping to one of the higher end proofs listed below.

Iris Color Imposition Proof

• WHAT: Trimmed and folded imposition proof
• WHEN: A low resolution proof for seeing the trimmed and folded down
  final piece before plates are made.

Epson Proof

• WHAT: Contract color ink-jet proof
• WHEN: Your opportunity to approve color and make changes before plates are
  made
• Perfect for most multi-color work
• Reasonable cost

Kodak Approval

• WHAT: Contract color, dot imaged proof
• WHEN: Your opportunity to approve color and make changes before plates are
  made
• Perfect for most multi-color work
• Higher cost than Epson Proof

PDF File Proof

• WHAT: Single page proof
• WHEN: Another opportunity to view composition or type changes on-line. Can
  be used as a final proof in non-critical color situations. Will also save
  time by not having to deliver hard copies proofs.

PRINTING

PAPER

When specifying paper, what is meant by Grade, Surface, and Weight?

There are three basic decisions necessary for specifying paper - Grade, Surface and Weight.

Grade: Papers are categorized by the AFPA (American Forest and Paper Association) into grades based on brightness or reflected light. With lower brightness, overall contrast is reduced, and highlights are dulled. Brighter papers cost more, in general, since brightness is a result of adding costly additives like titanium dioxide to the stock.

Surface: Papers come in a variety of surface types, and once again, individual stocks vary within a classification. The most common coated surfaces are cast-coated, gloss, dull, matte, and embossed; uncoated grades come in a wide variety of finishes, such as smooth, linen, vellum, and felt. Each surface will provide different print quality and overall appearance, and each has its strengths and appropriateness for a particular job.

Weight: Most grades come in a variety of weights for both cover and text. Before you choose a stock weight, ask your Nies/Artcraft account executive for a printed and unprinted paper sample.

What are the different types of paper available?

COATINGS

Often the personality of your final printed project is exemplified by your choice of a special coating. Creative application of the right coating can dramatically impact the charm, functionality and appeal of your design. When it comes to special coatings, several options are available in a variety of finishes. Each finish has specific protective qualities and design applications. Here are some of the benefits of each type of finishing.

STACCATO SCREENING

What Is Staccato Screening

• Refers to the dot size and structure of the screening used in process printing
• It differs from "conventional" screening

• Staccato is also known as Stochastic or FM (frequency modulation) screening
• The dots remain the same size
• Closely spaced dots are used to reproduce darker areas
• Widely spaced dots are used to reproduce lighter areas
• Micron is the unit of measure for the size of dots
  • One micron equals one millionth of a meter        
  • A typical Staccato dot measures 20 microns
  • Equivalent to a conventional 340 "dots per inch" or "line screen"

• Also referred to as Traditional, Standard or AM (amplitude modulation) screening
• The dots change in size
• Larger dots are used to reproduce darker areas
• Smaller dots are used to reproduce lighter areas
• Dots are measured by the number of "dots per inch"
• Typically this is 150 - 175 dots per inch

Conventional Screening	Staccato Screening

• Staccato screening reflects light more efficiently
• Increases the color available in mid‐tones
• Reduces the color contaminating effect of the paper stock
• You see a truer representation of the image

• Ink densities and dot gain vary naturally during a press run
• Affects both color and tone
• The very small size of dots used in Staccato screening are resistant to the effects of mechanical build-up of ink on dots
• Allows for tonal consistency

• Registration problems occur as a result of paper's movement through the press
• Small misregistration with conventional screening will change the arrangement of overprinting dots and visibly degrade the rosette structure, destroying imagedetail and obscuring fine line work, text and knockouts
• Staccato's microdots are arranged in a random pattern so there is no visible degradation when misregistered
• Staccato holds details in images, preserves the integrity of text, knockouts and line work

• Moiré is an interference pattern that is formed when two similar grids overlap each other
• Print based Moirés - When the regular spaced grid of conventional dots interferes with the regular spaced patterns in the original image. The random placement of Staccato dots eliminates the moiré.
• Moirés captured in digital photography or created by resampling digital images in process are still an issue

• The fixed, geometric ruling, screen angles and rosette dot structure of conventional screening breaks up the illusion of a perfect reproduction of the original photograph
• Staccato screening uses much smaller dots and does not have angles, line frequencies or rosettes
• The printed images will have a more "continues tone" or photographic quality

BINDERY

WHAT IS SHINGLING?

"Shingling", page "Creep" or "Push-out" are terms used to describe a mechanical issue when saddle stitching a book, catalog, or similar product. These terms describe the process of adjusting form widths in order to compensate for "growth" as required for forms used in the saddle stitching process. As a saddle-stitched product gets thicker, the outside forms must compensate (get wider to accommodate) for this additional thickness. When the signatures are place within one another "Shingling or Creep" occurs. This causes the trimmed inside pages to be actually smaller than the outside ones. Margins must be adjusted to compensate for this variation. This compensation must take place in the prepress stage of production, most commonly during the imposition for proofing and plating stage.

The problem is that your carefully planned outside margins are suddenly chopped to smithereens. The larger the booklet, the more that the center pages "creep" outward and the more outside margin gets cut out of your center pages.

The "Shingling" or "Creep" phenomenon is a common oversight, which can cause serious trouble in bindery. "Shingling" or "Creep" or is a natural effect that occurs when signatures are folded one upon the other: The outside signatures will grow progressively shorter the fatter the book. Designers should take this into account when preparing files.

Text columns on the center pages will be smaller than on page one, but your margins will be the same. People won't notice your column size getting smaller, but they will definitely notice (especially in a big book) that your margin is slowly disappearing.

The amount that a booklet's pages will "creep" depends on the weight and characteristics of the paper it's printed on. The lighter the paper the less "creep". The heavier the paper, the more the "creep". Ask Planning how much "creep" you can expect for the paper weight and number of spreads in your booklet.

Formula for amount of "Shingling" or "Creep": Total pages in book, divided by 4 (for each 4 pager), times paper thickness. Take that number, and divide it by the number of flat sheets in your book. This number will be quite small, but will represent the amount that you should adjust each page's outside margin, as you get closer to the center of the booklet. This works in most cases but using a folded, drilled, dummy of the actual job stock is best.

A folded dummy, drilled, using the actual stock specified for the job will help you and your client determine the correct allowances. Mock-ups, on the actual stock specified, are the best way to avoid mistakes on all jobs. By removing the 1st 4-pager and placing the center 4-pager inside, the drill holes will not line up and will show the exact amount of "Shingling" or "Creep" to expect on that particular paper stock. Without physical reference, we're forced to rely on either purchase orders or specifications, which are frequently inaccurate, because jobs usually change during production.

Bindery production checklist for Saddle-Stitched booklets, catalogs, etc.

1. Provide trim allowance.
2. Allow for "shingling."
3. Have a dummy made to see what to expect.
4. Paginate your samples.
5. If in doubt, ask Nies/Artcraft Printing Companies for assistance in the file preparation stage.