Adrian Pipes’ On Press chapter, from his 2009 production for Graphic Designers manual, provides a thorough overview of the print process, both historically and practically. Exploring paper, the raw materials that make it, recycled, handmade and manufactured paper, and other stocks; various qualities of inks; various printing processes, including emerging technologies; print finishing and binding; and interviews with a number of book designers.
Chapter six – On Press (p.165-219) in Pipes, A. (2009) Production for Graphic Designers, 5th Edition, London: Laurence King Publishing, is available to you as a resource on the OCA Student Website.
Consider which aspect of the print process might feed in you your creative decision making process. Where do the connections between artist and craft person sit within your work? Use your learning log to reflect on this.
Identify your nearest local printer. If possible, introduce yourself with the aim of arranging a short tour of their production process, from computer through to finished article. Seeing the printers at work helps to put the theory into context and can clarify certain parts of the process you may be unsure of. If the printer you find does print books then so much the better, but any medium-sized printers will no doubt print flyers, brochures and similar material.
Alternatively, you may want to concentrate on online options, such as PDFs or print on demand. Investigate these through internet research, documenting your key findings in your learning log.
Production for Graphic Designers Adrian Pipes , 2009
This chapter was very informative and helpful, I managed to make many pages of notes alongside reading. It was interesting to read about the different papers, raw materials, ink and printing techniques, I feel like I’ve taken on board a lot of information here and given myself a better understanding of what happens when documents go to print. I found the printing pros and cons page a useful recap and made notes on this too. I have a lot more understanding towards this area now and hope this new information will help me in the future.
How does the print process feed into my creative decisions making?
So far for this particular unit I have printed all of my work at home using my HP OfficeJet 3831, however in my previous unit I did use external companies to print. I learnt the hard way that it is always important when sending a document for print, especially when wanting the colours to be bright and vibrant that the design software set up should be set to CMYK and not RGB as the colours will not print the same as seen on screen. I also found paper adds to the effect, some papers (usually cheaper low quality or recycled) become too absorbent which reduced the sharpness of the document.
When designing something for print I make sure I also take into consideration the layout, making sure everything will be where it needs and that I take into consideration the margins to ensure nothing gets cut of when printing. Usually only large digital press printers are able to print from edge to edge as typically the standard printer will usually leave 3/16 of an inch blank area on all four sides, however it’s always worth checking the print setup by selecting print edge to edge or reducing the margin size to 0.
For assignment 5 I will need to consider the following print process; Size and format of the book, how the book will be printed, if it will be in colour or black and white, the paper which will be used, how the book is bound.
Local printer – Unfortunately due to the second lockdown I am unable to visit any local printers, however I found a print shop tour on YouTube ( https://yout.ube/HTbQpPOC4U0 ) This video shows a man walking through his print shop and carefully explaining what each piece of equipment does, it was a shame to not see the equipments in use to see how they run and to gain a better understanding of how they work but it was still good to watch, I am shocked at how many different machines serve different purpose, as naively you would just expect a few large industrial printers, but in this particular shop he provides the full works from printing to binding, packaging up, cutting, folding, even placing items in envelopes – there was a machine for it all! After watching this video I checked out other videos on his channel and there are many videos of the machines in use which I found easier to understand and again very interesting.
It was a shame to not attend a print shop in person however I’m great full to of found videos and this is always something I can consider doing once the pandemic eases!
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