logs

So these are just the ramblings of a designer. I have not been a writer for a long time; it is a practice I have neglected for far too long. To rectify that I have erected this blog with the noble intention of putting my thoughts and experiences out there for everyone to see.

I hope that you find them at the very least amusing and informative.


Looking Good In Print

Posted on: Jan. 4th, 2007 Filed under Print Design
A couple of weeks ago I was at a mixer for Philadelphia creatives. It was my first visit to this sort of thing in a long time; and since I have been doing the freelance thing for the past 6 months I figured it would be a great networking opportunity. I had the pleasure of meeting a fantastic group of people, who started to ask me print questions. I had found that I had developed a bit of a reputation as a print specialist. I can only assume that my agent had spread the word to a few of my peers. It was not long until I was introduced to a few very nice people that had some interesting questions about the art of print design and the production techniques that are little known to other designers. As the conversations continued I had explained the different print process, what off-set printing was, how to do a spot gloss…etc. It seemed that I had developed a small audience so I exchanged my card with those listening and told them all to contact me if they had any questions. This past week one of those inquisitive souls emailed me with questions. She suggested the use of my blog so that others could join in on the fun. With her suggestion I am starting a new category here called Print Design. Topics and articles here will focus on the printing process and the little tricks that are used when doing print publishing. I hope you all enjoy these articles and look forward to your input and participation.

2 Responses to “Looking Good In Print”

  1. kimberly

    - January 8th, 2007 at 9:18 am

    I have a question about knock outs and trapping.
    I stll have not wrapped my head around them yet but I really want to get a basic understanding of the both of them.

    Is knock out when the color is hidden by another and the top color over powers the bottom or base color?

    How can I practice this technique at home using indesign.

    And trapping. I think Its to avoid gaps but How do I know when to apply it?

    No rush on this question.
    thanks

  2. Johnny

    - January 8th, 2007 at 10:07 am

    Hey Kimberly,

    A Knock Out is the area where two colors overlap and the bottom color is hidden, or “knocked out” of the design in that particular area. When you send a piece off to the print house it is usually good practice to tell them where the knock is. This can be done very simply by creating a new swatch of the particular color and calling it “Knock Out”. This does not have to be done if the color that is overlapping is black or white. Both are default knock out colors.

    Trapping

    Because printing uses plates to apply color, multi-color pieces need multiple plates, and multiple passes by those plates, in order to get your final piece. This can sometimes cause gaps to appear between colors. To avoid this “Trapping” is used. A trap is simply a section of color that overlaps another as a compensation for the gap.

    This used to be a big issue about 15 years ago, and fell on the designer to compensate for it. However with the advances in print technology, most commercial print houses prefer to take care of these overlaps themselves as part of the production process.

    Although this is not really a concern for a designer anymore, it still helps to know what it is and how it is used.

    Hope that helped!

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