Design & Print

Getting it right

The digital revolution has enabled many to design and create more than ever. My fist computer was the once great Windows 95 and it’s iconic dial up tones when connecting to the internet. On that my first experience on a computer was Paint, which at a young age amused me for hours. The digital revolution has greatly helped in many ways but the one key point I want to delve into is design and print.

Too often I am handed a file set up in a Microsoft Office program from well established companies and the client expects it to work wonders because they did it themselves. Upon sight of what they have created, logos are pixelated, images have either not been edited or just pulled from online websites at low quality. To a certain extent I understand some operate on a budget that is set and that limits you to creating the artwork yourself, but in order for something to work effectively it has to be done right.

Problems that can cause bad results:

1. Low resolution images / logos (From websites, mobile phones)
2. Badly edited or unedited images. (ie. To dark or light)
3. Text is set to small making it illegible
4. Text or images are set to close to the edge of the paper
5. File are not packaged correctly (ie. Fonts & pantone colours missing)
6. Textured paper (Some digital machines don’t cope well)

The key things I look for when someone hands me artwork are:

1. Is the file set at 300 dpi? (Dots Per Inch)
2. Does it have crop marks & bleed?
3. Does everything look sharp on screen and on a sample print?
4. Are there any set pantone colours or fonts?
5. Have the page guides been used?
6. Is there any important text or images set to close to a cut edge?

If you are ever unsure about anything when creating artwork most designers and printers are more than happy to guide you and give advice, so it never hurts to ask. If follow those six steps above you can’t really go wrong, it’s a mental checklist I run through every day.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan O’Connor