How to Work With a Printer as a Graphic Designer
Hello everyone! Today I am going to tackle the tip of the printer iceberg. This is one of the most frequent categories I get asked/emailed about on a weekly basis. These are all real questions I have seen within the past few months.
How do I work with a printer? (all-encompassing confusion)
Why did no one in design school teach us how to work with printers?
How do you get an estimate/submit for a bid?
How do you make sure your colors are accurate?
What does offset mean?
What does misregistration mean?
What is flexo?
What is a one color job? Three color job? Does black count as a color?
What is 4cp? What is spot color?
What is a press check?
How do you pick a custom paper?
How do I work with a print shop overseas?
I will start out by saying that working with a printer can be really overwhelming! There is no way around it. It is a very complicated process and there is a lot on the line.
I think that this might become a bit of a series, because honestly I could write an entire post about each of the above questions. So if you have any printer-related questions that you don’t see above please leave a comment or email me at olivia@oliviaherrickdesign.com
But for today let’s start with this – where do you even start?
First of all let me clarify what I am referring to when I say “printer” – a print shop (printer) is a business that operates presses (both offset and digital) and uses sales reps to manage the print process. They likely have other vendors that they use for things like embossing, foiling, bindery, etc. but they will provide one price for the project and if any of those extra services are required, it will all be billed through your printer.
There are online printers (my favorite is primoprint.com) and brick and mortar local printers, and I always recommend working with someone locally if you can. It makes the process 100 times easier when it comes to press checks, paper samples, mockups, etc. and most online print vendors are limited in terms of what they can offer (generally flat and folder paper goods only). However, this is changing a bit, as some online resources (Packlane is a customer favorite) make it possible to order custom, low volume packaging at a reasonable price… online.
Finding a printer is a really personal process. A lot of shops do good work, but you are going to want a rep who is your advocate, who has your back, who is willing to work within your clients’ budgets, and who values you as a customer. The first step is to call shops in your area and tell them that you are a designer looking for a print partner and you are hoping to find a rep that you can work with and get a tour of the facility (after quarantine). This might feel awkward, but you have to go. Or at the very least (if they are not allowing visitors), hop on a call to feel them out. You are going to be talking to this person A LOT. You want to like them.
I want you to pause for a moment and think about something that you are an expert at. It could be anything – knitting, design, tennis, backpacking – you name it. You know when someone asks for your help about that thing, how you are usually over the moon excited to educate them and share what you know about that topic? Your rep is the exact same way. They want to help you understand what their world is all about, so if you’re new, tell them what you don’t know. Tell them you are brand new. Ask if you can watch another client’s press check. Ask for their advice. A good rep will be willing to guide you.
Speaking of a good rep, I won the lottery with mine a few years ago and I asked him if he would be willing to share a few thoughts on designers working with printers. Without further ado – here is Rob!
1) What is the most important thing for a designer to know about working with a printer?
The basics are to make sure you are sending the correct file type, have bleeds set up correctly, fonts included (or converted to outline) and all images/links in your package. Sending too much is much preferred to not sending enough. Calling out any colors that you are trying to match or images that you are concerned about will make sure they spend extra time looking at those items and trying to set you up for success. Your print partner will generate proofs but they typically won't be taking time to proof-read or edit your files – and this isn't the time for that. They can catch last minute mistakes but you shouldn't be relying on them to do so and you should be submitting "final" files to keep editing and proofing charges to a minimum.
In addition it's always good to communicate with your printer expectations before the job starts. What kind of hard proofs are required (and how accurate your printer expects them to be.) Timing, turnaround, how a product will be packaged and shipped, etc. Ironing out these details on the front end will help avoid any unexpected nickel and dime charges later.
There are many ways to skin a cat and your print partner should be able to help you determine the best production methods for your project for timing, quality and results.
2) What is the most annoying thing designers do when working with a printer?
Not taking the time to understand the process. We are asked all the time to match a product produced on a different type of equipment, at a different scale and on a different budget – the production methods available for your project may be completely different. A good partner should be happy to explain this to a designer and show them how their project will be produced. What the final quality will resemble and what adjustments (if any) will need to be made to get them the result they are looking for (on the budget they can afford.) Designers are great for out-of-the-box thinking but there are real world constraints that printers have to balance to make production feasible.
For instance: Designer pitches their client a project that involves envelopes with full bleeds. However, printing and converting is much more expensive than pre-converted envelopes. Unless you are ordering 50,000+ units it's rarely practical.
The same goes with color. One of our biggest challenges is to keep our equipment calibrated and consistent. We are a mid-sized printer and spend tens of thousands of dollars per year on color management software, audits, calibrations and benchmarking. We understand that you want the final product to match your monitor but we have no way to achieve that. Hardware can vary wildly and designers rarely have professionally calibrated displays – not even taking into account the translation from RGB to CMYK. Depending on how your project is being produced (offset, digital, wide-format, etc) will depend on what our color space will look like. Pantone colors are always a great reference but if you have color critical jobs – take the time to work with your print partner to define expectations and understand the process and how they expect the final product to look (and if/how you can create accurate hard proofs to match. It's not always possible!)
3) Is there anything you WISH designers knew about working with a printer? How can we be better?
Print can be intimidating! We understand that. A good print partner should take the time to hold your hand through the process and educate you on what is possible and realistic. My biggest recommendation is to engage your printer early in the design process. They can offer input on how various papers will work and what designs are going to help fit a project within you and your clients timeline and budget. If your printer isn't helping you with that – find a new one! It's a competitive business and it's OK to do some shopping to find a partner that you work well with.
Ask questions and work to understand the process. Good print designers know what a press room smells like and understand the difference between offset and digital (and which process is appropriate for which types of projects.) Print is exciting because you get to touch and interact with your finished piece – it's a great excuse to get hands on during the production process as well!