By Cyd Peroni

The first question to be answered in PaperSpecs’ recent “Designing for Digital” Webinar, was: “Is digital printing really different enough from traditional offset printing to matter to a graphic designer?”

The answer: “Yes, absolutely, you bet, oooh yeah, of course, duh!”

The September event, sponsored by Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, was in the capable hands of presenters Joe Marin and Tracey Ryan.

Marin is senior prepress technologist for Printing Industries Association/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) near Pittsburgh, PA. Ryan is PIA/GATF’s art director.

There was so much useful information (even some that was surprising), PaperSpecs decided to make a full recording of the Webinar available to all PaperTalks readers.

To whet your appetite for “Designing for Digital” and to test your own knowledge, try to answer these questions:

• Where are proofs made for digital press jobs?
• Should you work in RGB or CMYK color space?
• What is the proper range of values for building a blend or gradient?
• What three things help minimize cracking and flaking on digital jobs?
• Will your favorite offset paper work on a digital press?

How’s It Different?
Today, digital printing is not only widely used; it’s projected to continue to grow substantially.

Tracey Ryan cited an Interquest study that expects the growth in digital output to increase by 35 percent per year between 2005 and 2010.

With digital printing ever more mainstream, it’s important to first understand some fundamental characteristics that set it apart from traditional offset lithography.

• Digital has a less complicated workflow
• Digital is cheaper for short runs
• Digital has shorter setup times and low paper waste
• Digital is a dynamic process
• Digital is suited to smaller formats
• Digital uses liquid and dry toners rather than ink
• Digital proofs are made on the final device
• Digital is fully variable data capable

Digital or Offset: Which is Appropriate?
Before a printed piece can even begin to be designed, graphic designers need to know if it’s being produced via digital or offset.

But how does a designer, buyer or production manager determine which method is best suited to the project? 

One of the biggest factors is the total quantity to be printed. In offset lithography, the larger the quantity, the cheaper per unit each piece is.

In digital printing, smaller runs are consistently less expensive. The breaking point varies depending on the equipment and the particular printer’s overhead, but the general rule of thumb is 2,000 to 3,500 pieces.

The other considerations are:

• How fast does the job have to be turned?
• What are the quality requirements and expectations?
• Will the piece be personalized?
• What are the other production considerations such as a need for special substrates or finishing options?

Just like scheduling, Marin suggests it’s best to work backward when determining which method is best for your project - so start with special substrate or finishing considerations first.

Design Impacts Response
While great design is visually appealing, the success of a printed direct mail piece is most often measured by response rates.

Research presented by the PIA/GATF duo shows that a static black-and-white mail piece has a less than one percent response rate.

If the designer adds color, the response increases by 45 percent. If color and another element of personalization like the person’s name is added, responses increase by 135 percent.

Add more personalization to the color/name combo and responses increase 500 percent over the static black-and-white mailer.

Want to get an increased payment response by as much as 30 percent on invoices? Add color to the due date and amount owed!

Production Details
During the question-and-answer period, graphic designers overwhelmingly posed hands-on, how-do-I-create-this-file kind of queries.

Ryan and Marin packed this segment with invaluable information. Here’s just a small sampling:

• Once the file is converted from RGB to CMYK, you can’t recover lost color information.
• Supply your printer with RGB files preferably in the Adobe RGB 1998 color space.
• Make sure you uncheck the “Resample Image” box in the “Image Size” dialog box.
• When designing variable data fields, design for the worst-case scenario in terms of text length.
• Avoid blending from color to white - always use zero percent of the color.
• Sometimes toner can appear dull against a glossy stock.
• Square dimensions cannot be automated in the mailstream.

Check Out the Webinar
Digital printing technology advances almost daily and nestled right next to your offset lithography “brush” provides yet another great option in the design toolbox. The more you know how to use it, the better it will serve you.

So click here to listen to the full presentation. It’s well worth the 47 minutes!

Resources
Marin and Ryan closed the Webinar with several great digital printing resources.
www.printambassador.com
www.gain.net
www.digitalprintingcouncil.com

10/10/07