# On printing...



## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

A few thoughts on printing. This is especially important for you folks that do alot of work in Photoshop, as you're working in a raster environment.

OK, so you just got hired to do a menu for your local restaurant (I hope I spelled that right, I always confuse the English and Spanish...), or maybe you're making some posters. If you're not careful, your hard work could end up looking like a "Save for Web" file saved at 10% quality.
Here's how to make sure that doesn't happen:

Step 1 – When you create your file, get the program out of the default screen resolution (72 dpi). 300 dpi is a generally accepted value for printing at actual size. (If you were to scan a photo with the intention of printing it at double size, you'd want to scan it at 600 dpi). At this point, since you're in print, you should be thinking in inches (or in metrics where applicable), not pixels for your document size. Picas will work fine too, but not many people are familiar with them. (12 points in a pica, 6 picas in an inch).

Step 2 – Don't take any images off of the web. They look fine on your screen, but a compressed image at 72 dpi won't look good in print. Scan any images that you won't be creating yourself, and make sure you're not infringing on any copyright issues.

Step 3 – Print. If you're doing it yourself, you may need to adjust your color settings to get decent color fidelity. If it's printing too blue, add an adjustment layer to remove some blue, etc etc. I'll be doing another lesson on image correction/restoration... that will go into this subject further. If you are not printing them yourself, check with the printer to see what settings they require. Some prefer you submit your work in spot color, e.g. pantones. If you're in a multi-page document, such as a menu, they may want print spreads. It saves alot of trouble to ask the printer their preferences before you submit work to them. Ask what format they'd like also. PDF is ideal if you don't know, as almost everyone can access them and you don't lose quality (with the right settings). If there is any text in your work, it is a good idea to save an alternate version with the text included as an image. To do so:
In photoshop, rasterize the text layer.
In Illustrator/InDesign, use the "Create Outlines" command on your text.
This will prevent any problems with the printer not having the font you used. It is possible to embed your font into your file, but the previous methods are more reliable, and you don't have to worry about legal issues with transfering the font.

Step 4 – If it was a job that you got paid for, buy yourself something nice, maybe buy a good book and mail it my way when you're done with it :grin:


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## devil lady (Sep 27, 2005)

I have a question on printing. Our business gets an outside company to do business cards that I designed for my husband.
Can you elaborate on what they call bleed for printing?


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## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Can do. "Bleed" refers to a print job that goes to the edges of the document. For example, if you wanted to print an entire 8 1/2 by 11 piece of paper the color blue, it would have to be set up as a bleed on a larger piece of paper, as the printer is not exact enough to print exactly to the edges of the paper. Typically, you have to extent your document slightly over its edges (if you are working at 5 x 5 inches and need to bleed, you might set your document to an extra 1/4 inch on each side, making the document 5.5 x 5.5 inches. It is then printed, and trimmed down to the desired 5 x 5 inches. I'm not sure how well I'm explaining this, if you want more info let me know.


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## devil lady (Sep 27, 2005)

Yeah I get it now. So in the case of business cards which go to the edge they should always have that extra 1/4 inch for trimming off after printing without affecting the design layout. 
Thanks for that.


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## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

Very welcome. If you want to get specific, you can ask the printer how drastic of a bleed to use. Usually around 1/8 or 1/4 inch is ok. If they are printing many copies side by side on the same piece of paper, a smaller bleed is desired.


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Not to sound argumentive, but isn't "bleeding" a term that refers to how sharply print materials absorb ink? I remember that using cheapo paper would cause horrible bleeding and made the images look fuzzy. Laser cut and photo paper tends to have a greatly reduced bleed factor resulting in sharper images and text.


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## Grove (Jun 21, 2005)

That's what I thought "bleeding" was. Thanks for the tips Six. I know they'll come in useful. 

I suppuse you learn something new everyday :sayyes:


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## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

ebackhus said:


> Not to sound argumentive, but isn't "bleeding" a term that refers to how sharply print materials absorb ink? I remember that using cheapo paper would cause horrible bleeding and made the images look fuzzy. Laser cut and photo paper tends to have a greatly reduced bleed factor resulting in sharper images and text.


Its one of those things with multiple meanings. In Devil Lady's case, it was the bleed that I referred to. Here's a decent illustrated explanation:
http://www.weprintcolor.com/pop_ups/bleed.htm
Another thing that I should clarify... It doesn't always have to do with the precision of the printer hardware, but the precision of the paper cutter that will be used for trimming. If you're making alot of copies of something, it's almost impossible to trim them all exactly where they should be cut. 

P.S. always feel free to question my intelligence/sanity... they come and go as they please.


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Ok, now I'm starting to remember. I studied printing a teeny bit in college so that's where I learned about bleeding. And the part about page edges is also coming back to me. I feel so old. ;.;


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## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

You'll be an even older man in a few days... I'll be right behind you


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## DumberDrummer (Oct 27, 2003)

Wow, I never knew that. (I always wondered why dpi mattered in an image...)

*runs off to compare printing quality*


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Ohhhh, it makes a HUGE difference in quality. Sometimes if I find a web image that I want printed but in higher quality and larger I'll throw it into Flash and do a bitmap trace. It usually does the trick when printing.


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## DumberDrummer (Oct 27, 2003)

I made two images, excatly the same except for the dpi. 

The 300 dpi one was really big and the other was really small. 

I thought more dpi = better quality not bigger size? Is it cause my printer prints at 300 dpi, and since the image is 72 dpi, it shrinks the image until its 300dpi?


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## v-six (Sep 12, 2004)

DumberDrummer said:


> *runs off to compare printing quality*


More info for about resolution and dpi, if it helps you avoid any confusion:
If you open an image at 72 pixels per inch, and change it to 300 pixels per inch with _Resample Image_ selected, it will actually enlarge the image, interpolating the extra pixels (bad!)
If you don't have Resample Image selected, it will make the image smaller. Still the same amount of pixels, but it compresses them. So it will print at a higher quality, but smaller.


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

Also, when viewing a high-dpi image on the PC it'll be ginormous because of the monitor's relatively low DPI of about 96. Frequent print previews will help you manage it all.


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## E-Liam (Jan 1, 2004)

Hi Six,

I did post here originally but not sure if it was the correct place, so I moved it.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/graphic-design-image-editing/79153-print-resolution.html#post405151

If it's wholly applicable to the thread you can move it back, or delete this post if it isn't. I wasn't sure though..

Cheers

Liam


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