Traditional offset lithography depends on the fact that oil and water repel each other. The image area of a traditional lithographic plate attracts the oily ink and repels the dampening solution (water and alcohol), while the non-image area attracts water and repels the oily ink. When the commercial printer achieves the correct ink/water balance, the press can accurately print type and images from the planographic (flat surfaced) printing plates.
We are inundated with PDFs today. Almost every application you own can create a Portable Document Format file, from OpenOffice to Microsoft Word to Adobe Acrobat. But if you are a graphic designer, how do you know that the PDF you are creating for your commercial printer is appropriate for the target offset or digital printing technology? How do you know your job won't go horribly wrong?
I'm brokering the print production for a perfect bound book with a unique cover. It has images and type on both the outside and inside covers, as well as French flaps. Therefore, the design and production of the cover reflects a number of concerns for both graphic artists and production managers.
A close friend recently gave me a book called Disrupting the Future. Written by Joseph W. Webb, Ph.D., and Richard M. Romano, this book proposes ways commercial printers can continue to be relevant as ink on paper becomes only one of many channels for communication.
There are a lot of proofing options. Clearly. You have inkjet, laser, press proofs, and on-screen soft proofs. Which do you use and when?
A close friend emailed me a commercial printing blog comment asking whether any proofing device could really match ink colors on press. Not just close, but dead-on.