Getting to grips with binding methods

In our ongoing aim to keep you informed and to hopefully make it easier for you to order printed materials, here’s our simple guide to different types of binding:

Case bound

This is the most common form of binding for hard cover books. It involves sewing the pages together, flattening the spine and applying end sheets and a strip of cloth to the spine. The spine is usually rounded and there are grooves along the edges of the cover near the spine. 

Perfect bound

This method of binding uses a flexible adhesive, which binds all of the publication’s pages together along the folds, thus creating the spine. The cover is then stuck to the spine. Paperback books, telephone directories and many magazines deploy this method. This form of binding can be quite durable and a cost-effective procedure.

Saddle stitched

Commonly used for small booklets, calendars and some magazines. Several sheets of paper are folded, with the fold becoming the spine, and are stapled together along the fold. 

Wiro bound

This is where you see the wire loops (small circles) on the outside of the publications that fit into rectangular holes within the publication. The loops are then crimped in order to hold the wire in place. The benefit of this method (and the similar comb binding) is that you can then lay the document out flat when open, so is useful for notepads, recipe books, manuals, etc.

Your handy guide to envelopes

We know how confusing it can be, with a wide array of sizes, not to mention different types of envelope available. Here are just some of the types of envelope you may wish to use.

Window Commonly used with letters or invoices - no need to retype the address, write on it, or use a label. The address simply shows through the window from the document inside.

Banker This windowless envelope opens along the long edge and has a triangular flap. Typically used for greetings cards, invitations, etc.

Gusset A pocket envelope with expanding sides to allow for bulkier items. Come in both window / non-window options.

Wallet A simple envelope that opens along the long edge. You can get gummed, self seal or with a peel-off sticky edge on the flap. Used most often for letters.

Board back As the name suggests, these envelopes have a cardboard back, with a ‘normal’ envelope front and flap. Often used for items which must not be bent.

Know your paper sizes…

Understand your proof

We often get asked what the ‘printers’ marks mean on a proof, so we thought we’d jot down a few pointers so you know what it all means!

• Trim marks - those are the fine lines that appear in each of the corners of the document. This shows us when finishing where any cutting and folding (if required) needs to be.
• Colour bars - the blocks of colour that run along the edge of the paper (a straight ‘rainbow of colours’ if you like) outside of the trim area of each sheet. This allows us to check that the inks are being printed correctly.
• Registration marks - a circle with fine ‘cross hairs’, again printed on the edge of the sheet. These are used to make sure that every colour, once printed, is in the right place (‘in register’) - this avoids fuzzy images that you sometimes see in newspapers for example.

Know your file formats

There are various formats of file available to you. We’ve described below what each one of them means. Hope you find it useful!

PDF This is probably the most common kind of file type used in printing. You will need to have Adobe software to be able to create (and edit) it. This kind of file is useful for providing a printer with all the artwork needed for your print job, including images, vector graphics (line drawings, areas of colour, etc) and fonts to be used. Everything should be embedded in the file. It’s also useful as it works across both Macs and PCs.

EPS Used for illustrations for print. An EPS file compresses the data, and will capture both vector graphics and images. Remember to set your image resolution to a minimum for 300dpi for printing. But TIFFs are preferable. EPS should be used for illustrations and logos, and wherever possible, outline the fonts in the illustration to avoid issues with the font.

TIFF Used for images to be printed. A TIFF replicates an image literally pixel by pixel and so gives a true reproduction of the original image. (Again, you should set your file to 300dpi for print). TIFF files tend to be large (several megabytes), but they can be easily compressed without any loss of quality.

JPEG Mainly used for web images. Whilst a JPEG saved at ‘maximum quality’ may be used for printing purposes, the file will degrade slightly, so the quality of the image may deteriorate. It is safer to use an EPS or TIFF in place of a JPEG for print purposes.

GIF Used for web illustrations. GIFs are used for vector illustrations to be used online. 

Our Top 7 tips for finding the right print supplier

We all know that there are several companies out there offering printing services, Some are better than others, Some are cheap, others less so. Some offer great prices, but really long lead times. How do you know which one to choose? And should it always be based on price?

Here we offer you a rough guide to what to look for when selecting a printer to work with you business.

1. Quality.  This should really be a key element in your decision. How good is the finished product? Remember, it’s your business’ reputation that’s reflected in the printed materials. If you’re a mid-tier or high end business and you go with the cheapest printer, you may get really cheap looking brochures. Is that how you want your customers to think about you? We’re always happy for new customers to send us a sample file, which we’ll print one copy of, just so you can compare the quality of print we offer.
2.  Flexibility.  Does your printer shut up shop at 5pm? Does he take your calls if you ring him before 8.30am? Do they offer you advice and assistance? How do they react if you say there’s a delay with getting the artwork to them. Can you always guarantee that you’ll never have any last minute, rush jobs? If they’re not flexible, are they really going to be the best partners for your business?   
3. Knowledge & Expertise.  Check how long they’ve been in business - this shows you how much experience they’re likely to have. If they’ve been around, say 20 years or more, it also tells you that they’re not a fly-by-night company. Is the MD hands on within the business? If so, it’s likely that he is passionate about it and provides his depth of experience to other members of the team, ensuring you get the best output. If you’re not certain about the answers to any of these questions, you’re always free to ask!
4. Realistic delivery dates.  We always think it’s best to give a realistic date, to set the customer’s expectations, rather than over promising and under-delivering. In addition, we just don’t miss deadlines. We work round the clock to ensure we keep out customers happy. 
5. Reliability. It’s so frustrating isn’t it when you’re promised delivery of your brochures in time for an exhibition and then let down by the printer. Sometimes we all make mistakes, but if you’ve got a supplier who more often than not, makes mistakes, it may be time to look for another supplier. Why not ask around. Speak to colleagues, friends, suppliers, etc to see who they use and if they’re happy to recommend them, Alternatively, ask a printer that you’re looking at using to provide you with a couple of reference sites. Ring and ask the customers for their honest feedback.
6. Customer Service.  Consider how they treat their existing customers. A good barometer is to see how many clients they get repeat business from. Do they put the customer’s needs first? Or are they just after turning round a cheap job quickly so they can get on with the next job? If you want to have a long-standing relationship with your printer you may also want to consider whether or not you can ‘get on with’ your main point of contact (account manager / MD / operations) - are they friendly / personable / helpful? All of those qualities go a long way to helping you.
7. Cost Effective.  A good printer doesn’t necessarily have to be the cheapest on the block. But we all want good value for money. Find a reliable printer, who gives you sensible prices and you can get on with them. Cost effective doesn’t have to mean cheap and poor quality. It means the right price for your business with the best quality you can get.

How to design for print

You know how it is. You’ve got some great design ideas… after all, that’s what you do! But you don’t work in the printing industry, so you’re not really sure what to look out for. What makes great print? And what’s likely to make your printer pull his hair out? 

Well, to make your life easier and to help us keep our hair, we thought we’d pull together a useful guide to designing for print. Still not sure about something? Just give us a call, we’re always happy to help our customers. Let’s face it – we want the finished job to look great too. And if it makes all of our lives a bit easier in the process, it’s even better!

So first off, we’ll assume that you’re using one of the professional design software packages available (InDesign, Illustrator, Quark, etc). We won’t try to teach you how to do your job – so branding, fonts, imagery, etc, is down to you – you know what look you’re trying to achieve.

When you’re starting the design, draw three boxes on the page. The first should show the size of the page you will be printing to – for example, A5 for a promotional leaflet. Secondly, roughly 3mm in from the edge of this box, draw another one, within which all of your content needs to stay – this will ensure that none of your text or pictures ‘fall off’ the page (go outside of the print area). Thirdly, draw a box that is around 3mm wider than the box showing the size of the page – this is called the ‘bleed’. Any background colours, patterns or imagery must fill right up to this line to avoid any white borders occurring on the print (imagine you want a poster to promote your shop’s sale. You really want the poster to stand out, so have designed it in solid bright red, with white writing on it. It will look much better if the red extends to the edge of the page, with no white paper border showing).

Now that you have your design completed, here are some of the other questions we regularly get asked:

What dpi does my finished artwork file need to be?

Generally speaking, 300dpi is fine for printing. You shouldn’t need to go any higher than that and any lower impacts on the quality of the print. 

Do I need to change my text to outlines before I can print?

Not necessarily. Although some printers do ask that you do that to avoid any issues (for example, if the printer doesn’t have your specified font). Sometimes you may find that you have to convert text to outlines, because the font you’re using isn’t supported or you can’t get it to export to a pdf (to do with not having the right licence). Converting your text to outlines in essence makes it become ‘an image’ rather than fonts within your document 

What format do I need to save my file in?

The best format is a pdf saved at 300dpi. Other formats can be accepted though so it’s always worth checking with your printer first.

Should I design using CMYK or RGB?

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) is what most commercial printers work with. If you’ve designed your document RGB (red, green, blue) format instead, it will need converting and you may end up with some colour change. Again if in doubt, it’s always worth a call to your printer before you start saving your document!

Good luck!

2 notes

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