Adrian Pipes’ O n Press chapter, from his 2009 P roduction for Graphic Designers manual, provides a thorough overview of the print process, both historically and practically. Exploring paper, the raw materials that make it, recycled, handmade and manufactured paper, and other stocks; various qualities of inks; various printing processes, including emerging technologies; print finishing and binding; and interviews with a number of book designers.
Chapter Six – On Press (p.165 – 219) in Pipes, A. (2009) P roduction for Graphic Designers, 5th Edition, London: Laurence King Publishing, is available to you as a resource on the OCA student site.
“There is a long-standing misconception to to learn the craft part of any profession can be a chore. The temptation is to jump right in there and get on with the creative stuff. Print production, in particular, with its many different stages and processes, can seem dull… [however] Graphic designers are both artists and craftspeople… And when you have learnt all about print production, the creativity will be able to come shining through.”
Alan Pipes, P roduction for Graphic Designers (5th Edition), 2009. London: Laurence King Publishing. Page 11
Consider which aspects of the print process might feed into your creative decision making process. Where do the connections between artist and craftsperson sit within your work? Use your learning log to reflect on this.
Identify your nearest local printer. If possible, introduce yourself with the aim of arranging a short tour of their production process, from computer through to finished article. Seeing the printers at work helps to put the theory into context and can clarify certain parts of the process you may be unsure of. If the printer you find does print books then so much the better, but any medium-sized printers will no doubt print flyers, brochures and similar material. They will certainly have machines for reproduction, printing, folding and binding, which would be relevant to your research into printing books. Don’t be shy about getting in touch. When you explain you’re a student, printers often enjoy taking time out of their regular schedule to show people ‘round the works’ – but be aware that they do have busy schedules, so take advantage of any time they offer you! Take your camera and ask permission to photograph the machinery and production line, as an aide-memoire. Similarly, take your notebook and document the visit – you can incorporate this research later into your learning log.
Alternatively, you may want to concentrate on online options, such as PDFs or print on demand. Investigate these through internet research, documenting your key findings in your learning log.
Any visit may provide valuable research material for you, and of course the printer may prove a good contact for you in the future.
Design process
The five major printing processes are distinguished by the method of image transfer and by the general type of image carrier employed. Depending upon the process, the printed image is transferred to the substrate either directly or indirectly.
In direct printing the image is transferred directly from the image carrier to the substrate, examples of direct printing are gravure, flexography, screen printing and letterpress printing processes.
In indirect, or offset, printing, the image is first transferred from the image carrier to the blanket cylinder and then to the substrate. Lithography, currently the dominant printing technology, is an indirect (offset) process.
Creation process
- Size of the book
- Font selection
- Colour palette
- digital or physical
- Paper stock
- Finishing
- Bounding
- production
Blurb
In 2005, Blurb founder Eileen Gittins wanted to do something she thought would be relatively simple: Make a book of her own photography. The “make a book” part was possible, sure, but the costs were prohibitive. And the “simple” part? Not so much. “Why,” she thought, “should anyone have to take out a second mortgage and hire a small army just to publish a few copies of their own book?”
…there was an idea.
One year later, in 2006, Eileen launched Blurb, the world’s first platform for creating, printing, and publishing independent books. The democratization of illustrated publishing had arrived. But these weren’t just any books. They were beautiful, bookshop-quality books on premium paper stock with archival-quality binding. And anyone could make one. Literally, just one. Or two. Or ten thousand. Blurb was one of those amazing big-picture ideas made real: A mash-up of creative freedom with print-on-demand technology. It was groundbreaking. It was liberating and empowering and thrilling. And people like Eileen started making the books they’d always dreamed of, but never thought they could make.
As it turned out, the idea was a popular one
Fast forward to today. To date, Blurb authors have created more than two million books since the company started, with a new book created every minute. The books are as amazing and varied as the people making them. Photo books, cookbooks, travel books, children’s books, graphic novels, not-so-graphic novels…the list is endless. “If you build it, they will come” has never been more true than at Blurb. The question we’ve always asked our customers has been, “What will your book be?” Now we browse our online bookstore and wonder “What can’t a book be?” Because every day Blurb book-makers continue to astound us with unique takes on what constitutes a book.
Mixam
Our advanced online technology makes ordering your print simple and puts you firmly in control.
Simply choose your desired item from one of our product tabs and enter your details for an instant quote. No lists, no grids, no forms to fill in.
Toggle options to see different prices to suit your budget; there’s no need to start again.
Our user-friendly system even let’s you manipulate your uploaded files. Once your file is uploaded to our servers you can view your proof, change page sequence, add blank pages, rename files, or delete entire pages altogether.
The Mixam way:
- Advanced and user-friendly ordering system
- Instant prices
- Online proof
- Email your quotes
- Create an account and archive orders
- Ability to manipulate files after upload
I knew Blurb before and had some experience ordering from them. I’ve just had some research about Mixam printing. I’ve ordered a sample book from Mixam. Hopefully after seeing their sample books and comparing the prices, I would be able to decide which online printer, I am going to choose.
Resources
- Blurb. At: https://www.blurb.co.uk/about-blurb (Accessed: 10/10/2022)
- Guides library Illinois. Printing process. At: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/litho-topic-hub/background/printing-process (Accessed: 10/10/2022)
- Mixam. At: https://mixam.co.uk/ (Accessed: 10/10/2022)
- The glow studio. The print design. At: https://theglowstudio.com/the-print-design-process/ (Accessed: 10/10/2022)
Maryam: OCA Graphic Design 