Print Design Tips

Hello! First of all, I'd like to say that I'm new here, and if there are any problems with my Topic just say so. Now to the topic itself.

I'm an amateur designer, I'm 21 years old and I've never done any professional work at all. I'm interested in designing posters and hand-outs, but I've only done web stuff before. Now, the problem is that I'm used to using small resolutions 1024x768, or at the biggest 1280x1024 all at 72 dpi. All the stocks I'm using are perfect for that kind of resolution, but for printing I know that dpi's and pixels must be times bigger so all the stocks are just plainly small. Remember this is just amateur work, so I cant afford really quality stuff. Another problems is that I'm not used to doing something extremely large in size (as a full poster @ 300 dpi), so my work flow is scattered all over the place. I can take care of this with a lot of practice, but I want to make sure that's the right way to go before jumping at it. Now here are my two questions:

1. Should I start working right on with big-time resolutions or should I do small ones first and then enlarge the image to a point. I guess I'm just asking what way around print design goes, but I'm a bit at loss here. That's for posters and handouts. And as small resolutions I mean 1000x1000 @ 150 dpi, or something.

2. Could you give me some real life resolutions? From something you've worked, so that I can get an idea whit what kind of dpi I should be working.

Thanks in advance for your time!

1. As a print designer I prefer to start large. That way when the piece gets repurposed it is always going down in resolution. That's the ideal situation. For example a lot of my key art gets created as an 18" x 24" poster @ 300ppi.

2. Most glossy magazine work is going to be done at 300ppi. For most newspaper work 200ppi is sufficient. An old rule of thumb is that if you take the line screen that the work is going to be printed at and double it for your resolution then you will be fine. For example most newspapers are printed at 85lpi (lines per inch). So theoretically 170ppi would be sufficient for a newspaper. I use 200 because - well - that's what I do.

Billboards might be as low as 20ppi if you are building full size. If you start scaling then that is another story.

pbc

Karamfil,

In addition to Paul's comments, understand that this is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. There is a lot to learn in order to do good-quality art that prints reliably and predictably. I seriously advise you to take some courses in print design and production.

As far as sizing art, always create it at the maximum size and resolution that you believe you'll need. Upsizing existing art (such as Web-created graphics for print) is almost never acceptable if quality is important to you.

Neil

Quick tips to your questions:

1.) I agree with Paul, but, try to pre-determine what the actual size will be at 100%. If your current poster calls for a large 18"w x 24"h image at CMYK mode, then try to work on that size. Use Paul's suggestion on resolution ( i.e., halftone LPI x 2 = IMAGE RESOLUTION ).

2.) Real world scenario? Always know where the image and document are going. That usually means talking with the publication and/or print shop to find out what type of paper, press, and workflow they require. Keep in mind that there are two types of resolution: document resolution and image resolution. Two very different but interrelated items. Document resolution is referred to as DPI ( dots per inch ). Image resolution is referred to as PPI ( pixels per inch ). A typical 300ppi image will require a document/raster resolution of 2540dpi. I am currently working on both print ads and large format banners which use the same images. The print versions are all saved at 300ppi at 100% final size. The banner images are being enlarged 400+%, so I am in the process of resizing using "Genuine Fractals" software ( excellent for enlarging images ). The banner images are all saved at 150ppi at 100% final size ( because they are being printed via inkjet ).

Alot of math, but well worth the effort in maintaining high quality printing. One note of caution, web images are very often compressed and have existing artifacts that will show up. I often use "Image Doctor" to fix artifacts and clean up low res imperfections. Stay away from web images unless you can wrestle the problems out of them.

Realise as well that print production work is typically not designed
in pixels AT ALL. Text, line art - these are done in something like
Illustrator or InDesign (NEVER Photoshop except in the hands of a real
expert).

Photoshop is used for the individual images. The resolution of these
is important. The pixel dimensions are only important because they
help you calculate the resolution.

Aandi Inston

Realise as well that print production work is typically not designed in
pixels AT ALL




Of course, that would be true for all vector art, such as type, properly designed logos, and some illustration and border treatments, etc., which are created independent of resolution.

The OP should also understand that for photographic or illustrative art created in a camera or pixel-based application, pixel density is important, such as using images at approximately 300 ppi or metric equivalent at s/s (same size or 100%-size) reproduction for printing with standard-quality commercial offset.

This resolution certainly is not cut in stone, as you can go as low as about 230 ppi -- if you don't need any wiggle room for last minute upsizing. And lower still, if there is little detail in the image or if the art is being printed in lower resolution media, such as newspapers, plastic bags or corrugated cartons. And as low as 25ppi or less for large billboards, not intended for close-up viewing.

Particularly for people new at the procuess, always speak with the printer first to confirm his mechanical requirements. Don't guess. Guessing can result in expensive mistakes.

As for using Photoshop alone for posters -- well, it wouldn't be my choice as adding and editing text and graphic elements; then repositioning, resizing, and recoloring them is generally a lot easier and faster if all content is placed on an InDesign or XPress page, with a benefit of generally smaller file sizes.

Neil