Electrographic Plates

Electrographic devices are the ultimate in simplicity. Similar to a laser printer, these devices deposit toner onto a substrate via a charged imaging drum. A special ink-receptive toner enables offset printing, but many devices can also serve as high-resolution laser printers. Manufacturers offering such devices include Printware (St. Paul, MN). The Printware 1440 can image both inexpensive “paper” plates as well as the more durable organic photoconductor (OPC) aluminum plates. In addition to being daylight safe, both options offer the advantage of being totally processless — when the plates emerge from the laser printer, they are ready to hang and run.

Xante's (Mobile, AL) recently introduced Platemaker 4 is its latest device for electrographic CTP, and extends the legacy of its workhorse Platemaker 3.

Xante users can choose between the Myriad 2 (a dry-toner plate with a polyester substrate) and the Myriad 4, which has a paper substrate.

“We made the decision to purchase the Platemaker 4 based on the positive experience we've had with Xante products,” says Floyd Black, president of Personalized Printing (Carrollton, TX). “In four years of operation, there's never been a moment of downtime on our Platemaker 3.”

Personalized Printing doesn't rely exclusively on paper plates. According to Black, it's easy for press operators to switch between aluminum plates and plates output from the Xante platemaker. “Our press operators print the jobs in the order they were received,” says the exec. “All day long, they go from Myriad 2 to metal and back, so they aren't forced to separate the paper-plate jobs from those running on metal plates.”

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Graphic design and Pre-press Tips for Photoshop Users

There is some ?must-know? tips for CG people who decide to start doing some pre-press and design for printing.

As beginner you have to know that design for printing has some differences than web design or other screen designs.

Always use CMYK
First of all, printing technology uses CMYK color description and screen design use RGB. CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow blacK) is used because of printing technology that uses these 4 colors to make picture on paper. This color model is for Reflective surfaces. RGB (Red Green Blue) is for self-lighted surfaces, like screens and TVs. If you have photos or illustrations in RGB, allways convert them using Photoshop?s Image > Mode menu, because Adobe Photoshop gives best result with minimum changes of colors. CorelDRAW, for instance, gives totaly different colors if you export drawing to RGB or CMYK. In my opinion, if you have to use some design elements from CorelDRAW, export them in RGB and then convert in CMYK using Photoshop.

Black should be only 100%K, not composite from all colors
You have to keep in mind that printing process has minimum 4 passes (to print full color ? in Offset technology), and that alignment of these four passes may not be 100% same. Every pass is one color. So if you make text from 100C 100M 100Y 100K composite, you will have noise at letter?s edges. Photoshop has habit to form black from all composites so pay attention to select only pure black (0C 0M 0Y 100K) when you write text.

Use minimum 300DPI for Offset and 600DPI for Digital printings
Human eye can easly notice granulation of image raster if its resolution is lower than 96 DPI. Common Offset printing plates (machines) support 300DPI, so use this quality and make design in that resolution. Also, some digital printers support more dots per inch so you can make design from 600 to 1200 DPI?s, but it is very hard to notice difference between 600 DPI and higher. In special cases if you make design for buildboard, you can use 30 DPI, because of view distance.

Clean up small composite values
Keep in mind that every colored surface is made from these 4 components mentioned before. If you have on some surface less then 10% of some color, it is better to modify that color component to 0% in order to avoid edge noise. You will make small change on color. Also if you try to print 5% of some composite it is very small chance that something will be printed at all on Offset printing. Example: if you fill background with gray color: 5C 5M 5Y 5K you will probably bet totally white surface, but, if you use 0C 0M 0Y 11K, which gives very similar color on screen, you will have some gray color on background.Simply, printing and screening technologies are different

Make from 3 to 5 mm overedge on every edge that should be trimmed
Printing surface is always bigger than required dimensions. When you do screen design you don?t think about cutting, because it doesn?t exist on screen, but, when you do design for paper you have to keep in mind that someone will have to cut edges of your design. So there is Trimmed dimensions and Not-Trimmed. As designer you are thinking in trimmed dimensions, but when you send file on printing you have to make tolerance in case that swings that cuts paper to fit required dimensions make mistake, and, it always make some mistake. If you don?t make your design bigger you will have white stripes at edges of your catalogue or flyer.


This guidelines shows where paper should be trimmed.

In case of flyer, you have to make this tolerance to all edges, in case of cataloque, only outer edges should have this because, edge that comes to bending line doesn?t have cutting.

Make margins at least 5mm
All elements of design and all texts should be at least 5mm from edge of cut. I tried with 3mm, it was bad looking because on some places distance was smaller because problem of swings. In some cases you can go up to 10mm of margin.That is something that I noticed that beginners in graphic design should know. There is also some pure design tips about contrasts and colors, but I?ll leave it for some other tutorial.

Use TIFF as final file format
I advise you to use TIFF format when you send design to printer company. I had cooperation with many printing companies and printing professionals and everybody agree that TIFF / CMYK is most trusted image format for color-safe exporting and transporting from design workstation to film exposition company. It is safe to use: LZW compression (more compatible) or ZIP compression (less compatible). For final file you can discard layers to reduce file size.

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Some Digital Questions in Printing

Q: What is the difference between vector graphics and bitmap graphics?
A: A vector graphic is defined in a mathematical nature which makes it resolution-independent. A vector graphic can be printed clearly at any size. A bitmap image is formed by a rectangular grid of small squares, known as pixels. Each pixel contains data that describes whether it is black, white, or a level of color. Bitmap graphics are resolution-dependent they can appear jagged and lose detail if they are created at a low resolution and then enlarged or printed at a higher resolution.

Q: Where do vector graphics come from?
A: Vector graphics are typically created by illustration software such as Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand.

Q: Where do bitmap graphics come from?
A: Bitmap graphics are typically created by pixel-based image editing software such as Adobe PhotoShop. Additionally, bitmap graphics are generated from digital cameras and scanners.

Q: Can bitmap graphics be converted to vector graphics, and vice versa?
A: Yes. Software such as Adobe Streamline can convert bitmap images to vector images. Vector images can be converted to bitmap images by opening them with Adobe PhotoShop. Please note that converting a vector image to a bitmap image is rarely necessary, removes the resolution-independence of vector graphics, and should only be done if you have a very specific reason to convert the graphic.

Q: What are the different types of bitmap graphics?
A: A one-bit image refers to an image that is a solid color, with no shades of that color. A continuous tone image refers to photographic images, whether they are full color, black-and-white images with shades of gray (grayscale), or single-color images with shades of that color.

Q: What guidelines do you have for bitmap graphics resolution?
A: One-bit images require 600 pixels per inch. Full-color continuous tone images require 300 pixels per inch. Grayscale and single-color continuous tone images require 200 pixels per inch.

Q: Can I resize bitmap graphics in a page layout application?
A: These guidelines are for bitmap images that are used at their actual size. If the image is enlarged in a page layout application, the requirements enlarge by the same amount. For example, enlarging a full-color continuous tone image 225% in QuarkXPress would require a resolution of 675 pixels per inch (the original requirement of 300 pixels per inch multiplied by the enlargement of 225%). It is best to avoid performing scaling in a page layout application, as these programs have no ability to change the actual pixels in an image.

Q: Can I resize bitmap graphics in PhotoShop?
A: PhotoShop can increase the resolution of a low-resolution image, but increasing the resolution of an image scanned or created at a lower resolution only spreads the original pixel information across a greater number of pixels and rarely improves image quality.

Q: I’ve heard Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) mentioned in the context of both vector graphics and bitmap graphics. How can it be both?
A: EPS files act as a container for transferring graphic information. When an illustration software such as Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand creates an EPS file, it is a vector EPS. When a pixel-based image editing software such as Adobe PhotoShop creates an EPS file, it is a bitmap EPS.

Q: Can I copy a graphic and paste it into my document?
A: While copy-and-paste is supported by most software, you will have much more predictable results by creating a link to your graphic. The graphic then remains outside of your document and is referenced as needed. Please refer to your software’s documentation for full details about creating links to your graphics.

Q: What is a PDF file?
A: Documents in Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) preserve the exact look and content of the originals, complete with fonts and graphics, and can be printed, distributed by e-mail, and shared and stored on network systems (including the internet) for others to use and view. When properly created, PDF files have proven to be an excellent method for generating quality printing.

Q: Where can I find my fonts?
A: On a Windows-based computer, fonts can be located in two different places. First, check Start Menu>Settings>Control Panels>Fonts. Additionally, you may have a folder names psfonts (typically on the C: drive).

Fonts in the psfonts folder are PostScript fonts and require two separate files to accurately define a font’s appearance. The first file, found in the psfonts folder, ends with a .pfb extension. The second matching file is found in the psfonts>pfm folder and ends with a .pfm extension. The font name can be accurately determined by double-clicking the .pfb or .pfm file.

On a Macintosh computer fonts are found in the System Folder>Library>Fonts. In many cases, an alias of the Library folder can be found on the root level of your hard drive, as well. In that case, the path is simply Library>Fonts.

If you use a font management utility on either platform, fonts are found in a location specified by the utility.

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Choosing the Right Paper

Paper grade defines paper in terms of its use. Each grade serves a purpose, usually suggested by its grade name. Below are some of the most common classifications of printing papers.

Bond papers are commonly used for letters and business forms. They have surfaces which accept ink readily from a pen or typewriter and can be easily erased.

Coated papers are used when high printing quality is desired because of its greater surface smoothness and uniform ink receptivity. There are many kinds: cast coated, gloss coated, dull coated, machine coated, coated one- and two-sides, etc.

Text papers are noted for their interesting textures and attractive colors. They enjoy frequent use for announcements, booklets and brochures.

Offset papers are considered the most economical printing papers. Offset papers may be used for directories, newsletters, books, direct mail pieces with only a few photographs, and other printing products requiring average quality.

Cover papers complement coated and text papers in heavier weights and matching colors for use as covers on booklets, etc. Papers are also made for cover purposes only. Many special surface textures are available. Special characteristics of cover pages include dimensional stability, durability, uniform printing surface, good scoring, folding, embossing and die-cutting qualities. It is a useful rule of thumb that cover stock of the same basis weight as text paper has about twice the thickness.

Index papers have two outstanding characteristics—stiffness and receptivity to writing ink. Index is commonly used whenever an inexpensive stiff paper is required.

Tag is a heavy utility sheet. Tag board is sometimes tinted and colored on one or both sides. Tag stock has good bending or folding qualities, and a surface adaptable to printing, stamping, or writing.

Bristol is one of the board grades, with a softer surface than index or tag, making it ideal for high-speed folding, embossing, or stamping. It is very receptive to ink and has good snap and resilience.


If your printing project includes envelopes, there are many styles to choose from.

Commercial envelopes are used for business correspondence, either surface or airmail, and are available in all standard sizes.

Window envelopes are used primarily for statements, dividends and invoices. The window saves time and prevents an element of error by eliminating typing of an extra address. Window envelopes are made in all sizes and styles, from many types of paper.

Self-Sealing envelopes have latex adhesive on upper and lower flaps that seal instantly without moisture when the flaps come together. These envelopes are a time saver in handling.

Booklet, Open-Side envelopes are ideal for direct mail. A concealed seam lends itself to overall printing in front and back.

Baronial envelopes are a more formal open-side envelope with a deep, pointed flap. They are often used for invitations, greeting cards, announcements, etc.

Clasp envelopes are sturdy and widely used for mailing bulky papers. Metal clasps are smooth and burrless. This type of envelope may be opened and closed many times.

Open-End envelopes are used for mailing catalogs, reports, booklets and magazines. Wide seams and heavy gummed flaps ensure maximum protection under rough handling conditions.

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