Then there is ink. Not all inks are the same. There are different colors, drying times, spread, density, and a host of other parameters. There are good inks and cheap inks, inks that resist the sun (UV resistant) and inks that only last a few weeks. And last but not least there are the various finishes such as varnishes (gloss and matte), die cuts (cutting shapes in the paper) and folding and binding.

 Its a whole industry with a multitude of ways the printer can take short cuts, or in some cases out right “ cheat you” by specifying one quality and substituting another. That’s where your designer can be a life saver, not only by knowing about the printing processes and how to spec the materials to get the results you want, but also if that is really what was delivered.

 Most printers are off set printers that is they take your art work and convert it into films representing the basic 4 colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, (called CMYK in the industry - and, no, I don’t know why black is called “K”. It just is.) The films are made into Plates each representing a different one of the four colors and the paper is printed on four times, once for each of the four colors. Of coarse if the work is only black and white or spot colors the process is a little different. Black and white has only one film (that’s black, of coarse) while spot colors have one film for each separate color.

 When printers calculate an estimate they consider the cost of separation films, plates, ink, paper, press set up, and any cutting or folding that maybe required  - then add their profits - that sum is then divided by the number of copies you require to get a per piece price. They charge you per piece but they calculate in a different manner, often making huge profits from the client’s lack of knowledge.

 Understand that the standard printing sheets are actually quite large so depending on the size of your item they may get anywhere from two to fifty pieces on a single sheet. That’s one of the ways they make a profit so when you waste paper they see profits disappearing. A good graphic designer is aware of all this, and much more. One of the reasons you pay a designer is to keep your project within the realms of the practical.

 One example of this that comes to mind concerned a slightly different type of flip chart. These were to be used by rural out reach workers traveling from village to village on bicycles and small motorbikes. The IEC materials had to be rugged and small enough to fit inside a backpack. The project consultant had come up with a good idea to make printed plastic circles - that were nice to look at - which would be “ screwed” together. The idea was actually quite good. The cards always stayed in the same order, never got lost, and were waterproof. The draw back was the prohibitive cost.

 The printer gave them all a heart attack with his quote. Over two years were to pass before we visited that program to develop a communications toolbox for them. There in the corner of a table was the neglected “ dummy” for the flip cards. A few questions brought out the sad story. That’s when the skills of a professional designer really glowed and five minutes later the sad hangdog looks were replaced by big smiles of hope. By the next afternoon joy reined supreme. The newly designed cards would not only be slightly larger but would cost 1/3 of the original quotation.

 How did we do it? First we took a standard sized piece of printing paper and divided it into almost square sections until we had something close to the original size, but square. The original graphics files were reworked not only to resize them but also to take advantage of the latest developments in color management and written to CD. That was it.

 Why the change in price? 1st the original design was an odd size and round. That meant the printer had over 45% paper waste, as well as the cost of a die and die cutting the circles. By making them a standard size and square all he had to do was run them through the guillotine making standard cuts, with almost no wastage at all. The important thing to remember with printers is to keep sizes standard (they use standard printing paper sizes which your work will be cut from) and keep it simple.