Print Design Articles, Tutorials and Resources June 2009

Niki

I get so caught up in the world of web that I sometimes forget about print design! I thought I would scour the web for helpful print links and articles. Hope you enjoy this round up filled with handy tutorials and resources for all things print!

For Print Only

FPO is a blog dedicated to both the visual stimulus and the detailing of the development and production of printed matter: Annual reports, books, business cards, stationery suites, collateral materials, posters, packaging and anything else where ink meets substrate. A subject matter we know, love and understand.

Blurb

Looking to have a nice printed bound book of your work? Check out Blurb – I had several friends use this service to print their portfolio books to leave behind at job interviews. Very nice and professional!

3 Deadly Sins of Print Design

A great article with some simple and straight to the point tips about print design. Sometimes we all just need to be reminded of the basics.

Setting Up Crops and Bleed

A design destined for print requires setting up to certain specifications to ensure that the work is printed correctly by industrial lithographic or digital print firms. This often starts with the initial document upon which the design is to be created by adding the correct bleed area and crop marks. Let’s take a look at what crops and bleed actually are, why they are required and how to set them up in your favourite Adobe package.

Lovely as a Tree

Lovely as a Tree – the website that tells you everything you need to know to be a more environmentally aware graphic designer.
We give you the low down on how your choices of design, paper and print impact upon the environment.

Flogged Magazine

Has a client rejected on of your amazing print designs recently? You keep looking at the design, it excites you, it pisses you off, it excites you, it pisses you off. Send it to flogged! they celebrage good designs that hve been blogged in a monthly magazine.

Rethink Design

Rethink Design is an extensive resource for professionals and students in the field of graphic design. It takes considerable time to research and interpret the information needed to make sustainable choices easily. Today’s fast-paced market makes it difficult to find sufficient time for this. Rethink Design makes this information and helpful tools readily accessible for making smart choices easily.

How to typeset headlines

Headlines can become more than just the biggest piece of text on the page. The way you set the type can be come a defining element for your layout or even the entire campaign. Here are different headline styles you may want to explore or build upon in your next design.

Preflight checking in InDesign

The term preflight check originates from the aviation industry where it is a standard procedure for pilots to go over a checklist before lift-off. Preflight checks (preflighting) for print documents have a similar idea in mind. They run trough all the files you used in the document to see if they’re missing, changed or anything else that might have happened to the file.

11 Essential Tips for Good Print Typography

Typography is a huge part of print design and design is a huge part of type. You can’t just throw text on a page, it has to be laid out and organized in a clean way that adds to the information being presented. Here are 11 tips to help you convey information in print the right way.

DIY screen printing tutorial

A great DIY tutorial on screenprinting! Its always good to get off the computer and play with other areas of print design.

Capturing and Optimizing Screenshots for Print

This tutorial came in handy for me when preparing my portfolio last year. Its always good to know how to set up your screenshots to print well. Nothing looks tackier than pixelation – even if you are a web designer!

Before and After Magazine

Before & After magazine has some great pdf tutorials on several topics relevant to both print and web design.

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Kitty June 29th

Great post Niki! A very good an comprehensive group of posts of the print needs :)
Nolan June 30th

Completely agree.. always getting caught up with web. Thanks
Tibi Puiu June 30th

Awesome resource, Niki. Print design is maybe the most difficult part in any designer’s life, and this will definitely help a few.
ideamashups.com July 3rd

Great collection of hits and tips! Thanks heaps for this