sd warren how to plan printing

7/28/2019 SD Warren How to Plan Printing

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w to Plan Printing


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How to Plan Printing

S.D. Warren Co m pan y A Subsidiary of Scott Paper Co m pan y


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Te x t s t o c k : Lu s t ro D u l l , 8 0 p o u n dC o v e r s t o c k : K i v a r 3 -1 2 G r a p h i c W h i t e A n t i q u ePr in t ing : o f fse t fou r co lo r p rocess p lu s fi f th co lo r (orange) t h r o u g h o u tand s i x th c o lo r (g ray) used o n page 49 .Typeface : 10 /15 Tr um p Me diae va l

1988, S.D. Warren Company, a Subsidiary of Scott Paper C om panyPrinted in the United States of America


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IntroductionThis booklet is inten ded as a source of orientation for peoplein th e graph ic arts or advertising professions. For those w hoenter printing , the book is backg round ma terial primarily forthe aspiring printin g salesman . For those who enter advertising, it provides basic techn ical information tha t will behelpful in c onve rting raw copy and illustrations to the finished printed piece.

Oth er audiences such as typesetters, paper m erch ants,writers, editorsor anyone whose profession lies on the fringeof printingmay benefit from w ha t is presented here.

Th e booklet is no t heavily technical. It is meant m ainly for


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I N TR O D U C TI O N

the beginn er, althou gh pa rts of the book w ill reach furtherinto techn ical ma tters tha n others. Above all, the book's purpose is to arouse the reader's curiosity by th e presen tation offundame ntals in words and pictures.

Experience shows that these fundam entals are often obscured by organ ization, by details of daily work, and b y emphasis on sophisticated techniques. The fundamentals areoutlined as guideposts for those inexperienced in graphic artsand as check p oints for those enm eshed in its complexities.


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The Need for PrintPrinting is big business, the sixth largest in th e Un ited States.Th e average Am erican uses 550 po un ds of paper a year orabo ut on e half th e am ou nt h e or she eats (average food consum ption is 1,150 pounds). Th e am oun t spent on printed products is high er th an expe nditure s for clothing , tobacco, orlumber, and in fact very nearly equals the combined dollarvalue of those three commodities.

W e can all thin k of some obvious examples that con tributeto ou r per capita pape r usage of 550 pou nd s per year (or IV2po un ds per day). New spapers, magazine s, books, stationery,direct-mail, broch ures, and calend ars are a few articles


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THE NEED FOR PRINT

tha t com e to m ind. Just as imp ortan t but less conspicuous arespecialized item s such as com puter print-o uts, instru ctionbook lets, business forms, and parts lists.All of these prod ucts h ave at least one feature in common.They all convey information. Printed mate rial is a sub stitutefor the spoken word and th e visual image. And it usually"sp eak s" with great efficiency. A good-sized daily n ewsp aper,for instan ce, gives its readers enough m ateria l to fill a novel.

W e take printing for granted. Five hun dred years ha veelapsed since its inve ntion . Before printing, know ledge waspreserved laboriou sly by the han dw riting of a scribe. Printingpu t mo re knowledge in the hands of more people faster andcheaper than any single invention before i t or since. W itho utit, edu cation today wo uld be stifled practically to extinction,and goods and services could n ot be sold effectively and inm an y cases could no t be mad e or sold at all.

To fully grasp w hy p rinting i s such a large enterprise inAmerica is difficult w ith ou t some unde rstanding of the socialforces that allowed for its growth. It is no t wi thin the scope o fthis booklet to trace the history of printin g from th e days ofGu tenb erg. But it will be helpful to exa min e some of the social forces that influenced the evolution of printing in America over the last hu nd red years or so.

Of obvious importance was the developmen t of universalfree educa tion. B y the en d of the last centu ry, everyone inAm erica theoretically had the op po rtun ity to learn to read. In1878, th e Un ite d States Congress approve d a system of secondclass postal rates which drastically cut the costs of mailingpub lications . Mail-order catalogs flourished. Railroads we rebu ilt, and in sho rt order our coun try boasted a sophisticatedtransportation netwo rk. Printing and typesetting becamestreamlined w ith the invention of faster presses and the linotype machine.

At the sam e time a restless, entre pren euria l spirit was in th eair. O ne can sense this by lookin g at almost an y billboard,

B O O T H S T H E A T R E2 3 d S T B E B T . BETW H E N 5t h and 6th A VMM UMS

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THE NEED FOR PRINT

flier, or mail-order advertisement issued after the Civil War(Figure 1). A consum er-oriented society was being born. In ven tions flooded the U .S. Patent O ffice. T he ind ustria l revolution w as reaching maturity, and p rinting was at once botha sym ptom and a cause of it. Printing w as one of the indispensable ingredients for establishing and maintaining a freeente rprise society. It still is today . Th ere is a direct corre lationbetween a cou ntry's standard of living and the am ou nt of material it prints. This fact can be easily borne out by e cono micstatistics on the subject. Th ere are very few advertising agencies in third w orld co untries, for instanc e, and very littleprinting.

Plenty of printin g is done in Am erica today (Figure 2). Andwhat is happening today is simply an outgrowth of our past.Th e days of the nin eteenth -century mail-order catalog are notentirely different from our ow n time a cen tury later. We simply have mo re catalogs (with different appearance s to m atc hchan ging fashions). Space advertising is a mo re advanced art ,and more profuse. Direct-mail advertising has mushroomed,as any one w ith a mailbox kn ow s. Th e consumer generallyhas m ore know ledge on w hich to base a decision as to w hethe ror no t to buy, and w hat to buy .

The phrase "information explosion" aptly ap plies to ourtime. Printed materials have of course been in strum enta l increating and sustaining the "explosion."

There are countless advantages and unique properties tothe printe d message, and it is approp riate to list some ofthem here.

Except for the painfully slow reader, printed wo rds can beabsorbed faster tha n spoken words.

It is portab le. A hik ing gu ide can be stuck in a pocket andcarried anywhere.

It is a form of information convey ance that can be checkedand recheck ed easily. O ne can reread, and the freedom to

Figure 2 After 100 years Am erican prin ting is alive and vital , although typefaces and styles havechanged.

Armyourchildze your child again:s. Like polio, measles, mumps, rubella.And wh en you do, get a record of inas important as a birth certificate for entry to school.Love a lone can' t protect your chiId. Contact your doctor'soffice or neighborhood health center for immunizations. Or callyour local health d epartment. Arm your child against disease.


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THE NEED FOR PRINT

jump from one section of print to another often outclasses theability to do this in other m edia.

It is very often in exp ensive . Beautiful im ages in the form of illustrationsfull color aswell as black and whitecan be rendered well.

It can be in tim ate . A slim book of verse provides wh at amicrofiche reader can't.

In sum m ary, printed matter serves m ank ind well in m anyways. Printing is a broadly hum anizing pheno m enon. It caneducate, inform , persuade, and beautify. Above all, it is am eans of communicationan extension of the hum anintellect.

In a complex world faced with troublesome problems weneed to bring more knowledge into circulation than ever before. Th e problems of our tim e are very real. O verpop ulation,energy shortage, crime, depletion of natural resourcesarejust a few of them . No ne of these is the kin d of problem thatcan be remedied by the modification of a few laws. Th e solutions will com e slowly from an informed populace w ho firstof all kn ow tha t the problem s exist, and secondly have theknowledge to deal with them .

Printing offers no sure-fire cure-all for the problems of m ankind . It is a tool; a me ans to a n end. It is up to usas th e executors of wha t is printed , to serve the m ediu m of printingand thereby the worldwith as m uc h excellence as possible.

T he following sections will show some ways and m eans ofdoing this.


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Writing and Copy PreparationA salesman w ho uses good gram ma r, organizes his ideas beforesaying the m , and is generally articulate stand s a better chanceof ma king a sale than a salesman wh o is orally sloppy. In thesame way, a printed piece will be mo re effective if writtenwell. Fancy graphics, bril lian t pho togr aphs , first-class paperand printin g ca nno t salvage poor copy.

There are very few absolute rules for good writing. Tw oprimary ones are: be interesting and be gramm atical. Anotheris : get the facts,- kno w w hat you are talking about; one of th egreatest enem ies of good w ritin g is a shaky grasp of th e subjectm atter . Some people, after d oing their research, benefit froman o utline , be it extensive or short.


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WR ITING AN D COPY PREPARATION

He re are a few other points to keep in min d.1. As a general rule, use short, concise sentences. In th e sam e

wa y, use a short word instead of a longer one if th e two aresynonymous .2. In order to keep your copy fresh and alive, use o rdinary

English rather tha n jargon or langu age tha t is inflated an dpom pou s. Th e sentence labeled (a) below is far easier on t hereader th an the o ne labeled (b).

(a) Parents mu st often discipline their children.(b) Children m ust receive pa renta l inpu t tha t often places

restrictions and limitations on beha vioral patterns thatseem acceptable to the child bu t are clearly intolerableto the parent.

3. Be specific. Use conc rete exam ples. Sometimes this canbe difficult. Ho w can a writer introduce lively, concrete images into th e summ ary of an auditor 's statement in an ann ualreport? M ost subjects are less abstract, and w ill allow for theuse of con crete details if th e w riter w ill only try.

4. D on 't hesitate to rewrite your material. The beginner isapt to th in k of the first draft as som ething sacred, and resistany atte mp t to improve it .

5. W he n you ha ve finished yo ur final draft, hav e someoneelse look at it. Someone with a different perspective will oftenpo int ou t weaknesses, spots needing changes in emph asis, andac tua l errors of fact. If you r copy is long, an ed itor ought tocheck it. A good editor will elim inate spelling errors, gramma tical errors, clear up passages th at are unclear, and checkfor con sistency of style. At an y rate, all proofreading sho uld bedone before the printer sets type. Cha nges in type are veryexpensive.

Preparing CopyHe re are a few suggestions that w ill be helpful in th e typingand physical preparation of copy.


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WR ITING AN D COPY PREPARATION

1. Use o ne side only of 8V2" x 11" wh ite bond paper.2. Typing should be double-spaced. Allow a mple margins

on all sides.3. An y added words should be inserted within the typedlines. Often a carat (A) is used to signify the add itional w ordor word s. Don't place corrections in the ma rgin if you canhelp it. This ma kes t he typesetter look to one side and interrup ts th e steady pace of setting type.

4. Copy s hou ld be typed either in pica or elite typewritingone or the other, no t a m ixtur e. Th e approxim ate line lengthw he n typed sh ould be consistent. These two suggestions areno t mand atory, bu t they will m ake it m uc h easier for eitheryou or the typesetter to estima te how m uc h space the piecewill occupy.

5. U nde rline w ords to be set in italics. Use two und erlinesfor wo rds to be set in sm all caps. Us e a jagged und erlin e forwords to be set in boldface. Use thre e und erlines for words orletters to be set in reg ular c apitals, or bette r yet, insert th e capital letter itself.6. Keep han dw ritten corrections to a m inim um , and w herenecessary, try to mak e th e corrections as simple as possible.Use neat, readable handw riting. Do everything you can tokeep the typesetter from being confused. T his mea ns sometimes rety ping sections or even w hole pages of messy copy.You can assum e that it pays to retype wh en the typescript assumes the cond ition show n in Figure 3.

Th e secret to good copy prep aration is simple. Pretend y ouare the typesetter. If you c an 't read you r own h and w riting ,you kn ow yo u're in trou ble! If a friend or colleague can 't readit easily, yo u're still in tro ub le. Typese tters are paid to scanneat, typed lines. Passages tha t cause the typ esetter to stop,thi nk , and interpre t will only add to the typesetting bill.

Figure 3 Typesetters are paid toset type, no t to unrave l " dirtycopy/7 This exam ple might seemlike a parody, but unfortun atelymost typesetters can testify tohaving encountered such nightmares.rfty exces-s'

1correctionsand where necessary C&&to a minimmmum/j try to make the q^yections

you can Use neat/lreadable hand-c a n j ?you/^ to keep the type-riting. Do evlightingsetter from being confused


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DesignDesign has different mean ings for different people. For th epurpose of this booklet, graphic design mea ns plan nin g andarranging type and illustrations to convey a message.

Designing is often misconstrued by layme n and even peoplein the trade and even people w ho call themselves designers!Th ere is a tend ency to thi nk of the design of a brochure orbookletlet us sayas only th e working ou t of the aesthetics:m akin g an "attra ctive " cover, seeing to it that the right colorsare chosen, and so on.

Design is problem solving, w ith aesthetics un que stiona blyoften one of the chief problems bu t not t he exclusive one.

Consider the creation of a booklet (or whatever it is) in the


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DESIGN 11

same ma nn er as an architect th ink s about houses or an aeronau tical engineer thin ks abo ut designing jet planes. If th isfunction al approach is taken there w ill be less chance for thetypog raphy to be illegible, for the pictures to be poorly arranged, and for the reader or viewer of the printe d piece to beill-served. An d after all, the person wh o ultim ately buy s oruses the finished prod uct is the prim ary client.

Gra phic design looks easy but actually is very difficult. Ifyou have never done it before, you w ould be well advised tohire a good designer. This booklet certainly c ann ot teach y oua skill that takes years to learn .H ow do you find a good designer? T ha t too can be difficult,especially if you d on 't live in a m etrop olitan area. Ask aro und .A tten d local trade functions in order to meet designers. Seekou t catalogs of graphic arts shows. Look at the wo rk exhib itedeither at the show s or in th e catalogs. By doing this you willslowly develop a set of standards against wh ich other w orkcan be m easured. Find out wh at you like, and keep an openm ind to w ha t you find strange and offbeat.Th e extension of all this is the familiar and customary ritualfor those who b uy prin ting an d design: talking wit h a designerand reviewing a portfolio.

The re are some tricks to portfolio viewing. M ost of us areeasily lulled int o a state of critical inse nsitivity as page afterpage of beautiful images are flipped (naturally this is thedesigner's best work ). Try to rem em ber to ask questions. W hywas this or that done? Whyfor instancedid the designeruse a triple colum n format, or prin t the illustrations in twocolors, or decide on a barrel fold rathe r th an accordion? W henquestions are asked wi th intelligence and tact you will have abetter cha nce of seeing m ore th an the outw ard sym ptom s ofsuccess.

What follows are descriptions of design, broadly categorized. To und erstand these categories ma y m ake com mu nication w ith t he designer easier.


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DESIGN 12

Symmetry (Figure 4). Lines are centered. "C entered ness" orsym m etry w as considered virtually the only way to organizea printed piece from the inv entio n of printin g in 1440 to thelate nin ete en th century . It is still alive and well in the tw entieth c entu ry. To ru le it ou t because it's allegedly unfashionableor out-of-date w ould be to ignore the fact th at designers stillemploy symmetry for some of their most contemporaryeffects. Th ere are enough lim itations to graphics wit ho ut discarding a very useful methodology .

Asymmetry (Figure 5). Balance is all-impo rtant here. Oftenan effective way to organize material, but deceptively difficult in prac tice, and often a pitfall for the beginner.

Flush left (Figure 6). Setting of the text ragged righ t (anun eve n right-hand edge) often ha rm onize s with th e displayheads in this schem e, since each line of the text is in essence aline set flush left.

Grid system (Figure 7). Often called m odu lar d esign; sometimes referred to as "Swiss" because of the cou ntry w hichfostered its growth. T he operative characteristic is a patterncreated by the designer consisting of areas th at are vertic al,horizontal, or both. The material can then be handled incoun tless w ays, as Figure 7 dem onstrates. Th e designer m uststay wi thi n the stru cture of the grid, otherwise th e integrity ofthe design is impaired. It's most impo rtan t that the designerexam ine carefully the na tur e of the text and illustrations before setting up the grid. If th e designer doesn't do this, greatdisservice to the m aterial can follow; illustratio ns can be toolarge or too small, type can be mishan dled, and so forth.

Figure 4 Symmetrical design.

Figure 5 Asymmetric design.

Figure 6 Flush left design.

Some people ask, "W hy both er w ith design? Design is expensive and not worth the m oney ."

The counter-arguments are:1. Design is often, thou gh no t alw ays, a bargain. A responsible designer can save a custom er m on ey by correct choice of


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DESIGN 13

BERLIN**-*-"-*--*-*'Cutura Aspects of Cty J g j l ^ ^ M c r c h 12 through Apnl 1? 1977Sponsored by Goethe House New York orurther informaton call 744-8472

S O W E O N L YH A D T OC U T O U TA F E WE X P E N S E S .

illunSAOOboys.


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DESIGN 15

type an d size of type, sensible organiza tion, an d selecting th eright presses and bindery equ ipm ent.

2. Th e aesthetics alone of a good design often "pays off." Anadvertising mailer blessed with an effective format can yieldhigher returns.

3. Good design is something that all parties to the job cantake p ride in. Mo st of us do no t like to be seen dressed inshabby c lothes. W e should also hav e respect for what weprint .


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ProductionTh e custom ary responsibilities of prod uction are figuringcosts, figuring how the prin ted piece will be made, and howlong it will tak e to ma ke it. Production people generally w orkfor adv ertising agencies, prin ting plant s, pub lishin g offices,universitiesin other w ords, wherever there is a need to purchase or supervise pr inting .

The best way to learn about production m ethods is to workin a printing plant for a while. Some production buyers startas printers, and they h ave an edge, so to speak. Th ey kno wthings first-hand, and they understand the printer's point ofview. They w ill kno w by instinct w hen schedules can be


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PRODUCTION 17

improved, whe n an excuse migh t be far-fetched or a price toohigh.

Th ere is no w ay to cover the range of produ ction duties inthis booklet, even to the po int of defining them . But we o ughtto throw out a few general rules.

1. Get m ore th an one qu ote from typesetters, printers, andbinders if you can. Com plex printin g should always be quotedin w riting. W heth er you rely on a single quote or several depends on y our ability to judge the prices.

2. Do not "over-quote"; that is, do n't ask six printe rs forbids on every job. If you do you w ill not retain professionalesteem in " the trade ." New s travels fast am ong salespeople,and you w ill acquire a reputation for requiring excessivenumbers of bids.

3. Never hold a manufacturer to resetting or reprinting orrebinding a mistake, when the mistake is something you canlive with . Holding a manufacturer to the fine prin t of a contract is no t good business. M uc h better to m ake allowancesw hen you can. Your supplier will probably reciprocate if th esituation is reversed.

4. W he n figuring costs, be tho rou gh . Inclu de a safe allowance for auth or's changes. Be sure to include th e little extras:the cost of an em bossing die, repros to ma ke th e die, bits oftypeset m atter for envelopes, and th e like. Include shippingcharges (most printers figure quotes F.O.B. their plant unlessinstru cted otherw ise). Be sure paper spoilage is acc oun ted for.Rem ember tha t costs of paper and p rintin g are rising just assurely and swiftly as the cost of bread a t the supe rm arke t. Ifyou r e stim ate is old, get costs for a new one if n ecessary.

5. Choose the right printe r for each job. Th e world is filledw ith printers and they are all different. There are printinggiants w ith acres of equ ipm ent that in clude web presses, typesetting m ach ine s as far as the eye can see, and a bind ery capable of putt ing a cover on everything they p rint. At the otherextre m e we find the solitary individual working a 17" j ob press


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PRODUCTION 18

from a cellar or typesetting part-time at hom e. You mu st findsupp liers who se size and cap abilities fit your needs. Only t im eand experience can teach you th is.

6. If you give all you r wo rk to one prin ter you m ay regret it.Because every printer is different, using one printer and o neprinter only may be unwise. O n th e other hand, do not use anew printe r for every job; spreading yourself t hi n is just asrisky. It takes time to get used to doing business with som eone.Th e supplier and client m ust learn the peculiarities of theproce dures and business practices of each other. A sensiblecom prom ise is to patronize a sm all nu m ber of suppliers regularly, w hile occasionally trying someone new .

7. Do n' t hesit ate to go on field trips. M ost printe rs are cordial abou t taking you on a guided tour. Once in the plan t, askas m any questions as come to m ind.

8. Even aside from field trips, learn from yo ur suppliers.Salespeople are invariably happ y to explain both the intricacies and th e a-b-c's of prin ting. T hey are good teachers. Youshould never be embarrassed to ask either the simplest or mos tcomplex question.

9. U nd ers tan d trade custom s and practices (see Figure 8).

Figure 8 Print ing Trade Customs, as formulated by the P rintingIndustries of America and affiliated trade organizations. Thefine print of any contract is always worth studying.


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TypesettingTh e exhibit on th e nex t page (Figure 9) show s a few (91) of t heuppercase G's tha t exist today in the U nite d States. Th enu m be r could easily be doubled, tripled, or even multip lied ahundredfold. No one really knows how m any typefaces areavailable, bu t 10,000 is a conservative estim ate and th ere areprobably many more.

Th e purpose of printin g all these G's is not to intimid ate thereader. To the contrary, one can be excited by such variety.Th ere is m uc h richness in the abun dan ce of types. Life for anybody in the graphic arts wou ld be duller with out them.No t since the late nin ete en th century ha s there been so


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TYPESETTING 21

G GQ B

G

GGG

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G SGGGi

GGG GBG

I

G GG GG G

qGGG G

G G

6 G


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TYPESETTING 22

m uc h choice. In the last half of the nin etee nth centu ry th eautomated type foundries m ade it possible to churn out h un dreds up on h un dre ds of decorated V ictorian extravaganzas(Figure 10). Today we are witnessing a nother outbu rst, b utbrough t about by different machines . Phototypesetting m achines for setting display type (the Typositor and He adlinerare two examples) hav e lowered the cost of producing newdisplay typefaces.

Actually, the num ber of faces for setting reading m atter h asno t m ushr oom ed as m uc h. Abo ut 20 to 30 faces accoun t forover 90 perce nt of every thing w e read (except in new spapers,the types for wh ich comprise a narrow w orld of their own).(Figure 11)

After looking at 91 letters we should n ow look more closelyat a few. Figure 12 shows th e stru ctu re of letters and definesthe different parts.

Letters grouped into alphabets lead us to a collective entitycalled a font. A font of an y given typeface and size co nsists ofcapitals and lowercase in roman and italic, nu m era ls, specialchar acters, and u sua lly sm all capitals (Figure 13).

HtmABCDEFGHVJKLM'NOPQRSMWXYZ^CE(3


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TYPESETTING 24

Ty pe sizes are me asured in po ints (Figure 14). A point is avery small un it of measure, approxim ately l/72nd of an inch .There are 12 poin ts to the pica, and thu s six picas to the in ch.Not every face in a given poin t size is the same in actualsize, as demonstrated by all the 24 point K's in Figure 15.Point size is not always an accurate indicator of actual size.(Figure 16). Do n ot ever say, "Oh yes, 9 pointthat's too smallfor text reading, isn't it?" It depends on whic h 9 point.

Because of ne w tech nologies of typesetting , the job of choosing type and d eciding on the methods by which it is se t is morecom plicated today th an it used to be. There was a t ime notlong agoas recent as the forties and fiftieswhen most typewas set on th e M ono type, th e Linotype (or Intertype), or byprimitive strike-on (typewriter) devices.

No w th e scene has changed. Film typesetting (photo-typesett ing) is dom inant. M any com panies mak ing many machines are competing in A me rican free enterprise traditionfor a share of the film typesetting market, each perhap s hoping that its m ach ine w ill be the linotyp e of the future.

As part of this changing p icture ma ny m ore ways exist now adays to get from copy to final ty pe. To be sure, there are stillm achin es like the linotyp e where the keyboard is hitched tothe m ach ine a nd th e speed of the operator determines howfast you can set type.

But ma ny systems now rely on "off-line" keyboards. Th eoperator types on a mac hin e very similar to a typewriter. Th em ach ine produces paper tape or mag netic tape, and this" inp ut" is fed to the film typesetting device. In some cases, theoperator produces typed copy whic h is scanned by a piece ofeq uip m en t called an optical character recognition (OCR) machine. Th e OCR m ach ine in turn produces paper tape or someother form of inp ut w hich activates the film typesettingdevice.

Perha ps the mo st significant cha nge of all in typesetting ha scom e w ith the use of the comp uter. Com puters entered th e


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TYPESETTING 25

6 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqr7 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefgl8 abcdefgh i j k lmnopqrs tuvwxyzabcdefgh i j k lmnopqrs tuvwxyz ;9 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstu

10 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnop11 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklrr12 abcdefgh i jk lmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefgh i14 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdef(16 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzab(18 abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy;24 abcdefghijklmnopqrsl30 abcdefghijklmnoi;36 abcdefghijklm

Figure 14 A typical range of typesizes, from 6 to 36 poin t. Sometypeset t ing machines have evenmore sizes, some fewer.

Lkkkkkkkkkkkkkk kkk Figure 15 Eighteen k's, all 24point size. The band of color defines the lowercase or "x " height ,which is the predom inant featureestablishing actual size.F u l l y t o r e a l i z e t h e m a r v e l l o u s p r e c i s i o n r e q u i r e d i n l a y i n g t h eg r e a t s t e a m e r i n h e r m a r k s i n t h a t m u r k y w a s t e o f w a t e r , o n es h o u l d k n o w t h a t n o t o n l y m u s t s h e p i c k h e r i n t r i c a t e w a yt h r o u g h s n a g s a n d b l i n d r e e f s , a n d t h e n s h a v e t h e h e a d o f t h ei s l a n d s o c l o s e ly a s t o b r u s h t h e o v e r h a n g i n g f o l i a g e w i t h h e rs t e r n , b u t a t o n e p l a c e s h e m u s t p a s s a l m o s t w i t h i n a r m ' s r e a c ho f a s u n k e n a n d i n v i s i b l e w r e c k t h a t w o u l d s n a t c h t h e h u l l

Figure 16 9 poi nt Primer at th etop,- 10 poin t Garamond below. Aconvincing example of how pointsize does not always reflect actual

Fully to realize the marvellous precision required in laying the greatsteamer in her marks in that murky waste of water, one should knowthat not only must she pick her intricate way through snags and blindreefs, and then shave the head of the island so closely as to brush theoverhanging foliage with her stern, but at one place she must pass almost within arm's reach of a sunken and invisible wreck that would


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TYPESETTING 26

do th at , I ' ll be ab le to ra i se th e dead , and th en I won ' t have to p ilo t as t eamb o a t t o mak e a l i v in g . I wan t t o r e t i r e f ro m th i s b u s in ess . Iwan t a s l u sh -b u ck e t an d a b ru sh ; I 'm o n ly f i t fo r a roustabout,

^ven't got b r ai ns eno ugh to be a p i lo t ; an d i f I ha d I wou ldn ' t haveg th en o u g h to ca r ry t h em a ro u n d , u n l es s I we n t on c ru t ch es . "^Jjav(

typesetting field in the 1960's at abou t the tim e the first filmtypesetters were being pu t on the m arket. They w ere first usedto han dle the relatively simple task of justifying lines and them ore form idable one of hy ph en atio n (Figure 17).

Today, c om puters are used in nearly all typesetting systems,and th e comp uters are taking on other duties beside h yphe nation and justifying. M an y com puters can store program medinstructio ns governing type size, line length, space betweenlines, and in some cases page depth and oth er m ake-upvariables.

W ha t is the ad vantag e of all this? It enables a keyboard operator to set copy mu ch mo re quickly. Th e operator doesn'tneed to worry abo ut the overall format, bu t can type as fast asthe keyboarding device allows. A no the r a dvanta ge of a compu ter system lies in its ability to remem ber th ings, or in computer terminology, to handle "information retr ieval/ '

As an exam ple, let us assume t ha t a university wishes to setin type its catalog of courses. For the purp oses of this exam ple,80 percent of the courses will rem ain t he same from one yearto the next, 20 percent of them will either be eliminated oraltered significantly, and scattered corrections w ill be mad ein th e 80 perc ent block of copy tha t is held inta ct.

After t he first year's typesetting , and given the proper com puterized typesetting system, the keyboard operator sets thecorrections, a correction tape is created, and m erged w ith thetape holding existing material.

N ow w ha t does this mean? First, corrections w ithi n a paragraph are easy to mak e. The re's no need to reset th e balan ce of

Figure 17 The peculiar characterbreak shown in the circle actuallyhappe ned in the early days ofcomputer hyphenation. I t pointsout several universal computertraits that still bear on theproblem of hyphenation and linebreaks.Then and now, the computerworks acco rding to rules. The rulethat led to this simulated examplewas: "each lin e shall have in it aminimum of three characters. '7Since a quotation mark consistsof two characters, the computerblithely allowed this combinationof characters to take place.The computer not only worksaccording to rules, but can alsotake exception to them. Mostcomputer programs have large"exception dictionaries" that storehyphenating instruct ions for thethousands of word breaks that areinconsistent with the computer 'srules.Presumably, it did not take longfor a computer programmer toprovide a qualifying instructionafter this bizarre period-quotecombination was spotted. In thesame way, the com puter mus t beprogrammed to "remember" thecountless exceptions to the general rules of hyphenation.


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TYPESETTING 27

the paragraph . Second, and perhaps mo re impo rtant, th e existing materialin this case, the courses still offered from theprevious yearneeds far less proofreading, ex cept whe re th ecorrections o ccur. There is practically no chanc e for thesystem to introduce new errors in the existing type during thecorrection and re-run process.

Com puter systems vary greatly in their abilities. Somecould hand le the make-believe problem described above;others could no t. M ost typesetting shops hav e custom systems, peculiar to their needs.

W ith so m any manufacturers inventing m achines and developing typefaces to go with them , it follows that the designof some typefaces is occasionally erratic. Th e q uality v ariesfrom ma chine to ma chine, and sometimes from one typefaceto another. Ce rtainly m an y film typesetting m ach ines canproduc e a qua lity image . It behooves the type buy er to askfor a type specimen book and to look carefully at the actualletterforms therein.

Of course, it is no t enou gh to choose a decent-looking typeface. Types have personalities to an ex tent. A ppropriatenessis a factor. A delicate type m ay wo rk well in a brochure on fineglass, and rugged typ e w ou ld be fitting for a parts list of m achine gaskets. Types can be called masculine, feminine, casual, rugged, delicate and so forth. But ma tching the characterof a typeface to the subject matte r ou ght no t to be overdone.For one th ing , readers are generally un aw are of type style differences and if they are affected at all by the "pe rson ality" oftype, it 's on an unco nsciou s level.

Good spacing is essential to good type setting. Th ere arethree places where space can be manipulated: betw een letters,between words, and be tween lines. Most judgments about spacing should be guided by com mo n sense.


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TYPESETTING 28

T he top lin e of Figure 18 illustrates t he folly of too littleletterspacing. The freedom of film h as sometimes allowed forthis kind of overtight, "squinched" spacing. A pretty usefulrule is tha t letters should appear to be equal in distancefrom one anothe r. Legitimate effects can sometimes comeabou t by overlapping letters, bu t there is danger in indiscriminately jamming letters against each other. The other two linesin Figure 18 show the same words spaced more effectively.

As for wordspacing, the am ou nt of space between w ords

Life on the MississippLife on the Mississippi

Life on the Mississippi

Figure 18 Over-tight letterspacing of the kind shown in the topline might be a parody if its presence in the real world were not alltoo frequent. Both of the b ottomlines are acceptable. On e can advance subjective and practicalarguments for one version overthe other. They both can be readeasily and need not be visuallydeciphered like the line at the top.

>uld g e t t h r o u g h t h e i n t r i c a t e a n d[sland c ross in g be fo re n ig h t , we (est , for we would have pla iner sa ir. B u t it w o u ld be insa ni ty to attei^ht. So th e r e was a d ea l of lookin;est of the day , and a c o n s t a n t cipri we were mak ing ; Ha t I s l and wa :

Figure 19 Ho rizon tal space between words in a line should beless than space betw een lines.Otherw ise, lines of type lose theircoherence and separate identity.


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TYPESETTING 29

should be less th an the am ou nt of space betw een lines (seeFigure 19). Just enough space between words should be used,and n o mo re. Notice in Figure 20 tha t too little spacing m akesth e words indistinguisha ble to a degree, wh ereas too m uc hwordspacing makes the lines loose and ungainly.

Spacing between lines should be am ple enoug h to allow thereader th e comfort of finding the beginnings of the ne xt lineseasily (Figure 21). Inte rlin e spacing also influences th e densityof th e block of type. Add ing space betw een lines w ill generally

tap to land . The su n d ip p ed b eh in d th e h o r i zo n , the boat went on. Inq u i r in g l o o k s p assed from o n e g u es t t o an o th er ; and o n e who had h ishan d on t h e d o o r -k n o b and h ad tu rn ed i t ; wa i t ed , t h en p re sen t ly t o o ka w a y his hand and let the knob tu rn b a c k a g a i n . We b o re s t ead i lyBixby pu l led the cord , and two deep , mel low notes f rom theb ig bel l f loated of f on the n igh t . Then a pause, and one morenot e w as s t ru ck . Th e w atc hm an 's , vo ice fo llowed, f rom theh u r r i c a n e d e c k : th e ben d . Mo re looks w ere excha nge d , and nods of sur pr i s ed adm i r a t i o n b u t n o w o r d s . I n s e n s i b l y t h e m e n d r e w t o g e t h e r b e h i n dMr . B ix by , a s t h e sk y d a rk en e d an d o n e o r two d im s t a r s came o u t .Th e d ead s i l en ce an d sen s e of w a i t i n g b eca me o p p ress iv e . Mr .

Figure 20 T he top block of typeis set using too little w ordspacing.The middle block is set with toomuch, and the typographic resultis jumbled and loose. The bottomsample falls within the boundariesof being correct.

Mr. Bixby pu l led two bel l - ropes , and was answered by fa in ti n g l in g s f a r b e lo w in t h e en g in e ro o m an d o u r sp eed s l ack en ed .Th e s t eam b eg an to wh i s t l e t h ro u g h th e g au g e-co ck s . Th e c r i es o ft h e l e a d s m e n w e n t o n and i t is a we i rd s ou nd , a lways in the n igh t .T

Every p i lo t in the lo t was w atch ing now , wi th f ixed eyes , an d ta lk ingu n d e r h i s b re a th . No b o d y was ca lm an d easy b u t Mr . B ix by . Hewo u ld p u t h i s wh ee l d o w n an d s t an d o n a sp o k e , an d as t h e s t eam erswung in to her ( to me) u t ter ly inv is ib le marks for we seemed to

Figure 21 The upper sampleshows type with much too littlespace betw een lines. The lines losetheir identity. The reader can become confused as to where thenext line begins. The middle sample shows lines excessively spaced.This kind of treatment might suitspecial situations, but generally istoo expensive and esoteric for longpassages of text. The lower sampleshows acceptable linespacing.

be in the midst o f a wide and g loomy sea he w o u l d m e e t a n dfas t en h e r t h e re . No w th e en g in es were s to p p ed a l t o g e th e r , an dwe dr i f ted wi th the cu rre n t . N ot that I cou ld see the boa t d r i f t , fo rI cou ld no t , the s tars being a l l gone by th is t ime. This d r i f t ing was


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TYPESETTING 30

effect a lighter, airier appearance th an setting the lines withlittle space betw een them .

Clearly mu ch mo re could be said abou t typefaces and howto use them . W ha t size to choose? W ha t typefaces are suitedto setting m ath em atic s a nd oth er esoteric material? Raggedright vs. justified setting? W ha t are the uses of boldface andsm all caps? And on an d on, deeper into a miniworld where theun it of measure is 1 /72 nd of an inch and where the slightestdeviation can cause disaster. There's no t enou gh roo m in thisbooklet for a full briefing, and even a full-length book w ill notteach you wh at to do. W e hope the discussion here has raiseda few ques tions a nd increased your curiosity. Above all, wehop e you keep your eyes open. Typograph y is often ignored.M an y p eople relegate it to a sub-discipline too trivial to bothe rwith , or something inciden tal to pictorial m atter or othergraphic "state m ents ." But the typeset image is im po rtant. Th efirst dem and of type is tha t it can be read, and read easily. Allelse is secondary.


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:

LegibilityM ost of wh at w e read is legible, or legible eno ug h. Th e averageperson's eyes and ab ility to use them outstrips the m ind 'sability to absorb and digest the informa tion. T he imp licationis: typeset m atter m ust be wretchedly constructed before readability is impaired.

But illegibility c an happenparticularly if the designer,typesetter, and printer wo rk hard enou gh at it!

Before delving into w ha t is and isn 't legible, we shou ld clearthe air of many misguided rules surrounding the subject.

For instance:The ideal line length is one-and-one-half alphabet lengths(39 characters). W rong. Sixty to seventy characters is a com-


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LEGIBILITY 32

m on length in books, and there is no evidence showing thislonger line harder to read.

Larger type is easier to read than smaller type. W rong, exceptfor th e visu ally im paired . If 10 to 11 poin t is take n as anaverage size, setting in 12 to 14 po int can often m ak e reading more difficult.

Sans serif type (type without serifs) is less legible than seriftype. Wrong againor at least un sup po rted by any scientificeviden ce. Speed-reading tests show sans serif the e qual toserif, altho ug h there is a reader preference toward serif facesfor large chunks of reading matter.

Th e w hole area of type legibility is clouded no t only withunfounded rules, bu t by the psychological framework oflegibility testing. M ost tests use the speed at w hi ch a block oftype is read as the sole test of legibility. Yet some researchersjustifiably insist tha t ease of reading is just as im po rtan t asspeed.

Because of the subjective overton es late nt in legibility tests,we might feel un easy abo ut their findings. Yet som e of theirconclusion s seem sou nd. Here follows som e of the ones thatseem m ore deserving of support. T hey are at least m ore believable than the typographic myths mentioned above. (Forthese poin ts we hav e drawn h eavily upon H erbert Spencer,The Visible Word,Ha stings H ouse , Publishers, 1969.)

1. Large am ou nts of text set in cap ital letters take m uc hm ore tim e to read th an text set in lowercase. (Seefigure22.)I H E A R D T H E D O O R C L O S EG E N T L Y . I L O O K E D A R O U N D , A N DT H E R E S T O O D M R . B I X B Y , S M I L I N GA B L A N D , S W E E T S M I L E . T H E NT H E A U D I E N C E O N T H E H U R R I C A N E D E C K S E N T U P A T H U N D E R -G U S T O F H U M I L I A T I N G L A U G H T E R .I S A W I T A L L N O W A N D I F E L TM E A N E R T H A N T H E M E A N E S TM A N I N H I S T O R Y .

I heard the door close gently.I looked around, and therestood Mr. Bixby, smiling abland, sweet smile. Then theaudience on the hurricane decksent up a thunder gust of hum iliating laughter. I saw it allnow and I fel t meaner tha nthe meanest man in his tory.

Figure 22 Legibility testin g hasshown capitals harder to readthan lowercase.


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LEGIBILITY 33

2. Large blocks of text set in italic slow the reader slightly,and readers prefer roman to italic.

3. Unjustified, or ragged right setting is read as fast as justified lines of type. M an y readers do not k no w they h ave beenreading unjustified lines after the y have read the m . (The textyo u are reading n ow is set ragged right.)

4. Reverse typewhite type on a black backgroundslowsreading by approxima tely 10 pe rcent. (See Figure 23.)

5. There is no m easurable difference in speed of read ing between text set in one or the other of the m an y accepted typefaces in com mo n useBaskerville, Palatino, Garam ond,and so on.

6. M argins have n o effect on th e speed of reading .7. As me ntio ne d earlier, sans serif is read just as quic kly as

serif type; but readers prefer reading serif faces if the materialis long.

8. High-gloss papers can interfere w ith rea ding, bu t are n otdetrim enta l if the reader's light source is diffused. (If the glareof glossy pape r is seen as a prob lem , a com m on solu tion isto subs titute a dull coated she et in its place.)

9. Very short an d very lon g lines are hard to read (Figure24). A very short lin e inte rrup ts the flow of reading. A verylong line makes the reader "regress." Th at is, after he gropesfor the beginning of the new line unsuccessfully, he m ust goback to the line before to regain his bearings. Adding spacebetw een lon g lines can min im ize or alleviate the problem .10. Important: W he n eno ugh negative influences are combine d, reading efficiency can be drastically imp aired , eventhough each factor alone might not have any effect. In otherwords, you m ight get away w ith a single indiscretion w itho utcreating a problem for the reader,- let us say setting type on ashort measure. But com bining short m easure, type that is toolarge, poor printing, a nd poor pape r selection could lead to alegibility nigh tma re, even tho ugh each factor alone wou ld n ot.

11. Equally important: Th e guidelines above should not be

It wa s a good eno ugh lesson, bu tpretty hardly learn ed. Yet aboutthe hardest part of it was thatfor mon ths I so often had to h eara phrase which I had conceiveda particular distaste for. It was,"Oh, Ben, if you love me, backher!"It wa s a good eno ugh lesson, bu tpretty hardly learn ed. Yet aboutthe hardest part of it was thatfor months I so often had to heara phrase which I had conceiveda particular distaste for. It was,"Oh, Ben, if you love me, backher!"Figure 23 Legibility tests revealthat reverse type is harder to readthan ordinary positive-image type,at least in large doses.


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LEGIBILITY 34

In my preceding chapters I have t r ied , by going in to the minut iae of the sc ience of p i lo t ing, to carrthe reader s tep by s tep to a comprehension of what the sc ience consis t s of ; and a t the same t ime I havt r ied to show him th a t i t is a very cur ious and w onderful sc ience , too, and very worth y of h is a t te nt io nIf I have seemed to love my subject , i t is no surprising thing, for I loved the profession far bet ter thaany I hav e fol lowed since , and I took a meas ure less pr ide in i t. The reason i s p la in: a p i lo t, in those da yswas the only unfe t te red and ent i re ly independ e n t h u m a n b e i n gtha t l ived in the

ea r th . Kings a reb u t t h e h a m p e r e dservants of par l ia ment and people ;p a r l i a m e n t s s i t

in chains forgedby the i r const i tuency; the editorof a ne ws pape rcannot be inde

penden t , bu tm u s t w o r k w i t hone hand t iedbeh ind h im bypa r ty and pa

t r o n s , and be conten t t o u t t e r on lyhal f or two th i rdof his mind; noc l e rgym an i s a

enforced slavishly. Small bits of copy (a paragraph or two inan ad) do n't need to be set according to every one of theserules, w hich are mo re applicable to longer passagesa page oftype or more.

Figure 24 Very long and veryshort lines are hard to read. Longlines are hard on the reader because it is difficult to find th e beginnings of new lines. Very shortlines are bad because the eyebounces from one line to the next,creating unnecessary strain.


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Printing

The re are three principal metho ds of printing : relief, piano-graphic, and intaglio. Letterpress is the best kn ow n of therelief processes, offset l i thography the best kno w n of the plan-ographic, and gravure the best kn ow n of the intaglio.

In letterpress printing th e imp ression area wh ich establishesthe imag e o n pape r is raised (in relief) above th e areas fromw hich n oth ing w ill be printed (Figure 25).

In offset lithograp hy, t he imag e area is flush with the levelof the non -ima ge area on the pla te (Figure 26). The imagearea is so composed chem ically th at it attracts ink. Th e no n-


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PRINTING 36

image area is dam pened to repel ink. Th e inked image the ntransfers or "offsets" to a rubb er blanke t, and from there isprinted onto paper (Figure 28).

In gravu re, the image areas are actua lly below the non-imag e areas. Sm all pits or recessed areas arranged in a uniformgrid-like patte rn on th e plate carry the in k, wh ich is depositedon the paper by m ean s of great pressure (Figure 27).

No w, there are man y subgroups for each of the thr ee printing methods, and possibly several systems that could be considered quasi-m ethod s of their ow n, such as screen prin tingand electrostatic printin g. But let's stick to the thre e basicmethods and see wh at each has to offer.

Letterpress prin ting is the oldest form, origin ating in Koreaas early as 1337 and in Ge rma ny w ith G utenberg an d hiscompatriots aroun d 1440. A feature of letterp ress is its tendenc y to squeeze the image into the pape r. Com pared to offset,the letterpress impression is darker and richer, and there isa tactile "impressed" appearance.Offset prin ting is a me re youngster in th e history of printing technology, bu t has risen to be dom inan t in the U nitedStates. It was developed in th e early 1900's. Offset printing isa mechanical outgrowth of stone lithography,- it was firstused commercially to print tin sheets for cans and boxes.

The advance men t and improve men t of offset printing camerapidly, especially du ring th e late forties and the fifties. Thehandicaps th at plagued offset in th e early years have beensolved by on e of the mo st persisten t attem pts a t self-improvem en t ever und ertaken by a mo dern industry. Th e G raphicArts Techn ical Fo unda tion h as been spend ing over $300,000 ayear on offset technology, and this figure is m inu te comparedto the total research effort of the hun dred s of firms wh ichmanufacture equipment for the offset trade.

This mon ey has been spent for a necessary cause. Early offset printing was poor. The image was weak, gray-looking, an derratic in color consistency. Paper spoilage wa s high. Plate-

Figure 25 Letterpress: inked relief plate (horizontal view).

Figure 26 Offset: inked piano-graphic plate.

Figure 27glio plate. Gravure: inked inta-


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P R I N T I N G 37

m a k i n g w a s c u m b e r s o m e a n d t h e life of th e offset p l a t e w a sshor t .

Offset pr in t ing tod ay is a different a n i m a l from w h a t i t w a sforty years ago. P la temaking has been s impl i f ied by the inven t ion o f p resens i t i zed p la tes and au tomat ic p la temakingm ach ine s . Paper spo ilage i s no w low er . T he g ray look o foffsetthe w ash ed- ou t pa lenes s w hi ch in the ea r ly days ledsom eo ne to th i nk o f the expres s ion "poo r man's l e t t e rp res s "has been remedied .

Even in the ear ly days , the rubber b lanket of of fsett r i um ph ed in i t s abi l i ty to pr in t im ages of every degree ofdelicacyincluding halftones con ta in in g as m a n y as 200 to300 dots to the inchon prac t ical ly every degree of surfaceroughn ess . Th is i s a b ig advan tage , and exp la ins w h y so m u c ht i m e , m o n e y , a n d effort w e n t i n t o t h e i m p r o v e m e n t o f offsetl i thography. Let terpress does not a l low f ine- l ine halftonepr in t ing on rough paper su r faces .

A n o t h e r of offset's advan tage s , aga in assoc iated w i th therubber b lan ke t , i s i t s near - to ta l e l im ina t ion of tha t t roub le s o m e a n d t i m e - c o n s u m i n g p ro c es s k n o w n a s " m a k e - r e a d y , "a necessary feature of good le t terpress pr in t ing .

T h e sho r t make -rea dy t im e of offset is one reason fort h e s p e c ta c u l a r a d v a n c e b e i n g m a d e in t h e t e c h n i q u e k n o w nas web p r in t ing . In web p r in t ing , paper i s fed to th e press inrol ls ins tead of one sheet a t a t ime. The fo lding and gather ingis do ne a t the sam e t ime , a t th e end of the press . W eb pr i n t i ngis t h u s h i g h l y a u t o m a t e d a n d for lon g runs is efficient a n deconomicaleven in le t terpress wi th i t s make-ready per ioda t the beg inn in g of the run . W eb p r in t ing was once r es tr i c tedto new spaper s , magaz ine s , and o the r forms of long- ru n w ork .With offset , shor ter and shor ter runs are now becoming feas ib le , a n d w e b offset pr in t ing is m ak ing s igni f ican t adva ncesint o ma rk ets long co rnered by sheet-fed presses. A hig hly inte res t ing ques t io n in m an y p r in te r s7 m ind s is jus t ho w g rea tt h e a d v a n c e w i l l b e .

Ink Roller

Plate Cylinder

Impression Cylinder

Figure 28 A s impl i f i ed d i ag ramof the of fset pr in t ing process. Inkro l l e r s and dampen ing ro l l e r s d i s t r i b u t e i n k a n d d a m p e n i n g s o l u t i o n o n t o t h e p l a t e c y l i n d e r . T h ed a m p e n i n g s o l u t i o n k e e p s t h e i n kf rom sp read ing to t he r e s t o f t hep l a t e .

The p l a t e i s no t su i t ab l e f o rp r i n t i n g . T h e i n k o n t h e p l a t e"o f f se t s" t o t he b l anke t cy l inder ,w h i c h p e r f o r m s t h e a c t u a l p r i n t ing . The b l anke t i s so f t and canpr in t we l l on rough- su r f aced asw e l l a s s m o o t h - s u r f a c e d p a p e r s .


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P R I N T I N G 38

Gravure prin ting continu es to be suited to long runs . It istoo expensive for general short-run use, and therefore agravu re press is not for the average prin ting shop. Th e plate-m aking process is w ha t mak es gravure printin g expensive, although efforts are being made to reduce this cost. Th e advantag e of gravure is its capacity to lay dow n a n u nbelievably dense layer of ink. Silkscreen prin ting is gravure's onlyrival insofar as ink density is concerned, and w ith silkscreenone cann ot print an adequ ate halftone. W ith gravure youm ost certainly can. Black and white halftones and full colorhalftones can be rendered w ith far greater contrast and "snap"than in offset or letterpress, because of th e greater degree ofcolor satura tion (that is, the colors are deeper and m ore intense). You often see the result in luxurio us a rt books andhigh -qua lity newspap er ma gazine s: colors tha t are bright,intense, and attractive.

An other disadvantage of gravure, besides the high cost ofplatem aking , is tha t everything, includin g type, m ust be rendered in grid or dot-structu red form. Thu s, type and otherlinear images tha t by their natu re are m ean t to be printed witha clean edge are printed b y me an s of a screen patter n (Figure29). Th e choice of the right typefacea type that is heavy-enoughcan minimize this problem.

safe. An investigatefailure and its awesoiduced from full-scale operation to askeleton crew of 50 , sits silently inthe undulating landscape 30 milessoutheast of Buffalo, a technologicaland economic disaster, and Rockefelleris a disappointed man. Looking backat the misadventure that may end upcosting the taxpa yers of New York halfa billion dollars, or a billion dollars, or

sadvtFigure 29 A g r id pa t t e rn is cha r ac t e r i s t i c o f a l l g r avure images ,i n c l u d i n g t y p e . H e r e t h e g r i ds t ru c tu r e is p l a i n ly v i s ib l e i n t h ee n l a r g e m e n t i n t h e c i r c l e . B e c a u s ethe type face i s bo ld eno ug h , t herou gh edge i s no t d i s t r ac t i ng a tac tua l s i ze .


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PRINTING 39

W e will now narrow our vision somew hat, and considersom e of the problem s, limitation s, and freedoms typical toprinting. Our focus will be on offset printing . There are tworeasons for this. First, offset has become th e do m ina nt printin gm etho d. Second, this boo klet is printed by offset, and someof th e illustrations m ake their points because they hav e beenprinted by offset.

Th ere is no ex cuse for poo rly printe d typ e. Sloppy press-wo rk is usu ally the cause, bu t some times there are otherscapegoats.

In Figure 30, the type chosen w as too light for proper reproduction by offset. It is a face designed for letterpress printing.Th e squeeze of letterpress wo uld fatten the weak image heremaking it thick er and b etter. In Figure 31, the type wasmishand led in the darkroom. Th e full na m e for offset lithog-

Fully to realize the marvellous precision required in laying the greatsteamer in her marks in that murky waste of water, one should knowthat not only must she pick her intricate way through snags and blindreefs, and then shave the head of the island so closely as to brush theoverhanging foliage with her stern, but at one place she must pass almost within arm's reach of a sunken and invisible wreck that would

Figure 30 Th is type is a poorchoice for offset printing. Thin,delicate strokes can easily loseidentity after manipulation in thedarkroom and on press.

I th ink a p i lo t ' s memory is about the mos t wonderful th ing in theworld . To know the Old and New Tes taments by heart, and be ableto recite them glibly, forward or backward, or begin at random anywhere in the book and recite both ways and never trip or make amis take , i s no extravagant mass of knowledge , and no marvel lousfacili ty, com par ed to a pilo t 's ma ssed kn ow led ge of the Mis sissip pi

Figure 31 Improper exposure onthe negative has physically alteredthis type and made it worse. Notice how the serifs and hairline sare weak and the overall effectlighter, compared with the properly exposed version below.

I th ink a p i lo t ' s memory is about the mos t wonderful th ing in theworld . To know the Old and New Tes taments by hear t , and be ableto rec i te the m gl ib ly , forward or back wa rd, or beg in a t ran do m anywhere in the book and rec i te both ways and never t r ip or make amis take , i s no extravagant mass of knowledge , and no marvel lousfac i l i ty , compared to a p i lo t ' s massed knowledge of the Miss iss ippi

Figure 32 Proper expo sure onboth negative and plate insures ahigh-quality type image.


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PRINTING 40

raphy is photo-offset lithography, and it mus t not be forgotten tha t the end result is only as good as w ha t gets exposed onfilm. Im proper exposure or developing on film in th e darkroom can ruin w hat w ould otherwise result in good printing.In Figure 32 the type, wh ich is the sam e as in Figure 31, washan dled properly in the darkro om and is reproduced correctly.

N ow w e shall turn to halftone reprodu ction, whi ch is endlessly fascinating. It is m ultidisciplined, in volving photography, chemistry, mechanics, visual perception andjudgm ent, and th e study of the properties of inks, papers, andthe kin ds of presses used for reprodu ction. Some of the fundam enta ls are just as interesting as the techn ical complexities,and it will be the funda me ntals w e shall explore.

W ha t is a halftone? It is a reproduc tion of a photograp h (orother subject co ntainin g grays or contin uo us tones). A halftone scieen con verts the origina l gray tones into dots of various sizes (Figure 33).

T he screen is m ad e up of crisscrossing lines on eith er glassor film. I t is placed either in contact wi th halftone film orin front of the film, and the pictu re is exposed thro ugh thescreen. Each grid ope ning in the screen acts as a m inia tur elens and allows light to pass through and focus on the film.T hu s each grid opening yields one dot, whose size dependson w hatever degree of lightness or darkness comes thro ug hfrom the picture.

W hy use a screen? Wh y m ust a photograph be broken intodots? The answer is th at a press can lay dow n on ly solid areasof ink . Each halftone dot, no m atter how small, prints as a separate m ass of ink . But the m asses are so close to one ano thertha t the eye is tricked in to perceiving grays.

Screens com e in different degrees of fineness, d epen ding onthe nu m be r of lines to the linear inch (Figure 34). Coarsescreens of 65 to 85 dots to the in ch are used for letterpressprinting on rough-surfaced paper, and are wha t we usually getin metropolitan newspapers. Screens with 120 to 150 dots to

Figure 33 A halftone is composedof dots of different sizes. The y canbe seen when magnified, but inthe printed picture they appearonly as different shades of gray.


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P R I N T I N G 41

the inc h are typically used in general comm ercial offset work.Sometimes finer screens w ith 200 to 300 dots per inch are usedfor certain k inds of high-quality printing . A 300-line screen,of course, produces a printe d pictu re w ith 300 dots to the linear inch , and yo u wo uld need a powerful m agnifying glass tosee them at all.

Figure 34 S ix ha l f to nes , eac hmade us ing a s c r een o f d i f f e r en tf inenes s (number o f do t s to theinch ) . F rom top l e f t t o bo t tomright: 85 line, 100, 133, 150, 200,and 300 .

20 0


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Figure 35 (left) Fine scre ens areeffective in many situations,given the right printer and rightmaterial. They are obviouslyuseful in handling fine detail. Inthis illustration the printer useda 100-line screen at the topand a 300-line screen on thebot tom.

Figure 36 (right) Th ese two halftones point out the tendency forshadows to fill in, particularlywhen fine screens are used. Thehalftone at the top was madewith a 150-line screen, the oneon the bottom with a 300-linescreen. Notice how much shadowdetail is lost in the fine screenedhalftone.


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PRINTING 44

W hen is a finer screen necessary? The most obvious answeris w hen m in ut e details exist in the original and need toshow up wh en printed. If there are twice as m an y dots the detail will be defined app rox im ately twice as we ll (Figure 35).

O ne also finds 200 and 300 line screens used for high-quality"art" reproduction. Given the combination of an excellentprinter, excellent original copy, and the proper paper, wonderful images can com e into being thro ugh fine-screenlithography.

A disadvantage of fine-line screens, tho ug h, is the difficultyencountered in the dark, shadow areas of a photograph.Shadow details are the trickiest to hold intact at any screenlevel, but when the screens climb to 200 or 300 line (particularly the latter), the shado w details are extremely difficult toretain on the printed sheet. W hy? One of the properties of inkis its ten de ncy to cling to itself. In Figure 36 the dots in the300-line halftone are exactly half as big as those in th e 150-line halftone. This means tha t the "pinholes" in the darkershades are so very tiny tha t th e printer is hard put to keep thedense shadows from being anything other tha n pure black.This is pretty m uc h w hat happen ed to the fine-screen rend ition here. As a general rule it is im portan t to wa tch out forshadow detail in any picture. It's easy to lose some of it at anyscreen level, no matte r how skillful the printer.

Getting the best photocopy to begin wit h is vital, and oftenovershadows any debate over fineness or coarseness of screen.All reproduction, including the making of a photograph, involves a loss of some kind or other, or at the very best a change.Th e printed image is no less tha n four steps rem oved from theoriginal. The pictu re goes from photog raph to halftone negative, from there to the offset plate, thence to the rubber blanket, and finally to a sheet of paper.

What happens along the way?Generally there is loss of contrast. Th e blackest black of offset ink canno t rival the darkest black of either a photograph


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PRINTING 45

or the real world. T he w hitest of wh ite papers is not as "w hi te "or reflective as the whites of the real world.

Th ere is also a loss in sharpn ess of detail. If th e hu m an eyecan perc eive a pin e needle from a distan ce of 50 feet, a cameramay retain t he detail of that single pine needle, bu t th e dotstructure of the halftone w ill probably n ot.

Th is does no t m ea n necessarily tha t loss of contr ast or detailis "bad ." Th at is qui te another qu estion and depends on thesituation . But w e will assume for the mo m ent th at one criterion for good reproduction is tha t the p rinted im age resemble closely its real-world counterp art. W hat , then , is good copyfor halftone printing?

W h a t follows are exhibits that w ill give some clues, andother exhibits that show fundamentals of good half-tonereproduction.


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Figure 37 (left) U nd er th e bestl ighting condit ions photographsoften possess imperfections. Air-brushing eliminates the glare atthe top of this otherwise excellentproduct shot.Retouching has some l imitat ions that are worth remembering.First, an artificial, "doctored" appearance can come about if it 'soverdone. Second, it can be expensive. Third, some subjects,because of their intricacy, are impossible to retouch successfully.

Figure 38 (right) Th e pic ture atthe top was photographed withflat lighting. As a result, the halftone lacks contrast and appearsflat and uninterest ing. Underneath, the same subject photographed in proper studio lightcreates strong and dramatic patterns of light and shadow andmakes for far better reproduction.The tendency for loss of contrastinherent in the halftone processhas been countered to some degree by means of high contrastin the photograph.


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PRINTING 48

BHHHHBHHHHliillilliliPlllIlliliill i l l l l i l l lillii!


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PRINTING 49

Figure 39 At the left, this photograph lacked sufficient contrast.

Figure 40 In the center picturethe printer , using the sam e photograph, took the corrective step ofincreasing contrast range. Thisoften overlooked method of increasing contrast is straightforward and inexpensive; a simpleinstruction to the printer is allit takes.

Figure 41 (right) Again using thisphotograph, the printer increasedcontrast still further by using twoimpressions of ink. This picturewas printed with black and grayinks and in effect is a duoto ne.Contrast is improved because theblacks are darker.


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PRINTING 50

Figure 42A Areas that are denseblack in photographs are grayedslightly by the screen whenprinted.

Figure 42B In this reproductionof the same photograph the background screen has been removedin th e black areas, thereby restoring density.


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PRINTING 51

Figure 43 This photograph wasprinte d as a duotone,- the secondcolor is orange instead of thegray used in figure 41.Duotone print ing is usually doneto provide color and "mood" or toinject a subtle feeling of depthinto the image. No doubt duo-tones often get to be duoto nes because a second color is already inuse on the same job and the secondcolor is up for grabs, so to speakthe cost of making and handlingthe extra duo tone negative beingslight.


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PRINTING 52

Color PrintingBlack and wh ite halftones trick th e eye by ma king solid blackdots seem like grays. Color rep rod ucti on also relies on th e dotphe no m eno n, of course, bu t also tricks us into seeing a fullrange of color from th e use of only four ink s. T he colors ofthese inks are called process colors, and they are magenta,yellow, cyan, and black (Figure 44).

A halftone negative is m ade for each of the colors by interjecting a filter between th e illustration and negative. Th esenegatives are called color separation s. A green filter is used tomake the negative which will print the magenta color, a redfilter for cyan, and a blu e filter for yellow. Each halftone negative carries a different "reco rd" of the image. M agenta andcyan together form purple,- therefore magenta and cyan willbe strong (thro ugh th e large size of their dots) w he re p urple swill print. C yan an d yellow will be strong w here green willprin t. Colored dots that vary in size com bine to form colorsw hen v iewed from a distance. (The foregoing descriptiongrossly simplifies the c oncep t of color prin ting and its perception.) Th e reason w hy black is almost always included as thefourth "colo r" is to add snap by increasing density in theblacks and grays.

Th e beginner should accept the fact that colors change fromthe original to the printed image. N ot only that, many colorsin the visible spectrum can't be duplicated by the four-colorprocess system. Occasionally printers r un a fifth color on press,wh en a shade is critical and mu st be m atche d. Color p rintin gis like every oth er gra phic a rts process. It is bou nde d by lim itations, and the professional approa ch is to und erstand the mso you can deal with them .

For anyone w ho is buy ing color printing, one of the firsthabits to develop is a com mo n "color language" with yourprinter. It is dow nright w rong to exam ine a transparen cy byholding it to a window or lightsend it off for printing, andexpect the printed version to match w hat yo u saw. You an d

Figure 44 The four processcolors: magenta, yellow, cyan,and black.


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PRINTING 53

you r printer m ust rely on the same light source w he n viewinga transp aren cy. A degree of light inten sity called 5000 Kelvinis a com m on standard (see Figure 49). The re are devices on th em arket th at illum inate transparencies to this intensity, andthey are with in the budget of anyone wh o can afford to spendmoney for color printing. An yon e buy ing color printing regularly should have one.

M akin g separations is no t an exact science. No m atterwh ether the separations are mad e man ually or by m eans ofautom ated scanners, you w ill need to check the accuracy ofwhat the separator has done, and if necessary, ask the separator to make color corrections. You have several options. Inorder of diminishing costs, they are:

1. Checking color on press, with no preliminary proofs. Ifchang es are needed , the press is stopped, the negatives rem adeor etched, and ne w plates made . Na tura lly this can be expensive. But it carries the advantage of run nin g th e color in place,w ith each picture in actua l position. It is com mo n to all printing si tuations th at different areas of the sh eet need ink inun ev en qua ntities. A heav y block of m agen ta in one illustration m ay dra in this color away from ano ther illustration. Byseeing this, the customer and p rinter can ma ke c om pensations.

2. Press proofs. Th ese are proofs of the individ ua l halftonesonly, ma de on a small proof press, and usua lly include progressive proofs (see Figure 45) as well as th e finished proof.Progessive proofs sho w each color singly, and in succession,un til th e last proof entails the co m bina tion of all colors together, as they w ill be printed. Th ey are useful to the p rinter.It takes a trained eye to spot a weakness or overabu ndan ce ofcolor, and to know b y wh at percentage a color should bestrengthene d or wea kened to correct a flaw. If you h ave h adno experience with progressive proofs, treat them w ith respect,look at and admire them, but confine your corrections to thefinished proof (where all colors are com bined on the sam esheet).


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PRINTING 54

Press proofs can do m ore ha rm tha n good if not m ade correctly . If th e job will eve ntually run on a four-color press andone im pression of ink is applied "w et" over another, the n t heproofs should be prepared th e same way. Ink s prin ted o ne after the other on a four-color press react wit h each other differently and result in different shades tha n those printed on a

Figure 45 Progressive proofs. Theleft column shows each colorseparately. The right column records the addition of each color.


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PRINTING 55

sma ll proof press wh ere the ink s are allowed to dry betweenimpressions. Be sure this common denominator for proofs andprin ting is m ade clear at the start of a job.

3. Cwmalin pwof and tmnsfei keys. These are no t printedon a press, bu t created chem ically. A crom alin proof is a facsim ile of the full color halftone, m ade using dyes on a veryglossy paper. Transfer keys are ma de on a single sheet ofacetate.

4.3-M overlays. These also are chemically mad e. They aresimilar to transfer keys since they are created o n the sam e material, acetate. Instead of the dots coexisting on th e sam e pieceof ace tate, each colormagenta, cyan, yellow, an d blackis represented on a different acetate overlay. Since the acetateis virtually trans paren t, the com bina tion of the four overlaysw ill m ak e a full-color im age.

When asking for color chan ges, try to thi nk as conc retely asthe subjective na tu re of color will allow . Printers are oftenpuzzled an d bedeviled by corrections w hic h read "m ak e thisarea brow ner." M uc h b etter to attach a color swatch of a particular brow n to the area that requires change.

Finally, you s hou ld be aware of one wa y to avoid the hassleand cost of color correction, whic h is qu ite simply to do n ocolor correcting and proofing w hatever. T his rou te is no t aspreposterous as it sounds. It is practical when high quality isno t expected or needed, wh en low cost is vital, and wh en youhav e confidence in the printer and the prin ter has confidencein doing justice to the original photograph or illustration. Ofcourse, it mu st be quick ly added tha t if you order no proof,any snafu of the printer w ill be quickly passed on as your respo nsibility. If the ocean is printe d pu rpl e instead of blue, youm ust live w ith it. An d given th e relatively low cost of colorproofing, some kin d of proof is usua lly w arranted.

W e conclude our section on p rinting with four exhibits thatpoint out a few articles of faith common to color printing.


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PRINTING 57

Figure 46 (left, top) Beca usecolor printing is more expensivethan black and white, i ts use inplace of black and white shouldnever be taken for granted. Thispicture is so nearly monochromatic that printing it in color isa waste.Figure 46 (left, bottom) The sameimage in black and white.

Figure 47 (right) Color and blackand white compared. In this ph otocolor is clearly superior, as isoften the case.


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PRINTING 59


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Binding and FinishingBinding and finishing p rinted sheets can be as simp le as thesingle fold of a four-page flier. O r it can b e as specialized as certain aspects of typese tting and p rinting. For instanc e, sheetsintended for point-of-purchase displays m us t be trim m ed, die-cut, and mou nted on cardboard "easels / ' Packaging is a tradeto itself, characterized by intrica te die-cutting, creasing, andother com plex operations. Of course packages and point-of-purch ase placards are everywhere. W ith ou t them retail storeswou ld hardly function, at least not w ithin th e m erchandisingtradition that exists today.


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B I N D I N G A N D F I N I S H I N G 61

However, we will conc entrate on the fundamentals of binding : those operations tha t you are m ost apt to enc oun ter a ndparticu larly those tha t can be described wi th ou t recourse toendless technical explan ation. As in the other sections of thisbook let, some of the illustrations m ay be helpful.

BindingN ot ev erything printed needs to be bou nd. Letterheads andm an y business forms are printed from p re-trimm ed stock andneed no folding. But most printing m ust be converted fromflat sheets to t he finished form.

Sheets can be folded in m an y way s. Because of tod ay'sequip me nt, the variations are endless. The buc kle foldersfound in mo st com m ercial shops are usu ally equipped w iththree and sometimes four sections. A section is th at p art of afolder w hic h stops the sheet and forces it to buckle, therebycreating a fold. Each section is adjustable. D espite th e a bilityof these mac hine s to han dle all kinds of sophisticated folds,the customer should check with th e binder to m ake sure hisequipm ent can h andle the folding requ irements of the job.Binding equipment differs from one shop to another, andif printing is not done according to bindery machines, theend result may be a confused binder who receives 10,000sheets of something he can't bind. A printer should alwaysbe told to check w ith the binder for correction imposition.

The number of folding options may seem limitless. Actually, there are ways of categorizing folds. The most commontypes are shown in Figure 50.

Like all m ac hin e op erations, folding is accura te only tow ith in certain tolerances. For instance , if you flip throug h thepages of a book you w ill see tha t the page nu m be rs and running h eads on a page are no t perfectly aligned w ith tho se on


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BINDING AND FINISHING 63

the facing page. This is no rm al. Folding is an o peration wh ereeach step is on e of dimin ished accura cy. If th e first fold is no texactly perfect, the inaccuracy ca n' t be remedied in the nextfold. But it can becom e worse if the secon d fold isn't true, andworse still on the third foldand so on (see Figure 51). Mostfolding tolerances can be held to w ith in 1/8" (that is , 1/16"either way), but even 1/8" can be critical. Th e poin t of all this :bew are of losing the imag e off th e page! W ha t is m ore apt tohap pen , and is almost as aggravating, is for the imag e to wander too close to th e edge of th e page, w here it will look peculiareven thoug h it's still there. As a rule, you shou ld keep ty pe atleast 3 /8 " away from th e trimm ed edge.

An othe r source of exasperation com es w he n m aterial is designed to straddle the g utter between tw o facing pages. Th eproblem seen in Figure 52 is so com m on tha t some peoplethin k there is no way to prev ent it. One way is to plan thiskind of illustration for the center spread of the signature.W he n this is impossible, alert the printer an d binder to the situatio n an d they m ay be able to m inim ize the difficulty.

Th e problem of gutter crossovers tells us som ething on abroader level tha t is basic and a xiom atic: namely , that folding(and bindin g and finishing generally) are the least accurate ofthe m ac hin e processes in the graphic arts. Commercial foldingis accu rate to units m easu red in six teenth s of inch es. Offsetprintin g is far m ore precise. Th e tolerances are measured intho usa nd ths of an inch. A color halftone, for exam ple, requires such ac curate printin g that each dot of a given colorm us t be in register w ith the do ts of the other thre e colors.Typesetting is equally precise.

W ith this in m ind , we will advance five generalizations onfolding that m ay help the print buyer or planner.

1. "U nb alan ced " folds whe re the edges do no t align cornerto corner, such as you see in road m aps, are difficult for thebinder to execute.

Figure 51 This diagram showsin exaggerated fashion how eachfold can lead to greater inaccuracies (tinted areas show mismatched edges).

Figure 52 The problems of cross-gutter alignment, again dramatized in an exaggerated way.

^


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rvS^ cS

an examination of food costs and values as well asbasing behavior, using small group discussionH n t e u i h a national probability survey.

**" ^related to :components

A Lws MuMdWWon Wood ProducDesirability of Competing with C urducted a study fo r a large multH iviscorporation, In which two divisionsin a collision course. One division v>and in so doing would directly comof the second division. Secaiquited iverse and segments*

m as to which segment was tjuences migh t be, 1

expensive, a

Figure 54 A saddle-wired booklet, seen from the inside andoutside. All the binder needs arecommon staples, and of coursethe machinery to insert them.

Loose-leaf binding. This term covers m any forms of binding.All of th em are non rigid. O ne of the " loose st" of all are pagesheld togethe r by th e do-it-yourself fastening devices tha t o necan bu y in stationery stores. Notebo oks, ring binders, and postbind ers (the latter is co m m on ly used for ledgers) are othermetho ds of fastening pages together. Th e ma ny forms of loose-leaf b ind ing c om prise one of the tw o largest segments of comme rcial binding, the other being saddle-wire bindin g.

Spiml binding, plastic binding, and coil binding. These arethree meth od s of "m ech an ical" binding th at are used for calendars, noteb oo ks, and the like. Holes or slots are cu t along th eedge of the spine, after w hi ch th e wire or plastic is inserted.All of these bind ings will allow the pages to lie flat. In fact, thespiral and coil bind ings allow pages to rotate 360 degrees. Plastic bind ing is almos t as flexible. Plastic bin din g allows th e individ ual use r to insert or rem ove pages. To do this re quiresthe purc hase of a device called a pu nc hin g an d closing ma-


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Figure 55 Perfect binding, seenfrom two perspectives. Noticethe serrated pages in the gutterand along the back of the spine.The rough edges allow the glueto grip each page bettermakingthe binding stronger.

chine . Spiral bindings w ill not allow for changing pages oncethe sheets are bo un d (Figure 53).

Saddle-wue. Tw o or three wires, or staples, inserted throu ghthe crease of the spine ho ld th e sheets together. Saddle-wirei s the comm on binding m ethod for a small booklet, altho ug hit will acc om m oda te 64 pages, and so metim es 96, if th e pa peris light e nou gh (Figure 54). Th ere are several obv ious advantages to saddle-wire binding. The cost is low. The pageswill lie flat whe n the bo oklet is used.

Side-wiie. This method is sometimes used whe n the n um ber of pages is too great for saddle-wiring, and wh en low cost isstill desired, as well as great streng th. S ince the wires areplaced about 1/4" in from the spine, the bi

sd warren how to plan printing

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