Understanding the Printing Process

When trying to understand graphics, printing, and the technology that makes it all possible, I like to make a comparison to how some of the greatest professional athletes look at the sports they play.

Sandy Koufax is considered one of the greatest left-handed pitchers of all time, and what made him unique is that he understood the underlying physics of what makes a baseball curve, rise, or sink. He likened the human body to a catapult and understood the dynamics of throwing a baseball.

Tiger Woods is arguably the greatest golf player in historyand for good reason. Besides having talent, Tiger studies the physics of the game and understands why a certain club gives more lift than others, or how the direction the grass grows affects a particular shot.

The point I'm trying to make is that the more you know about your field, the better you can be at it, no matter what you do. In graphic design specifically, knowing about printing makes you a better designer.

Many of today's printers are utilizing digital workflows to save costs and improve quality and turnaround time. Some printers have a CTP (computer-to-plate) system, which eliminates the need to create film, basically creating plates directly from a computer file. Although these methods present other challenges to printers (trapping, imposition, and so on), use of such a method also puts the responsibility on the designer to create art files that are free of problems (okay, so at least with as few problems as possible).