OUGD504 What is Design for Print?

In todays session we split into groups and discussed and clarified the meaning of design for print, forming a list of varied definitions:

1. Have to consider the printing process as part of the design outcome.

2. Must consider the format and layout.

3. Examples of design for print - books, posters, zines, leaflets, billboards, packaging.

4. Examples of print processes - screen print, laser print, ink jet, lino, foiling, collograph, lithograph, potato, etching, letterpress.

5. Design for print is design which is intended to be physical.

6. Design that communicates a message in a physical format through a printing process.

When asked if we could construct a single sentence that summed up the definition of design for print, we chose our last point as a summative statement. However, we found that we were unable to cover the vastness of the term in one single sentence. We found we could say what it was not, and we could say part of what it is but not cover the whole topic.

What categories fall into design for print?

Format

Book publishing house

CBS Outdoor

Colour

CMYK

RGB

Production

Processes

Silkscreen

Finishing

Stock

Why are there different print processes?

Different printing processes are used on different stocks and for varied scales as some are more suited to large or mass production and others aren't, for example screen printing is used mostly for small runs of posters, display boards, fabrics and wall paper, but would not be suited to something f a larger scale.

Letterpress and Lithograph require more expensive equipment as they are used more commercially in Graphic Design and manufacturing.

The biggest difference between design for web and design for print, is that design for web is forever being updated, and design for print is totally finite and can't be changed or edited in the same way a website can be.

Going back to one of the points, we listed as many possible examples of print processes:

Screen print

Laser print

Ink jet

3D

Lino

Foiling

Collograph

Lithograph

Etching

Potato

Heat press

Wood block printing

Stamps

Letterpress

Embossing

Digital print

Spot Varnish

What of these processes would I like to learn more about this year?

For second year I would like to look into the areas of print that I have had little to no experience in so that I can broaden my knowledge of it. This would include Lithograph, Etching, Embossing, Foiling and Spot Varnish printing.

(bring in minimum of 5 examples of print - keep them varied)