How to prepare a project for printing?

What does prepress preparation mean? It is a whole stage in the printing process that includes activities such as text and image processing, color separation, layout design of publication spreads, and layout on the printing sheet, among other design-related and printing preparation activities.

Firstly, design development. This is the first step, which is very important for creating a product that will serve its intended function and attract customers. It involves creating a unified overall look, developing graphic elements, and arranging content on the page.

Scanning originals is a stage where images are scanned to convert them into digital format. For example, original drawings or photographs. Then comes photo processing. This includes retouching, color correction to ensure they look similar in print, and photomontage.

Layout in printing is a sample for arranging publication spreads and mounting them with the layout on the printing sheet. The layout process involves creating the pages of the publication. In this stage, attention must be paid to the overall composition to ensure that elements complement each other without overlapping and are easy to view. Fine adjustments must be made to all bleed and trim lines, and all elements must be adjusted to the required size.

It is crucial that the layout is technically suitable for the selected print production. A designer or layout artist can create the layout, and the final result will be a file suitable for any print production, logo, or web content. In this stage, all images must have suitable resolution, the layout must be clear and appropriate, and the file must contain suitable CMYK colors.

Once the layout is created and approved by the client, the creation of printing plates can begin. If digital printing is chosen, this stage can be skipped. However, in the case of offset printing, it is necessary to create printing plates that will be used to apply ink to the selected material. Offset printing is a widespread and cost-effective printing method for large runs, and it has been the gold standard in the printing industry for over a century.

During printing, quality control takes place to once again ensure that the product meets all quality standards. And then begins post-print processing, during which the product is assembled, its appearance and durability are improved, and additional manipulations are performed according to the client's requirements.

In any case, the final result is heavily dependent on how well the prepress preparation process is performed. If an image file is printed with low resolution, or if the text is not aligned with the trim lines, the final result will also not be satisfactory. Therefore, it is wisest to entrust this work to the professionals at LLC "Dizains un Druka", who will take care of making your vision a reality! We offer all types of printing services, as well as graphic design and layout creation!