The Advantages of Black and White Printing

Many people in today’s society see color as the superior means of printing as opposed to black and white. In photographs and painting, color is capable of portraying more detail than just black and white. Our movies have shifted from black and white to color as well. Because of the previously mentioned forms of media, it may be perceived that black and white’s role has diminished it modern times. This is not true.

Photographs and films that are in black and white, when seen now, demonstrate a sense of class and can invoke feelings of nostalgia. Many of the most popular images of today still feature black and white photographs of stars of years past or city skylines and landmarks. All of this shows that black and white still has an important place in today’s pop culture, but what about printing itself?

Virtually every type of business relies heavily on black and white printing for multiple reasons.

1.)    Black and white printing is much easier to read than full color printing. Various colors can lead to strain on the eyes. Black and white is the most comforting to our eyes. Black and white are located on the opposite ends of the color spectrum (depending on what side you choose to take, either black or white can be seen as the absence of color while at the same time being a combination of all colors), thus giving us a clear distinction between the words and the page. We are raised on reading black and white and find it relaxing. (Please see the blog entry “The Right Color” for more color analysis)

2.)    Black and white printing is the most inexpensive means of printing, especially if you are using a black and white printer.  Black and white printing is much more cost efficient than color printing because it uses less ink per page, the ink is very economical to begin with, and the ink lasts much longer than colored ink.

3.)    Black and white printing is much faster than color printing. In most situations, whoever’s doing the printing needs a quick turnaround on their work. Black and white printing allows for printing to get done quickly and efficiently.

4.)    It is more environmentally friendly. Due to black and white printers not using as much energy and ink they are far more environmentally friendly in both the production and usage phases of the product. They are able to print projects much faster, thus conserving energy that would be used in the more drawn out process of color printing. Also, if a company or individual decides to recycle ink they would be saving their own money and helping the environment by recycling.

Although color printing is an important aspect in today’s world, black and white printing is equally or more important. Black and white printing has been a mainstay in the business world and everyday life for over 1500 years and should remain that way for many years to come.

Less = More!

Art by Ali Jabbr

Did you have a problem recognizing any of the iconic figures above? even though most of the details were removed they were easy to recognize. This type of art is considered to be Minimalism which describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts

The same concept applies to graphic design, but why would you want to have a minimalist approach to your graphic design?  it’s simple; LESS = MORE. When designing it’s easy to add all the information readily available but sometimes the very best designs are those that strip away all that is unnecessary, all the decoration, and leave us with a simple message that is to the point and easy to remember. One way to make your designs and Business cards stand out is a “less is more” approach like in the samples bellow

A lovely minimal business card design, created by Mihail Mihaylov, a graphic designer and illustrator from Sofia, Bulgaria.

Beautiful, eye catching and simultaneously sparse and restrained,
by designer Jakob Eriksson say a lot.

A well thought out minimalistic business card will not only be more attractive it will be more memorable and get the point across with ease. The next time you need business cards don’t be afraid to go with a minimalistic approach.

How to set up a file for print, properly

PROOF READING & SPELLCHECK

The most common causes for reprinting files are often grammatical errors & misspelled words. Don’t forget the most important & easiest part of setting up your files is checking your own work. Read your documents thoroughly and spellcheck.

FONTS

Beautiful typography & layout can be ruined if a font is missing from the file. When a font is missing it gets replaced by a default font, changing the original typography and layout. Converting your type to outlines in Illustrator is a great alternative; remember sending the font is always the best and more secure option.

RESOLUTION

Making sure your files or images are in the correct Image Resolution (referred to sometimes as DPI dots per inch) is crucial for non-pixelated images, great looking designs and just general quality. A rule for print is an image resolution of 300 dpi. Anything below 300 dpi will not produce the best quality, images below 72 dpi will always pixelate.

CMYK vs RGB

CMYK Cian, Magenta, Yellow and Black is the color mode used when printing. RGB Red, Green & Blue is the color mode used to display color on monitors.  A  lot of the colors you create in RGB mode are not achievable using standard four-color process printing. It is always best to create your document from the start in CMYK color mode to ensure that you have a better idea of how your colors are going to print.

Keep in mind if you are designing in any of the Microsoft Office programs, none of those programs are specialized in printing. Your color won’t be set up in CMYK and your color will never be accurate

Deciding to Use Black or Rich/Packed Black

When printing with black color, there are two types of black you can use.

• Black – 100 K: can be used for body copy and bar codes
• Rich Black – 40 C 40 M 40 Y 100 K: should be used when using blocks of black

Note: Rich/Packed black specifications may differ from printer to printer, so you should ask your printer what they recommend.

RICH BLACK vs BLACK (100 K)

Below, you will see the difference between rich black and black.

It may be hard to tell the difference when preparing files on your monitor screen depending on your monitor type and monitor calibration since PC screens show richer colors in RGB. Therefore, it is wise to get a printed proof when printing blocks of black.

Print Layout & BLEEDS

Here is a diagram of a typical document for print designs.

If you haven’t designed for print before the bleeds may seem a bit foreign. The bleed area is what bleeds out of the page & will get cut off. You have a bleed so your artwork gets cut without a white border around the edges. The trim line is the finished size of the piece & where it will get cut. The Live Area is the area considered safe to keep any important information within. For example, if an ad’s trim size is 8.00 in × 10.00 in, the live area might be 7.75. in × 9.75 in.

Bleed Area: The more bleed you can offer, the better. The minimum bleed you need for a printed piece is 0.125 in all around  (1/8 in) but some specs require more than that.

IN CONCLUSION

Before submitting a file to your printer;

1. Always proof read and spellcheck.
2. Make sure the color mode is always CMYK.
3. Use the proper resolution in your images.
4. Don’t forget to outline or include your fonts
5. Set up a proper bleed if your design project needs a bleed

Following these simple steps will save you money and time when printing your design projects