Learn definitions, decipher jargon, and deepen your familiarity with professional printing so you can avoid costly mistakes, maneuver the process, and find the right sustainable options.
Let’s say you are a graphic designer or a client managing a print project and you have…
A beautiful Annual Report celebrating a year of milestones ready to send to your donors,
An exciting flier with your Fall schedule of performances ready to be sent to your mailing list,
An awesome design for business cards with your new logo,
Or a book, a deck of cards…whatever you can imagine.
This is an exciting opportunity to give people something informative and inspiring to hold in their hands. You can see what it would look like in the real world. But when you start the print process you encounter a whole new landscape of terminology and jargon:
Perfect-Bound, Panel Fold, and Caliper.
Finish, Bleed, and Flood.
Overrun, DPI, Offset, and Coating.
Saddle Stitch, Grain, and Roll Fold.
No, you aren’t dealing with cowpokes, sourdough, and maki sushi.
You’re just trying to understand the lingo so you can make smart decisions and make sure your project prints on time, on budget, and matches the quality and experience you encountered during the digital design process.
It can be overwhelming to make informed decisions about what’s right for your project and the environment.
When you can demystify the process and get your bearings by learning some of the basic terms and options, you can set yourself and your project up for success. We created a free guide to take the guesswork out of printing.
In this guide, we answer questions like…
- What’s the difference between a remittance envelope and a baronial envelope?
- What’s the difference between a roll fold and a gate fold?
- What are the different types of binding, and what’s the best fit for my project?
- Why does it matter what kind of paper weight I use?
- What should I consider if I want to print sustainably?
- What are the eco-friendly alternatives to conventional printing resources?
- What’s an RFQ?
We want to help you make informed and sustainable decisions for your print projects. This free resource “Print & Paper: An Ethical Resource Guide,” outlines everything you need to know about paper, printing, and production.