Things I've Learned in August
by Donovan Beery, (11 comments)
1. Metallic ink is not easy to print on coated stock. Good thing I always run things by the people doing the printing beforehand, and leave a few days of leeway to check on these things.
2. White paper accounts for 98% of paper sold. Finding a colored paper that is in stock (without having to do a mill order) isn't the easiest. Leaving a few days of time to re-design your piece to work on white paper is wise.
3. Dropping a laptop is not recommended. Frequently backing up your data is.
4. Adobe's customer support is not bad. For some reason, they have allowed me over the years to create 4 different accounts using the same password and email address, so there are some flaws to their system, but the people on the phone are actually good at helping you out. Two different issues being resolved in two separate phone calls, with no transfers needed is all you can ask for.
5. The things designers need to create projects sometimes seem strange to a lot of people. I was taking some items home from the office, and my wife opened the trunk of the car to see a pig mask, rope, easter eggs, and a pair of long black gloves. I assume I am not the first designer out there to have something strike another person as odd. Please share.
Comments (11)
Bennett said:
Donovan, Maybe you just have a lazy printer. Metallic ink barely looks metallic on uncoated paper, so what kind of paper is left to print metallic ink on?
I feel your pain on point #2. Although I am curious about those designers that live in a huge design market like New York. Do the paper companies in NY, SF, LA etc. stock a wide variety of colored papers in their warehouse or do they have to do mill orders for those items as well? I would assume that there would be bigger demand for unusual papers in a major design market and therefore the paper companies would stock more of the varieties from the swatch books. Am I right?
Posted on September 1, 2006
JonSel said:
I happen to think metallic inks look awesome on uncoated papers. You get this really beautiful subtle sheen to it. A nice effect without feeling gaudy. And any printer worth their salt should be able to handle a metallic on coated stock anyway.
I can’t say I’ve ordered much in the way of colored or specialty stocks, but my runs are never that large, so I’m always dealing with what’s in stock. I’ve found that a lot of paper manufacturers sell small quantities (single reams or full-size printer sheets) online. French Paper, Crane’s, and ReichPaper (makers of some cool metallic and translucent papers) all sell online and I’ve ordered stuff from them successfully. I’ve actually found it impossible to order the 110 lb. cover weight of Strathmore for some small business card jobs. Nobody seems to stock it in small quantities. Next time I’ve got a bcard job, I’m just buying a whole freakin’ carton and saving the rest. Am I the only person who prefers Thick-Ass™ business cards?
Posted on September 1, 2006
Nate Hook said:
Lithographics here in Nashville hasn’t had any problems doing metallics on coated stock for us, and we do metallics with some regularity. Maybe its something on the prepress side of things, setting the ink density and whatnot….but yeah, I’m not discounting that there is a trick to it, it does require some extra care depending on the paper.
Yes, Thick-Ass™ biz cards are my preference as well.
I once walked into the office with a 5” paint brush, two jars of BBQ sauce, a freezer bag full of dirt, a jar of mayonaise, rubber gloves (*pink was all they had), a plastic devil mask and a blow dryer…..it further cemented their idea that I’m a little off in the noggin.
But when you sit behind a giant Crayola desk and have action figures, statues and comic book art all over the walls….you’re going to be the oddball anyway….at least in my case.
That’s good to know about Adobe, one less thing to worry about.
Posted on September 1, 2006
Donovan Beery said:
The printer did say they could handle metallic ink on coated OR uncoated paper, but I did find out how many more issues there are with it than with regular ink. The problem I ran across was wanting to run a spot varnish pattern over the top of the ink, and on coated stock, it was best to flood varnish over the metallic ink, and on uncoated stock we were going to run into some variables with the varnish that we didn’t have time to mess with.
Posted on September 1, 2006
Nate Hook said:
Hmmm, now yo uhave me wanting to call our printer and double check few things about this….I might have to report back.
Posted on September 1, 2006
Armin said:
For this poster, back in Chicago, I bought a 3 x 2 feet mirror in an ACE hardware next to my apartment, broke it with a hammer, wrapped it in saran wrap and then carried it, falling shards and all, on the subway. I got some strange looks. Then I had to scan it at work. I got a strange look from my boss there too.
Huh? I have never heard that. And I love the metallic inks and have printed my share. You need a new printer. And JonSel is right, metallic ink on uncaoted papers looks supremely sweet.
I would say, “no”. Colored paper demand is the same across the country, which is why mills know to produce smaller quantities and offer less sheet sizes and finishes (and most swatchbooks have the disclaimer to contact your distributor for availability) and why paper merchants rarely keep it in stock on their warehouses where the majority of people want white or off-white paper. Whether you are in Nowhere, OH or New York, NY.
Posted on September 2, 2006
Mike Miller said:
Once, when working on an Art college project, I walked into the local supermarket carrying a catchers mask, a hockey helmet, and a bike helmet and proceeded to make my way to the produce section of the store. I then began looking over the watermelons, honneydew, and cantelope and matching up their sizes to the helmet…and I may have even started talking to the melons…I can’t recall, it was 7 years ago, but it seems probable. If you could see the finished product, it might make more sense.
Donovan, you have to show us what you ended up with and your trunkful of odd items.
Posted on September 2, 2006
Chris Rugen said:
I’m a big fan of that subtle sheen of metallic ink on an uncoated stock as well. On a dark colored stock, silver ink does some wonderful things, as long as the printer runs it heavy/does a double hit and your design can stand it. That was one of the most stunning things I learned towards the end of my time at school: just how much differnt paper, inks, and printers (both the professionals and the machines) can affect your final product.
Posted on September 3, 2006
tin188 said:
One thing that I learned this August is to ” blog”. Oh! Another thing. I’ve learned that you want things to be done right away, you have to do it yourself.
Posted on September 4, 2006
JP Pandaraoan said:
i think to create good design, sometimes we must find inspiration in not so normal situations =). i guess it’s one way to think out of the box hehe
Posted on September 5, 2006
Viki Anderson said:
heh heh, Donovan, you reminded me of the oddities I have had to bring home… spider rings, fake ice cubes with bugs in them, all sorts of toy dinosaurs and blow-up vinyl animals. The fun you have doing catalogs for the novelty industry.
Posted on October 16, 2006