Mary Hardesty

Basics of Print Production provides an overview of the steps required to make a creative concept into a printed piece. Being aware of the basics of a process helps everyone who is involved recognize the time and cost factors as well as the influence of each decision or step on the overall process. This book provides the reader with practical tips and guidelines on each step in the production process.

There is more to planning a printed job than just specifying the number of colors, quantity, finished size, and format. In twelve chapters, Basics of Print Production covers an array of valuable information, such as:

Developing preliminary and final specifications for a print project

Determining the size and format for a printed piece

Acquiring, scanning, and proofing photographs and other images for a project

Building the digital mechanical

Printing, binding, and finishing the printed piece

Packing and shipping the finished piece to its destination

As an added bonus to show the effect of paper on the printed piece, an image and surface comparison section shows the same images printed on several grades of paper.