Have you ever had something printed only to find the final product isn’t quite the colour you expected? A likely cause is the paper used.

Different stocks produce different colours when using the exact same colour ink. If you’re familiar with Pantone colours at all you’ve probably noticed there are seemingly multiple instances of the same colour. 200u, 200m, 200c etc.

On screen these all look the same, on paper these colours will be printed on un-coated, matte and coated stock respectively and produce variations of colours despite the exact same ink being used. This is due to the different absorbent properties of the stock.

Additionally, the light under which you view your prints also affects the colour you see. Next time you visit the supermarket take a look in the meat section, while the store itself will most likely be flooded with energy efficient fluorescent lights, the meat section almost certainly will not.

Fluorescent lights emit high levels of green and yellow which when combined with the red of your potential dinner cause the meat to look brown while the fat will look yellow. Appetizing, no?

The same applies to paper. Many printers provide PDF proofs which are fine for confirming the layout and trim marks of your project, but not the colour.

Just to be safe…

To be sure that your final product will live up to your expectations, ask your printer for a digital proof before signing off.

This is a single page flyer I designed for some recent local self promotion. Small batches of each where printed in 4 different colours to appeal to different targets, and printed in 2 colours on 300gsm stock with a satin varnish.

Would they catch your eye?

I normally find work through my blog or referrals, this is my first experiment with printed advertising so here’s hoping they reach some interested readers.

Star Paper in Northern Sydney specializes in small quantity paper orders perfect for those with small runs or without the accounts sometimes required by larger vendors.

As part of their new corporate identity the above logo was developed. Proprietor Aaron already had his heart set on blue which wasn’t a bad choice, the last requirements being a single colour logo simple enough to be reproduced on a wide variety of substrates.

Many ideas were explored around folds, cuts and sheets of paper featuring a star. As well as some more nature and astrology inspired ideas, here is a single page of some alternate ideas.

What do you think?

I’d love to know as always.

Is it just me, or are vodka bottles nearly always the best looking bottles on the shop shelves? Starting with the above pictured Samurai Vodka here’s a modest collection of great vodka bottle/package designs. Continue reading...

Sketching is an important part of any design project, sometimes we are tempted to jump straight into our design program with the first seemingly decent idea that pops into our heads and skip this important step.

Not a good idea…

Sketching is the most productive portion of your design project. By taking your first idea into your design program, lets say a logo in illustrator for this example, you inevitably get caught up trying to turn it into the final product.

You try a few fonts, change a few stroke weights and fills, get all your alignments right and make a few varieties of the logo. Suddenly its 2 hours later and you’ve only got 1 idea, what if it doesn’t work ? At this rate you’ll do a full days work and have 5 ideas to show for it.

A computer is a tool for refining the final product, not for designing it. In the time it takes to render a few versions of 1 idea, you could have 50 different sketches down.

Presenting sketches to a client also has its benefits. Computer generated work can appear very final, while presenting some quality sketches leaves the work open to change.

What are you thoughts?

How many sketches do you do before moving onto your computer?