Offset: Do’s and Don’ts
- Do not surround a small screened area with a large solid colour area. If ink coverage is adjusted to keep the screened area from ‘plugging-in’, the solid areas will be lighter than desirable. Conversely, if ink is run heavier to give a good solid area, the screened area will fill in. This can be worked around but involves the production of an extra plate and its associated costs.
- Do not make type out of 4 colour to get black. This could result in an undesirable coloured halo around the type.
- Do run spot (PMS) colours instead of 4-colour, for colour critical matches and consistency.
- Do provide enough bleed for trim, binding and creep (1⁄8”-1⁄4” beyond document size)
- When trap is needed, ensure your element is thick enough to apply trap to. If it is too thin, such as small text, it cannot be trapped properly and will change the look of the element.