In addition to any tasks that your group agrees on for next week, there is a written assignment to be posted on the blog:
Select one printed item that you find particularly interesting or exciting. Take a very close look at the printing, paper, binding, and finishing used to create this item, and try to determine as many characteristics and qualities as possible. What sort of binding is used? Can you determine the size of the forms and signatures? Can you tell how it was folded and cut? What sort of papers were used? Can you determine the weight, thickness, or brightness of the paper? Look up some specifications and see you if you can estimate some real numbers.
It can be very helpful to pick an object that might serve as inspiration for your group project, but if you have been focused on one or two reference points try to branch out.
Write the equivalent of one page, and also please bring the object that you discussed to class next week. If you do not own the object, or cannot transport it, take a few pictures or find some images online.
Fall2012 PRINT PRODUCTION 
Latimel Rodriguez
October 26, 2012
Print Production
Out of the variety of design books in my possession the one I found the most interesting to this day is “Sagmeister”. The paper is an off white sort of cream color. The paper isn’t a glossy finish its more of a matte finish. The binding seems to be saddle stitched, i’m taking an educated guess on the count i’m not ripping apart this awesome book. The cover is card stock and the width and height of the book is 7” x 9.5” (w x h). This book is interesting because the cover extends further than 7”. Its actually 11.5” and folds at 7” to appear like the book has a dust jacket. In fact the book itself comes in a plastic cover separate from the book. The cover itself holds the book, so its a couple mm larger. The color is 100% red, 0% green, and 0% blue. The reason for this is because the cover is printed in RGB and what Sagmeister did was take an image into photoshop duplicate it three times then make the images red and green, plus change its blend mode. This technique creates what we would consider to be 3d. What the cover does is filter out the red so that all you see is the green and the green appear darker so that you get shadows . The edges of the paper have silver edges and when you bend the book in one direction an image of a bone appears when you bend the pages down (like if you were going to skim through the pages really fast) the hologram “made you look appears. The book is 291 pages not including the cover. The book is 5.2lb.
The “Design Essentials Index” has a very appealing look to me. From the outer box to the three books contained inside, it just seems very practical for this collection of books. The outside box is a vertical rectangle and the top flips open backwards and stays attached to the rest of the box. When opened all three books are displayed in a step formation. This not only allows the viewer to see each book separately, but also makes it easier to remove each book from the box. The box is orange in color and the name of the collection is enlarged and placed onto the box which creates geometric shapes for the design.
The books have plastic covers and are Perfect bound. The pages are semi-gloss for vibrant colors to pop more. Two of the tree books are 6″ x 4.5″ and the third book is 8″ x 4.5″ in size. The book cover are dull colors of gray, black and blue.
Print Production techniques can vary based on material to subject matter; and specification can be determined by the utilitarian use of the product and also the attractiveness to its target audience. One printed product that I believe is properly produced for its usage and aesthetic appeal is studio Museum in Harlem seasonal magazine. The layout of the content is dynamic however it also has a quality of being consistent. The magazine offers information relating to the museum, resources, and features. Our print production group will be creating a children’s magazine that will need to convey dynamic flow and durability, studio Museum in Harlem Magazine can be reference material or inspiration in terms of layout and substrate.
In the following paragraphs I will analyze the print production techniques in regards to magazine’s specifications like binding, size of forms and signatures, cut, weight, thickness and brightness of the substrate and then determine how this information can inform our project specifications.
The binding technique I observed is perfect binding. The interior sheets are glued into the spine of the magazine. Unlike other magazines it doesn’t lay flat when opened without assistance, because it features a half inch vertical separation along the spine that protects the interior sheets from tearing. The magazine has an unconventional dimension’s ( ) this feature would be part of custom printing. The average sizes of editorial magazine are 8 x 11 and features glossy bright or glossy cardstock. The cover of the magazine is heavy weight matte cardstock; and the interior sheets have a heavy bright glossy finish. Offset printing and maybe a prepress element were part of print production process for mass magazine distribution.
The cardstock cover is essential for durability, and the interior’s bright glossy finish compliments text and images. The material and subject are based on the target audience and also aesthetics. Our final project is gear to children and parents, and print production elements like content, binding, size, and substrate are among determining factors of executing well-made magazine. Traditional elements of children’s magazines and activity books are thicker substrates, perfect binding, brightness of materials and larger dimensions. Elements from the seasonal magazine that can be inspirational to our final product are the binding technique, and the choice of substrate to compliment the content.
I looked up “Dog Food” by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers, which I brought into the last class. It is a hardcover book, using saddle stitc and case binding. The size of book is 8.5in by 8in landscape. 32pages in total. There are 2 sets of 16pages. Each set is stitched together first. (4 pices of 17in by 8in paper were stitched together and folded in half = 16pages) Then, both are binded together. Type of press it will be printed on: coated gloss card stock but cannot identyfy the weight. It seems more than 100lb. Number of colors: 4c.
One printed item that I find exciting and is related to my own group’s final project is printed magazines. The paper used for magazines are semi-heavyweight glossy paper and the type of binding depends the thickness of the magazine. A minimum thickness of 1/ 8” and not heavier than 100 Ib should be binding with the Perfect Binding method. I don’t believe our group book would be this thick so we and most magazines would use Saddle Stitching. “A saddle stitched document must be at least eight pages long and increase in length in four-page increments good choice for binding documents of up to 64-80 pages on 60 lb. to 70 lb. paper”. According to the Gerson Lehrman Group, “80 percent of U.S. magazines print on coated paper. The paper has been treated with a glossy, matte or dull finish coating.” Trough research brightness is measured by a “blue light reflectance industry standard by which lower numbers indicate more reflective paper.” Most magazines print on 3, 4 or 5 grade paper. I find magazines to be exited because magazines are always associated with entrainment. In my opinion magazines are always fun to pick up and look through and are definitely one type of print that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.