Designing for Print Book: Education for Graphic Designers
Remind me
About this project
Designing For Print is the first book written specifically for designers by a designer. I wrote this book after advising and teaching designers for over 20 years. I wanted to save you hundreds of design hours and thousands of dollars. Whether you are using better planning on a print budget or avoiding design decisions that ratchet up prices for your clients, this book will save you A TON more money than it will cost you.
Are you wondering why I don't just put this book on Blurb or Lulu? Those are great outfits and I have bought digital copies of this book to show it to reviewers and bloggers, but there is no way that the printing techniques I've outlined can be properly visualized in a digitally printed copy. Ditto for a PDF.
This book has to be printed by a world-class printer in order to illustrate all the techniques available to designers. You will be able to feel the various techniques and paper types in your hands. No standard book publisher will bring this book to you the way you and I can together. With your help we can get this book printed and over the finish line!
I'm Marina Poropat Joyce. I'm a graphic designer who owned and ran a successful design-to-print company. I have also been working as a creative for almost 25 years. I wrote Designing For Print not only because I love paper and printing, but also because I saw a huge need from designers who craved this information. I wanted to help. I also know that I have a unique vantage point: I am both a printer and a designer.
Who Can Use this Book
Working designers missing out on vital information about printing, paper, and ink
Web designers tasked with transitioning from web branding to print projects, but have no idea how different it is from digital design
Self-taught designers with knowledge gaps from inexperience
Business owners confused about what affects printing costs or how to select a printer
Design students with little to no education on print-specific projects
Designing for Print is for all of you!
This book will join the rest of your favorite tools that stay on your desk while you are designing.
As a designer, I printed and re-printed client jobs, refolded projects and paid for work many times over because of tiny, preventable mistakes.
I am sharing the lessons I've learned in the last 20 years to help you avoid these mistakes and save you a lot of time and money. I have been in both the designer's and printer's shoes; I know what it’s like to have a vision, and I know what it takes to make that vision a reality. Designing For Print contains all the tools you need to help translate your design into a beautifully printed piece.
Why Designing for Print? It's not a book about print production, there are lots of those. It’s not a book about graphic design, there are plenty of those, too. Learning how to design for print can be a challenge because most classes focus on one or the other. This book is about designing for print and the specific challenges that can present. Designers everywhere are itching for this information, and this book will bring it to them in a neat little package.
A thorough Table of Contents covers everything you need.
The knowledge you need to create a successful project isn't rocket science but it is crucial, and it's all in this book. Here are six ways Designing for Print is going to simplify your workflow and design process:
1. Cost comparisons for different printing methods
Get immediate pricing comparisons
Decide whether a job should print either sheetfed or web
Save time by skipping that call to your print rep
Detail of the price comparison chart.
2. Decision trees that answer questions
Choose the best printing method and paper type for a project
Determine if gang run printing is a cost-effective solution for your project
Detail of the Digital Printing Decision Tree
3. An extensive glossary
Get to know up-to-date terminology
Learn to speak the printer’s language
4. Helpful checklists
Know your responsibilities at a press check
Know your printer's responsibilities at a press check
Avoid mistakes with a step-by-step proofing guide
Detail of the Presscheck Checklist
5. A comprehensive section on printing and the environment
Understand how your design decisions affect the environment
Determine whether or not your printer is doing their part
Learn the meanings behind buzzwords such as “sustainability” and “greenwashing”
6. Tips to help you produce high quality projects
Learn how you can print your projects to stand the test of time
Discover how binding techniques and paper choice can advance the quality of your work
Here’s the spreadsheet I created to compare the content of books covering printing basics with Designing for Print. This is by far the most extensive of the 12 books I cross-referenced it with.
Thousands of pages of market research on one spreadsheet, phew!
Designing for Print contains information that you absolutely cannot get anywhere else, and provides it in a beautifully organized and illustrated format. Typography expert Michael Stinson helped me typeset this book so that it is beautiful and easily comprehensible.
Top notch typography throughout the book
The book will be printed in the USA by a world-class, award-winning printing company using state-of-the-art techniques and the best materials. In addition to CMYK, spot colors will be added to show enhanced printing techniques such as high-fidelity. The book's paper is acid-free and thick enough for you to write notes and use a highlighter without bleeding through to the next page.
Rewards
Some of the rewards involve backers supporting high school and college graphic arts programs. You can make a real difference by donating to one of the four classes listed.
Timeline
August and September: Make lots of new Kickstarter friends, estimate print quantities
September/early October: Digital delivery of digital rewards
November: Printing and binding of books, quality assurance, shipping and fulfillment
I’ve invested a great deal of time and money writing and designing this book. Moving into the printing and binding stages requires not only significant capital, but also support from like-minded designers who believe in this book and want to see it brought to life. Backing this project will not only benefit you and your comrades-in-arms, but also make it available for future designers to attain this knowledge.
This Book Will Not be Printed
Without Your Help
I need your help to spread the word and achieve at least the minimum order quantity. I am so excited about getting this labor of love and knowledge into your hands- the hands of people who want and need it! Please share this great project with your friends, colleagues, and family to make this happen! Any pledge amount brings us closer to our goal. Thank you for your help in getting this project off the ground!
10 seconds of your time can make a difference in growing the Designing for Print community. Hit one of the buttons below and tag a friend or coworker who loves paper and ink!
The book is 8.5 in. wide x 11 in. tall x will be approximately 1.5" thick
Why Kickstarter? Kickstarter is a proven platform with a community of early adopters that embrace fun and back projects that are small by world standards but big for one person to handle. The traditional book distribution network involves so much capital and time; I know we can add more value to the project this way. I can keep the price reasonable, literally half the cost of most textbooks, and get this book directly into the hands of the community that needs it most. Kickstarter has you, a strong and vibrant design community, who are not only creators but appreciators. I treasure your role in supporting the birth of projects that would not catch the attention of big business.
There are lot's of copies of the book like this in my studio. I worked hard at refining the content to make it very inclusive of everything that would be meaningful to graphic designers.
That's me doing a FB Live Q&A session. You can ask me printing questions at https://www.facebook.com/DesigningForPrint/
My son was the human slate during our video shoot. I had a great crew and a super energized day that ended, for some of us, with appropriate cocktails!
Risks and challenges
With decades of experience and award winning talent, I have partnered with a team that has the connections and know-how to not only bring this project to completion, but also bring you the best possible product. A book is a complicated thing to birth, but the most difficult, costly and time-intensive work is finished. The book is ready to go to print. You are backing a project that has been realized. We have access to some of the world’s best printers, binderies, paper mills, and other top quality suppliers are at our fingertips in the huge metropolitan area of Southern California. We have access to several fulfillment solutions from which to choose, depending on the success of the campaign. Whether we have 800 backers or 8,000, we can scale our solution. Assuming there are no calamities, we will stick to our schedule and keep you posted throughout the process. You will be informed at every step and notified if any unforeseen events arise. I look forward to taking this journey with you and finally giving designers the right tools to make their print projects successful.
