Printing with Fluorescent Inks
Printing on uncoated stock can be a
welcome alternative to printing on a gloss, dull, or matte
stock. The printed product will have a thickness and pleasantly
rough texture unavailable on a coated sheet.
Nevertheless, there are challenges
with uncoated paper. One of these is the tendency of an
uncoated stock to soak up the ink, lessening the brightness
of the printed images. One way around this problem is to
substitute fluorescent process inks for traditional process
inks (either one ink at a time or multiple inks). The printed
effect is to add a luminescence to the image. The less fluorescent
ink you use, though, the more subtle the radiance is.
The best way to see what your final
product will look like printed with fluorescent inks is
to request a sample promotional booklet from a paper or
ink manufacturer. These promotional books will show images
printed with traditional process inks side by side with
the same images printed with fluorescent process inks (or
with a combination of traditional and fluorescent process
inks).
You will see right away that the fluorescent
colors will significantly brighten an image, making it seem
to jump off the page. You will also see that certain fluorescent
colors will jump out more than others. For instance, replacing
only process yellow with fluorescent yellow in a photo of
a metallic surface like a trumpet will make the trumpet
seem crystal clear and brilliant. So being selective in
choosing which colors to replace with fluorescent inks can
have dramatic effect on the final printed product, especially
when you use fluorescents that are warm colors (reds and
yellows) rather than cool colors (blues and greens).
If you try to brighten blue or green
images with fluorescent inks, you will see that these do
not produce as dramatic a shift. And when you are using
the four process colors in a press run, adding two traditional
process colors (such as cyan and black) to fluorescent magenta
and yellow, for example, you will tone down the image, and
you may kill the radiance that fluorescents provide. You
can observe this on a progressive proof (a proof of the
first color printed on press, then the first and second,
then the first, second, and third, and so forth).
As mentioned before, on an uncoated
sheet fluorescent inks will make images of reflective metal
“pop.” They will also make a festive image (like
a carnival) more festive, and they will make a photo that
includes a blur to denote movement seem even more active
and vibrant. Think of it as “turning up the volume.”
But do request printed samples first so you can show your
printer the effect you want to achieve.
In addition, keep in mind the limitations
of fluorescent inks; that is, they fade quickly and need
to be kept out of direct sunlight. In addition, they are
very transparent and may require a double pass on press.
Ouch: Don't Be Surprised by Your Printing Bill
One item the estimate for your printed
product will not address is the charge for AA’s. AA’s
are Author’s Alterations, changes you make
due to your errors or omissions. If, for instance, you are
on a press check and you see a typo on the cover of your
book while it is being printed, this change may require
making four new plates. If this is the case, you will be
charged (this could cost up to $2,000.00). If you catch
the same error on the digital proof prior to printing, it
will cost significantly less (maybe $100.00). If your printer
makes a mistake, though, (like creating a poor color separation)
this is called a “PE,” or Printer Error,
and your printer will absorb the charge. The best way to
avoid surprises is to discuss each problem situation with
your printer as it arises (in the proofs and on press, if
you attend a press check) and determine who is responsible
for the error. Then you can consider the cost and make an
informed decision as to whether to make the correction or
leave the error as it is.
Check the Color Across the Entire Press Sheet
When you’re on a press
check, it is easy to forget that the printed sheet in your
hand will be folded and trimmed into a booklet (or brochure).
Two or more panels of this brochure, or two or more pages
of this booklet, may appear on opposite sides of a press
sheet (or, at the very least, not in adjacent positions
on the same side of the press sheet). If color accuracy
is important to you for facing pages (for example, if the
two pages will have identical screened backgrounds), you
need to hold the two printed pages that will end up next
to one another side by side to make sure the color will
match on both pages when the sheet has been folded, cut,
and bound. This is crucial because color can often vary
from one side to the other across a press sheet. Making
sure color on facing pages of your printed product will
match at this stage can help you avoid a poor result when
you see the actual printed piece.
[Steven Waxman is a printing consultant. He teaches corporations how to save money buying printing, brokers printing services, and teaches prepress techniques. Steven has been in the printing industry for thirty-three years working as a writer, editor, print buyer, photographer, graphic designer, art director, and production manager.]