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Joanne Gardner tracks down the solutions to your print problems

Q I’m a graphic design student in my first year and just started work experience at a design agency. I want to make a good impression as I prepare my first file for printing, which is a financial report. The cover is solid dark blue and I’ve heard this can cause problems. Why is that and what must I do?
Name and address supplied

A Apparently, a solid dark blue at 100% coverage can result in scuffing. Dark blue is renowned for not always completely drying (apparently this is due to the pigment used) so this kind of job should probably be varnished or laminated. Make sure you suggest this – your boss should be impressed! As a graphic designer, you may not always be expected to, but you will be appreciated all the more if you consider the type of stock used, the colour, the finish, whether it’s embossed, whether it’s coated, etc – in other words, the complete look and ‘feel’ of the document, at the outset. From talking to print buyers in the past, it’s clear they find it frustrating when designers are not mindful of such things. A graphic designer who really understands – and cares about – the entire printing process, including the finishing, is a serious asset. Good on you for setting off on the right foot – and good luck with your career.

Q Do you know of any cheap (we are a registered charity so I do mean cheap) software program for converting digital monochrome illustrations to screened images for offset positive film? This would need to run on a PC. We would also need a screen of 100 to 120lpi for running on our Multilith 1250.
Geoffrey Charters
Via email

A Kevin Caughtry from Dartford-based Compose System Europe (01474 700500, kevin.caughtry@compose.co.uk) says his firm supplies Harlequin RIPs for specific imagesetters, normally for around £1,750 (end-user price), but he would be willing to give you a “very good discount on this”. It gets better; Richard Crisp of Essex-based Crisp Digital (01621 813191, rcrisp@crispdigital.co.uk) says that Lucid Dream Software recently released its new TaskForce RIP with I-Tone screening module, which he thinks will suit your needs, and that the developer would be willing to donate this for free on this occasion (although there “may be some charges to cover costs, training, support, etc” – so not exactly “free” but near enough). What a charitable industry we work in. Result.