crowd-SPRING

Print designs that include certain design elements are indicative of the expertise that
is present in the crowdSPRING network of print designers. Visual quality is noticeable
immediately in every design because the appeal of any print design is revealed by attention
to detail.

1. CMYK color – Online graphic images are defined by use of RGB, or red, blue and green
variations of light. The light spectrum starts on one end where all colors are present and the
light is white. The other end of the spectrum is black where light is absent. Translation of
this spectrum to the printer’s CMYK protocol results in muddied colors that do not reflect
the beauty of the original image.

All print designers in the network understand the fact that print designs will be printed
on some type of paper. Every design will be created in CMYK to provide the best possible
colors for the medium. When the client is given the design, the professional printer will be
able to reproduce the image without intervention.

2. Rich black – Every area of black on a computer screen appears equally because black
is the absence of light. On the printed page, black is created through any number of black
values on the color spectrum that are created with the four ink colors: cyan, yellow,
magenta and black. Warm black, cool black and designer black are no equivalent to rich
black that is an essential component of print design.

Print designers understand that small text must be created in dark grey since rich black
yields unreadable letters. Pictures and images that have rich black spaces print perfectly on
any medium. All print designs have rich black specified prior to approval by the client.

3. High-resolution – Screen resolution is 72 pixels per inch unless a higher resolution is
specified for the visual image. Use of the same resolution on paper is grainy, so all pictures
and images in the print design must be specified at much higher resolution values. Printers
use hundreds of ink dots per inch to create fine lines on the page. Most printers specify 300-
600 dots per inch where the higher number creates a finer image.

All screen images must meet the resolution requirements of the printed page. Photos
and graphics must be produced in the highest possible resolution so the image will print
correctly. Clients will be asked to provide high-resolution photos if necessary.