Pancyprian Graphic Arts cheat sheet

Elements of design: point, line, shape, form, tone, texture, colour, type, space. Principles: balance, contrast, hierarchy, rhythm, unity, proportion, emphasis.

Colour wheel relationships: complementary (opposite, maximum contrast), analogous (adjacent, harmonious), triadic (three evenly spaced), split-complementary (one hue plus the two neighbours of its complement).

Gestalt grouping laws: proximity, similarity, closure, continuation, figure-ground, common fate. Use them to predict how a layout will be read before testing.

Grid anatomy: margins, columns, gutters, baseline grid, flowlines, modules. A 12-column grid divides by 2, 3, 4 and 6 without remainder.

Visual hierarchy is controlled by size, weight, colour, position and whitespace; the eye enters at the highest-contrast, largest element, so the primary message takes that slot.

Aspect ratios: A-series = 1:√2 (1.414); 35 mm film = 3:2; HD/4K = 16:9; square = 1:1. Resizing within one ratio preserves composition without cropping.

CMYK is subtractive (ink on substrate), RGB additive (emitted light). Design for print in CMYK; screen-only work in RGB; spot colours for brand-critical or metallic hues.

Resolution rule: ppi = pixels ÷ inches. Required pixel width = physical width (in) × target ppi. A 210 mm wide image at 300 ppi needs 210/25.4 × 300 ≈ 2480 px.

Type anatomy: baseline, x-height, cap height, ascender, descender, counter, bowl, stem, serif, terminal, ear, spur. x-height strongly affects apparent size at a given point size.

Measurement: 1 point = 1/72 inch = 0.3528 mm; 12 points = 1 pica. Body text is usually set 8–11 pt with leading 120–145% of point size.

Tracking adjusts space across a range of characters; kerning adjusts the pair between two characters; leading (line spacing) is baseline-to-baseline distance.

Classification: humanist, old-style/garalde, transitional, modern/didone, slab serif, sans serif (grotesque, neo-grotesque, humanist, geometric), script, blackletter, display.

Measure (line length) of 45–75 characters, ideally 60–66, maximises reading comfort; longer lines need more leading to prevent line-skipping.

Justified text needs hyphenation and word-space control to avoid rivers and loose lines; flush-left ragged-right avoids rivers but produces an uneven right edge.

Orphans (single line at the top of a page) and widows (single line at the bottom) are removed by rebreaking, tracking tweaks or leading changes, not by adding blank lines.

Special characters: en dash (–) for ranges, em dash (-) for parenthetical breaks, non-breaking space to prevent bad breaks, thin space before units, proper primes for feet/inches.

Legibility vs readability: legibility is character recognition (typeface, contrast, size); readability is comfort of the whole text block (measure, leading, alignment, colour contrast).

Preflight checks: image resolution and colour space, missing fonts, bleed (typically 3 mm), trim and safety margins, overprint settings, spot colour definitions, PDF/X compliance.

PDF/X-4 allows live transparency and layers with PDF 1.6; PDF/X-1a flattens transparency and permits only CMYK, spot and DeviceN with no RGB.

Trapping compensates for register variation on press: spread (light object grows into dark), choke (dark object shrinks), and keepaway where no trap is applied.

Overprint means an object prints over underlying ink instead of knocking it out; black text overprint is common, but white objects must never be set to overprint.

Rich black for large solids is usually around 60C 40M 40Y 100K; 100K alone is used for small text to avoid registration fringing.

Total area coverage (TAC) is the sum of all ink percentages at a point; coated sheetfed limits are commonly 300–330%, uncoated and web often lower.

Imposition arranges pages on a press sheet: 4/8/16-page forms, work-and-turn, work-and-tumble, sheetwise. Page count must be a multiple of the binding signature.

Trapping and registration marks, colour bars, crop marks, slug line and job information sit outside the trim in the bleed/slug area and are removed after finishing.

Colour management chain: device profile → profile connection space (CIELAB/XYZ) → output profile. ICC profiles describe device behaviour; the PCS is the neutral interchange space.

Rendering intents: perceptual (compresses whole gamut, good for photos), relative colorimetric (preserves in-gamut colours, maps white point), absolute colorimetric (proofing simulation), saturation (business graphics).

Capture resolution for print: scan at 300 ppi at final size, or 2× the halftone screen frequency (lpi) for line work; 600 ppi for text-heavy originals.

Bit depth: 8-bit gives 256 levels per channel, 16-bit gives 65,536; 16-bit capture reduces posterisation after heavy editing.

White balance neutralises the illuminant; a grey card or colour target (24-patch style) in the first frame allows profiling and batch correction.

Monitor calibration targets: D50 or D65 white point, gamma 2.2 for general work, luminance around 120 cd/m², and a controlled low ambient light level.

Soft proofing simulates an output profile on screen; it is only reliable when the monitor is calibrated and profiled and the viewing light matches the standard.

sRGB is the safe web/office gamut; Adobe RGB and ProPhoto RGB are wider and useful for capture and retouching, but wide gamut files must be converted before web delivery.

Offset lithography: image and non-image areas on one plate, dampening plus ink, blanket transfer to substrate. High quality, long runs, wide substrate range.

Flexography: relief photopolymer plates, anilox roller metering, fast-drying fluid inks; dominant for packaging, labels, corrugated and flexible film.

Rotogravure: engraved cylinders, doctor blade, solvent or water inks; very long runs, excellent tone reproduction, high cylinder cost.

Screen printing: mesh, stencil, squeegee; heavy ink deposit, works on textiles, glass, plastics and ceramics; can print white and metallic inks opaquely.

Digital electrophotography (toner) and inkjet are short-run, variable-data capable, with no plate cost; unit cost falls slowly with volume, so crossover against offset is calculated per job.

Halftone screening: AM (amplitude modulated, fixed angle and frequency), FM (stochastic, random), hybrid. Screen angle sets avoid moiré; black is commonly 45°.

Register is the alignment of successive colours; misregistration produces colour fringing. Register marks and colour bars on the sheet allow visual and densitometric control.

Densitometry measures ink film density; dot gain is the difference between requested and printed dot area, typically larger on uncoated stock and in midtones.

Lamination (gloss, matt, soft-touch) applied to one or both sides; matt lamination can make toner crack on folds, so score before folding.

Spot UV is applied over a printed varnish or laminate area defined by a mask; it needs a separate spot-UV artwork layer and registration tolerance.

Varnishes: machine (in-line) or off-line, gloss/matt, UV-cured; they protect against scuffing but are not a substitute for lamination on heavy handling.

Die cutting uses a steel-rule die; creasing uses a matrix and counter to prevent board cracking. Cutting, creasing and perforating are often combined in one die.

Foil blocking uses heated metal dies and foil carrier film; it requires artwork with a foil layer and enough unprinted area for the die.

Embossing and debossing use male/female dies to raise or recess; blind emboss has no foil or ink.

Kiss cutting cuts through the face material only, leaving the liner intact (labels, stickers); it is different from full die cutting.

Edge decoration, spot varnish, window patching, and overprinting with white are common packaging finishes; each adds a separate pass and cost.

Saddle stitching: wire staples through the fold; page count must be a multiple of 4, and creep/shingling must be allowed for on thicker books.

Perfect binding: pages trimmed and glued into a cover; minimum spine width is often 3 mm, and spine width is calculated from page count and paper bulk.

PUR adhesive outperforms EVA hot melt on coated stock and offers better lay-flat; EVA is cheaper and faster for uncoated paper.

Case binding (hardcover): sewn or glued text block, endpapers, boards, spine; more durable and more expensive than perfect binding.

Wire-O and spiral binding allow 360° opening; they need a larger margin on the binding edge and cannot carry spine printing.

Spine width formula: spine = (pages ÷ 2) × paper thickness. For 160 pages of 0.1 mm paper, spine = 80 × 0.1 = 8 mm, plus cover board thickness for hardcover.

Packaging dielines: FEFCO/ECMA standard styles, glue flaps, tuck flaps, crash-lock bases. A dieline must be supplied on its own layer, not scaled after approval.

Folding carton board is usually 200–400 gsm; corrugated board is graded by flute (E, B, C, BC) and measured by ECT or Mullen burst strength.

Paper weight systems: gsm (g/m², metric), lb text and lb cover (US). The same number means different things across systems; convert before comparing quotes.

Coated (gloss, silk, matt) gives sharper dot reproduction and lower dot gain; uncoated is more absorbent, with higher dot gain and a duller colour response.

Paper properties that matter: brightness, whiteness, opacity, bulk, smoothness, grain direction, stiffness, moisture content.

Grain direction should run parallel to the spine for books and parallel to the fold for cartons to avoid cracking.

Ink types: litho offset (paste), flexo (fluid, water or solvent), gravure (solvent), UV-curable, EB, and digital toner/inkjet. Each has different drying and substrate compatibility.

Ink coverage and drying: heavy solids need more anti-set-off spray and can cause set-off, blocking or slow drying; UV curing avoids absorption problems on non-porous stock.

Pantone/spot colours are mixed to a reference swatch; the printed result depends on substrate, ink film and press, so a drawdown on the actual stock is the reliable check.

Recycled and FSC/PEFC-certified stocks are specified by chain-of-custody claim; recycled content affects brightness and can increase ink absorption.

Web image formats: JPEG (lossy, photos), PNG (lossless, transparency), GIF (256 colours, animation), SVG (vector, scalable), WebP/AVIF (modern, smaller files).

CSS units: px, em (relative to parent font size), rem (relative to root), %, vw/vh (viewport). rem is preferred for scalable typography.

Responsive design uses fluid grids, flexible images and media queries; mobile-first means base styles target small screens and min-width queries add complexity.

Colour on screen is RGB; hex (#RRGGBB) and CSS rgb()/hsl() are equivalent notations. Ensure text/background contrast meets WCAG AA (4.5:1 normal text, 3:1 large text).

Accessibility: alt text on informative images, empty alt on decorative images, semantic headings in order, keyboard focus visible, captions for video.

File size budget: compress images, serve correctly sized assets, lazy-load below-the-fold media, and prefer vector or CSS for icons and simple shapes.

Interactive deliverables: HTML5 banners with click tags and size limits, e-pubs with reflowable text, kiosk and signage loops; each has its own spec sheet to check before build.

Colour management on the web is unreliable; convert to sRGB and embed or strip profiles consistently to avoid shifts between browsers.

COSHH-style logic: identify hazardous substances (inks, solvents, fountain solution, developers, cleaning agents), obtain safety data sheets, assess exposure, substitute or control.

Ventilation and extraction are the primary control for solvent vapour; local exhaust ventilation at the press and in the plate/ink area, with filters maintained.

PPE: gloves matched to the chemical (nitrile vs. solvent-resistant), eye protection, and respiratory protection only as a last control after engineering controls.

Fire and explosion risk: solvent vapours are heavier than air and can travel to ignition sources; store solvents in closed, bunded, fire-rated cabinets.

Waste streams: waste ink, contaminated rags, used fountain solution, empty containers, waste paper, plates and film. Each is segregated and consigned to a licensed carrier.

Electrical and mechanical safety: lockout/tagout before clearing jams, guarding on rollers and nips, no loose clothing or jewellery near rotating parts.

Noise, manual handling and ergonomics: pressrooms often exceed 80 dB(A), triggering hearing protection zones; repetitive lifting and screen work need assessment.

Environmental practice: FSC/PEFC chain of custody, recycled stock, alcohol-free or reduced-alcohol fountain solution, VOC reduction, energy-efficient presses, ISO 14001 systems.

Cost build-up: paper (area × gsm × price/kg), plates, ink, press time (make-ready + running), finishing passes, binding, delivery, waste allowance, margin.

Paper weight formula: weight (kg) = width (m) × length (m) × gsm × sheets ÷ 1000. A 700 × 1000 mm sheet of 150 gsm weighs 0.7 × 1.0 × 150 = 105 g.

Waste allowance: add make-ready sheets and running spoilage (often 2–5% depending on process and finishing) before calculating paper cost.

Crossover point between digital and offset depends on run length, page count, colour coverage and finishing; calculate both and compare total cost, not unit price alone.

Scheduling constraints: press availability, drying time, finishing sequence (print → laminate → die cut → fold → glue), and delivery date. Critical path is the longest dependent chain.

Quality control: incoming material check, first-off approval against a proof or standard, in-process checks with densitometer/spectrophotometer, and final inspection against AQL sampling.

Colour control targets: solid ink density ranges per ink and substrate, dot gain tolerances, grey balance patches, and ΔE tolerance for brand colours.

Job documentation: job bag/docket with specification, approved proof, dieline, colour references, quantities and delivery instructions; the approved proof is the contractual reference.

Estimate versus actual: record actual press time, waste and spoilage per job to recalibrate future estimates; unmeasured jobs repeat the same errors.

Version control: name files with job number, version and date; keep the approved proof, the imposed file and the output PDF as separate, retrievable records.

Pre-press proof types: soft proof (screen), contract proof (colour-managed inkjet or digital), and press proof. Only a contract proof is a reliable colour reference.

Sign-off checklist: trim and bleed, text accuracy, image resolution, colour references, barcode scannability, dieline accuracy, finishing notes.

Barcode and variable data: verify barcode grade (ISO/IEC 15416) and check variable data against a database before the run; a bad barcode can reject a whole delivery.

Contingency planning: identify single points of failure (one press, one die, one supplier) and pre-qualify alternatives; quote lead times with realistic buffers.

Costing accuracy: separate fixed (plates, dies, make-ready) from variable (paper, ink, running time) costs; fixed costs dominate short runs, variable costs dominate long runs.

Customer specification sheet: quantity, size, substrate, colours, finishing, packing, delivery date and acceptance criteria, agreed in writing before production.

Key production metrics: OEE (availability × performance × quality), make-ready time, running speed, waste percentage, on-time delivery rate, reprint rate.

OEE example: availability 90%, performance 95%, quality 98% → 0.90 × 0.95 × 0.98 ≈ 0.838, or about 84%.

Waste percentage = waste sheets ÷ total sheets consumed × 100; track separately for make-ready and running waste.

Cost per thousand (CPM) = total job cost ÷ (quantity ÷ 1000). CPM falls as quantity rises because fixed costs are spread over more units.

Break-even quantity between two processes: set total costs equal and solve for quantity; below it the lower-fixed-cost process wins, above it the lower-variable-cost process wins.

Statistical process control uses control charts with upper and lower limits; a trend or a point outside the limits triggers investigation before scrap is produced.

Root-cause analysis (5 Whys, fishbone) on every reprint or customer complaint; record the corrective action and verify it at the next job.

Reporting: a job close-out report compares estimate vs. actual on paper, time, waste and margin, and feeds the next quotation.