A3 Prize-Day Poster on a Single-Colour Budget
A government senior secondary school asks you to design an A3 poster for its annual prize distribution. The printer can print only black ink on 70 gsm maplitho paper; adding a second colour costs ₹1,800, and the committee has ₹2,000 for 200 posters. The draft submitted by a student has a full-bleed dark navy background, the chief guest's name in 10 pt white type, a scanned pencil drawing of the school building, and the date in pale grey. The head teacher likes the 'rich look' and wants the design kept as it is. The poster will be pasted on school walls and notice boards, usually read from about one metre. You must send final artwork to press today. No new photography or extra proofing time is available.
1. Identify the three biggest production risks in the draft and explain how each affects legibility or cost. State the fix you would make before sending the file.
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1. Full-bleed solid dark background on 70 gsm maplitho. Uncoated 70 gsm stock is absorbent and thin. A large solid black area drinks ink, dries slowly, can set off on the next sheet, and may show through from the reverse. The fix is not to 'print it darker' but to reduce coverage: keep a white background and confine solid black to a header or footer band, or use a black border rather than a full bleed.
2. Reversed 10 pt type. White type knocked out of solid black is vulnerable to fill-in from dot gain on absorbent paper. At 10 pt the counters of letters can close. I would set the chief guest's name in at least 16–18 pt bold sans serif, preferably black on white, or place it in a generously sized black panel.
3. Scanned pencil drawing and pale grey date. A pencil scan is low-contrast and may be the wrong resolution. I would redraw it as high-contrast line art or convert it to a clean bitmap at 600–1200 dpi, then proof at 100%. The pale grey date may disappear on cheap paper; it should become solid black, bold and larger. The date is essential information, not decoration.
2. The head teacher insists on the dark background. Explain the trade-off and propose a compromise that keeps some of the 'rich look' without breaking the budget.
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The extra colour is not available: ₹1,800 for a second colour leaves only ₹200 for 200 A3 posters, which is not a realistic print budget. Even in black only, a full dark background increases ink consumption, drying time and the risk of set-off and show-through on 70 gsm maplitho. It also forces important text into small reversed type, which is exactly where cheap uncoated stock performs worst.
A workable compromise is to keep the poster predominantly white but introduce a strong solid black band across the top third or a black panel behind the school name. That gives the 'rich' contrast the head teacher wants without flooding the sheet. Large white type can be used inside the band, where it is surrounded by plenty of black and can be set large. All event details, the chief guest's name and the date should sit black on white below. The richer look can also come from generous white space, one strong image and a clear type hierarchy rather than from a dark background. I would show a printed proof on the actual stock so the decision is based on the paper, not on a glowing screen.
3. List four prepress checks specific to this single-colour job and explain why each matters.
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1. Colour mode and ink build. The file must be grayscale or 1-bit/100% K only. An RGB file or a file with a four-colour 'rich black' build can trigger unwanted conversions or extra plates. On a single-colour job, black type should be 100% K, not a build.
2. Image resolution by image type. Continuous-tone images need about 300 dpi at final size; line art needs 600–1200 dpi so edges stay crisp. A low-resolution pencil scan enlarged to A3 will look soft and muddy.
3. Reverse type and minimum line weights. Check that the smallest white type is large and bold enough for the stock, and that thin rules are not below what the press can hold. Dot gain on maplitho will thicken everything.
4. Bleed, trim and fonts. Add 3 mm bleed if any element touches the edge, keep crop marks outside the live area, and embed or outline fonts. A missing font or a missing bleed can stop the job or force a last-minute reprint. I would also ask for a proof on the same 70 gsm stock, because a laser proof on smooth paper will flatter the design.