Getting a job in marketing is challenging—roles are incredibly competitive. As a result, candidates must differentiate themselves from others applying for marketing roles. If you’re planning to apply for a print marketing role, you need to be able to show your interviewer that you know the basics of print, including paper types, covers, lamination, binding, print file setup and more. Most importantly, it would help if you understood the basics of custom booklet printing, as it is one of the most popular printing services.
Paper Types
The best place to start is with paper types. There are many different paper types, but the four most commonly used types are silk, gloss, uncoated and recycled paper.
Silk: Silk paper is a middle ground between uncoated and gloss paper. This type of paper is popular because it has a smooth feel without too much glare from excessive shine.
Gloss: Gloss paper is also popular because it has high shine and reflects the light, making it the ideal choice for a booklet containing lots of images. However, gloss paper produces some glare, meaning it’s not suitable for booklets comprised of mostly text.
Uncoated: Uncoated paper has a porous surface that allows ink to soak into it, which may make prints appear less sharp. Uncoated paper is commonly used for books and activity booklets.
Recycled: Recycled paper has a rough texture, perfect for booklets that need to have a rustic or vintage feel. This type of paper is growing in popularity as more businesses seek ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
Covers
If you’re printing booklets, you’ll need to include a cover. However, the type of cover you need depends on the purpose of your booklet. For example, if you’re creating a magazine, you’ll need a thick, preferably glossy cover to protect the inner pages from damage, such as tearing and scuffing.
Choose from a wide selection of cover papers, including silk, gloss, uncoated and recycled paper. Ideally, your cover pages will be a thicker GSM (grams per square metre) than the inner pages or at least be laminated to make the publication more durable. However, if your cover page is made from uncoated or recycled paper, it should not be laminated. Let’s explore lamination in more detail.
Lamination
Laminating your booklet will protect the publication from damage, such as tearing, scuffing, dirt and dampness. Additionally, lamination will give booklets a sleek, professional feel that will attract readers. There are two finishes you should know for your print marketing interview:
Matt lamination: Provides a sleek, protective coating that reduces damage to the publication.
Gloss lamination: Provides a smooth protective coating with a glossy shine, perfect for publications with lots of imagery.
When it comes to choosing a finish, consider how you would like your booklet to look. For example, if you require a high-shine finish to make pictures look vivid, choose gloss lamination. Magazines and brochures are usually gloss laminated to give them a sleek, slightly luxurious feel.
Alternatively, if you’re printing a publication that requires a sophisticated, modern look and is likely going to be situated beneath direct lighting, choose matt lamination. Matt lamination is also a good choice if your booklet is text-heavy.
Binding
To ensure booklets stay intact, the pages must be bound. There are various binding options available, but the most commonly used are stapled, perfect and wiro binding.
Stapled: Stapled binding is a popular method where papers are arranged in order and stapled together on the fold. This binding method is ideal for magazines and brochures that need to be produced cheaply but durably.
Perfect: Perfect binding, typically used for soft-cover books, involves gathering the pages in the correct order and applying glue to the paper spine. While perfect binding is not as durable as hardcover book binding, it is considerably cheaper.
Wiro: Wiro binding involves punching holes into gathered pages and inserting metal loops on one side of the publication. This type of binding is perfect for manuals, guides and recipe books.
Print File Setup
A print file, sometimes known as an artwork file, contains the digital design for marketing materials such as booklets. First, you must decide how big the design is and how it should be bound so that you can determine the right dimensions. Establishing the design dimensions will also allow you to determine where the trim line, bleed area and quiet areas will be. There are a few steps you need to take to ensure your print file is set up correctly:
Sizing
First, choose the size of your booklet. The most popular sizes for booklets in the UK are A4 and A5, although other sizes may be more suitable depending on the nature of the booklet. In addition, you need to choose the orientation of the design: landscape or portrait.
Trim Line
The trim line is the line where the design will be cut by the printing machine. The placement of the trim line is determined based on the size of the paper you have selected.
Bleed Area
The bleed area extends 3mm from the edge of the trim lines on each side of your design. Because the printing process isn’t always 100 per cent accurate, the bleed area ensures you aren’t left with visible white lines on the design.
Quiet Area
The quiet area is everything within the 5mm inside of the trim line. The quiet area is similar to the bleed area in that you should avoid including important elements inside it, but it also helps your design aesthetically, as having content too close to the edges will make the booklet look overcrowded.
CMYK and DPI
Printing machines produce CMYK colours using ink, whereas computer screens display RGB colours. As a result, you must ensure your design is made in CMYK, not RGB. Finally, you must upload designs as high-quality PDFs, and images should be at least 3000dpi to ensure they look high-quality.
In Summary
We hope this guide will help you get prepared for your next print marketing interview. We wish you the best of luck on your job hunt!
Author Bio
Kelly Harris
Kelly lives a life in CMYK as the Business Development Director for YouLovePrint – Making professional printing available to everyone online. As part of the Pureprint Group, they print everything themselves in the UK on industry leading printing machines. They’re also CarbonNeutral®.