What is the best paper to use when you want to create a design with an incredible impact? We answer that question, and many others, in our printing and paper Tips & Techniques series on YouTube. One of our lesser-known assets, these videos use real-life examples to break down paper selection strategies and various print techniques in bite-sized portions. Armed with pieces like Cougar® w/Purpose and Lynx® Where Beauty & Performance Meet, we do our best to provide a resource for those who need it, but you don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s a brief look at what we’ve shared already plus a sneak peek at what’s to come.
Paper Selection
As a paper company, we’d be remiss if we didn’t start with one of the most integral pieces of any print project—the paper. Choosing images strategically and mastering photoshop is critical, but understanding how your design will interact tonally with a sheet of paper can take your work to another level. Paper selection is a crucial step in any print project and knowing that a bright white sheet will help your colors jump off the page or that a cream white sheet will add warmth or an almost vintage aspect are little nuggets of knowledge that can make a large difference in any project.
Ask a print professional and they’ll tell you, consistency from sheet to sheet, quality and stopping power are all signs of great paper, among others, but sometimes you’re looking for a quick answer at the end of a web search. With Tips & Techniques we’re able to provide relevant and helpful content for specific needs, like a burning question about cover weight.
Print Technology
Embossing is a post-press technique that raises a three-dimensional image on paper, but there are multiple ways to execute it. Reading about techniques can give you helpful information, but what about the visual differences between a more subtle and a more obvious emboss, and why should you choose either? In less than two minutes, using our promos and submissions to our gallery, Ashley is able to provide visual examples of numerous techniques and break down what you’re looking at and what it can add to your project. While an email or definition might explain what you’re looking for, sometimes a visual aid is exactly what you need to make a decision.
Designing for Print
Designing for print is an artform, and it can be tricky to figure out how to make a project pop with color or stand out texturally. In the video below, we provide a concrete example of what to look for in a paper when preparing for an ink-heavy project. Ashley’s experiences as both a designer and brand manager helps her explain what you need to know, but in a language that’s familiar to a designer or creative who is planning a print project.
The beauty of Tips & Techniques isn’t that it explains color better than every other print professional, but that it shares the little things, like what to do when you want a vintage feel or when you’re looking to add warmth to an image. These nuances stem from a know-how and familiarity with print and design that can only be born from years of experience.
Future Content
The Tips & Techniques series is here to simplify topics and prepare you for larger conversations about paper. If you’re stuck in the planning stages or you need a tip on something that will bring an impact to your project, take two minutes, pull up YouTube, and scroll through our content. While a print professional can provide you with much of the information within any of these videos, sometimes it’s more helpful to be able to watch a short video that can efficiently answer questions that you may need a swift answer for. Look for Meredith Collins and Nicholas Pearson, two contributors to our blog and experienced paper marketers at Domtar, to join the series in the coming month as we bring new topics to the table and tackle the challenging world that is print.
For more print techniques, paper basics and industry trends, subscribe to Domtar’s YouTube channel.
