winnipegprintshop

FAQs

Glossary

The true weight of any volume of paper The actual weight of paper is used to determine both purchase price and shipping costs.
Is a water based coating applied after printing, either while the paper is still on press ("in line"), or after it's off the press. Aqueous Coating is available in a gloss, dull or matte finish and helps prevent the underlying ink from rubbing off. A water soluble coating is less toxic than most other types of coating.
Papers may be bound together with a variety of materials including plastic coil, wire-o, glue and thread.
Any copy, illustration, photo, coloured background, etc. That extends past the edge of the crop marks on a printed page. Bleeds are created by trimming the sheet after printing.
Paper that is coated on one side only (coated one side). This is an excellent choice should you want to write on one side of your card.
Paper that is coated on both sides (coated two sides).
The measurement of thickness for paper expressed in thousandths of an inch or mils. It is measured with a tool called a micrometer. Excessive variation in caliper can lead to print variation, undesirable visual effects and uneven stretch or press-feeding problems. It can also create problems in folding and binding.
A book bound using a hard board or case for the covers.
Abbreviation for the four colour process inks which are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.
Any paper that has a mineral coating applied after the paper is made, giving the paper a smoother finish.
The process of separating the primary colour components for printing.
The process of creating a three dimensional (3D) item from a flat sheet of paper. i.e. envelope conversion / box conversion.
Any typewritten material, art, photo etc. To be used for the printing process.
A heavier, stiffer paper commonly used for book covers, folders, tabs, greeting cards, business cards and postcards. The weight and thickness can vary from stock to stock.
To cut-off a portion of the art or copy as indicated by crop marks.
Papers that are cut to a finished size of 8.5" x 11", 8.5" x 14", or 11" x 17". Cut-size papers, like 20lb white bond are usually packaged in reams of 500 sheets before leaving the paper mill.
A method of using sharp steel ruled stamps or rollers to cut various shapes (i.e. boxes, image shapes) either post press or in-line. Also, the process of cutting paper in a shape or design by the use of a wooden, metal or composite die or block which are positioned steel rules in the shape of the desired pattern.
The process of creating a digital output from an illustration, photographic image, computer file or other computer generated materials.
A digital imaging process that transfers the image directly onto plain paper immediately.
A term to describe the occurrence whereby dots are printing larger than they should.
The number of dots per square inch that fit horizontally and vertically into a one inch measure. The more dots per inch, the more detail is captured resulting in a sharper image.
A shadow image placed strategically behind an image to create the effect of an image lifting off the page.
A coated paper finish between glossy and matte.
A two colour halftone reproduction generated from a one colour photo.
Molding and reshaping of paper by the use of special metal dies and heat, counter dies and pressure, to produce a raised image on the paper surface.
Encapsulated Postscript File. A vector based, computer graphics file format developed by Adobe Systems. EPS is the preferred format for many computer illustrations because of its efficient use of memory and fine colour control. The artwork description is "plotted" by the computer. i.e: Point "A" has a line that goes to point "B" then continues to point "C", and is filled with a colour. (bit mapped artwork attributes a color for every pixel on the computer screen and is not postscript)
This phrase means you have already filled the four drums of a printer with process colors, C, M, Y and K (CMYK) and are planning an additional fifth spot color, like a metallic ink.
The surface quality of paper.
Preparing printed pages for use. Most printed jobs require one or more finishing steps such as trimming, folding or binding.
A book or booklet bound having the cover trimmed to the same size as the text.
Papers that has a surface with foil stamping, resembling metal.
Is altering the shape of a sheet of paper so one part lies on top of another. Some types of folding include letter, roll and gate. To create a smooth, straight fold on heavy papers, (such as cover stocks), it requires scoring prior to folding. Multiple fold strength is important in printed pieces including books, maps, and pamphlets. It's far less important in one-fold operations like greeting cards or envelops, where fold cracking is the vital consideration.
A method using dots of, cyan, magenta ,yellow and black to simulate the continuous tones and variety of colours in a colour image. Reproducing a four colour image begins with separating the image into four different halftones by using color filters of the opposite (or negative) colour. I.e, a red filter is used to capture the cyan halftone, a blue filter is used to capture the yellow halftone and a green filter is used to capture the magenta halftone. Because a printing press cannot change the tone intensity of ink, four-colour process relies on a trick of the eye to mimic light and dark areas. Each halftone separation is printed with its process colour (, cyan, magenta yellow and black). When we look at the final result, our eyes blend the dots to recreate the continuous tones and variety of colours we see in a colour photograph, painting or drawing.
The bundling of two or more different printing projects on the same sheet of paper.
Two or more parallel folds on a sheet of paper with the end flaps folding inward.
The property responsible for a coated paper's shiny or lustrous appearance; also the measure of a sheet's surface reflectivity.
A class of paper identified as having the same composition and characteristics. Grade is a generic paper category such as writing, offset, cover, tag and index paper. It can also refer to the quality level of the paper or to a mill's specific rank of paper.
Grain running along the length or long side of a sheet of paper. Fibers line up parallel to the long side of the paper.
Grain running along the width or short side of a sheet of paper. Fibers line up parallel to the short side of the paper.
A series of metal fingers that hold each sheet of paper as it passes through the various stages of the printing process.
The grippers of the printing press move the paper through the press by holding onto the leading edge of the sheet.
The use of screening devices to convert a continuous tone image (such as a photo)into a reproducble dot pattern, which can be more easily printed.
The appropriate sequential arrangement of pages to be printed, along with all the margins in proper alignment, before producing the plates for printing.
The actual weight of 1000 sheets of any given size of paper.
A custom-blended ink matching a specified colour exactly. Match colours are used to print line copy and halftones in one, two, three, or occasionally more colours. The specified colours are chosen from colour systems. The most widely used systems are the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, Colorcurve, and Toyo. (see also PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM)
A non-glossy coating on paper, a coated paper finish that goes through minimal calendaring.
The most traditional printing method, whereby the printed material does not receive the ink directly from the printing plate but from an intermediary cylinder called a blanket which receives the ink from the plate and transfers it to the paper.
A universal system for specifying and blending match colors. The PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (PMS) identifies more than 700 colors. It provides designers with swatches for specific colors and gives printers the recipes for making those colours.
Portable Document File. A proprietary format developed by Adobe Systems for the transfer of designs across multiple computer platforms.
A term used to describe the binding process where the signatures of a book are held together by a flexible adhesive.
A thin sheet of metal that carries the printing image. The plate surface is treated or configured so that only the printing image is ink receptive.
A measurement unit equal to 1/72 of an inch, 14 points to a pica, 72 points to an inch.
The various printing related services, performed before ink is actually put on the printing press.
A test printing of final art prior to the production run. Press proofs are generally printed on the paper stock that will be used for the finished project. A few sheets are run as a final check before printing the entire job.
The quality of papers to show reproduced printed images. Absorbency, smoothness, ink holdout and opacity all affect printability.
The four process colours: cyan (process blue), magenta (process red), yellow and black used to print four-colour images.
The arrangement of two or more images in exact alignment with each other.
Red, Green, Blue, the colours used by a computer monitor to create colour images on the screen. When all three colours are combined over each other the colour of light is white.
The binding of booklets or other printed materials by stapling the pages on the folded spine. Many magazines are saddle-stitched.
A type face that has no tails or curled points (serifs) at the ends.
To impress paper with a rule for the purpose of making folding easier.
A type face that mimics the appearance of hand written text.
Unwanted ink marks in the non-image area.
A cover made out of the same paper stock as the internal sheets.
The curls and points that appear as outward lateral extensions of the bottoms and tops of letterforms on some type faces. Many designers consider serif type used for body text for easy readability.
A binding whereby a wire of plastic is spiraled through holes punched along the binding side.
Single colours applied to printing when process colour is not necessary (i.e. one, two and three colour printing), or when process colors need to be augmented (i.e. a fluorescent pink headline or a metallic tint).
A manufactured item that is inventoried, as opposed to custom made, and printed on.
A booklet containing paper samples and specifications for a specific line of paper.
Tagged Image File Format, a bitmapped file format used for the reproduction of digitally scanned images such as photographs, illustrations and logos.
The process of printing wet ink over printed ink, which may be wet or dry.
The final size of a printed piece once it's been cut to specification.
Cutting paper after printing to make all sheets the same for a specified size.
A term used to describe how many similar sheets can be produced on a larger sheet; two up, four up, etc.
UV coating is a clear compound that is applied to paper wet, then instantly dried by ultraviolet light (UV coating is short for ultraviolet coating). Several types of compounds are used to coat paper; UV coating chemicals include polyethylene, calcium carbonate and kaolinite. These compounds are refined and mixed with viscosifiers that help them adhere to paper. A UV coating machine is used to apply the coating after printing. UV coatings can vary in reflectivity and thickness, depending on the application, though a high-gloss or subtle matte UV coating are typically used for premium printing applications.
A coating printed on top of a printed sheet to protect it, add a finish and/or add a tinge of colour. An entire sheet may be varnished, or certain areas, like halftones, may be spot varnished to add emphasis and appeal.
A printing press that prints on rolls of paper passed through the press in one continuous piece, as opposed to sheets of paper. Web presses are used for high volume printing such as newspapers and magazines.

Legal

Yes, winnipegprintshop.com wants you to be delighted with our printing! Since monitor calibration varies, your job will run to uniform ink levels. If you find a manufacturing defect, simply contact us for return instructions including mailing address. This guarantee does not cover customer errors.

File Specifications

For best results the finished artwork should use the full bleed dimensions (0.25 in added to width and height).

Do not use crop marks.

Please make sure to keep all text within the safe margin of at least 0.25 in from the edges.

Resolution: 300 dpi.

We accept JPG, PNG, EPS, PDF, AI and PSD file formats.

When you want to produce a solid black, 100% black (K) will not result in a solid, saturated black. Instead, use Rich Black, as represented by C:50% / M:40% / Y:40% / K:100%.

No, but you should flatten your image before sending to us. 

Profile Trouble Shooting

Verify you are not receiving any website error messages. If trouble persists, please email our support department at questions@winnipegprintshop.com

Custom Quote

Pricing/Payment Options

Don't worry, we print pretty much everything. Just place a custom quote for something that isn't listed on the website.

Unfortunately, we must receive payment before any printing begins. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Absolutely! Our website maintains an SSL Certificate, validated by Digi Cert. Any confidential information gets encrypted using the latest in encryption technology.

We accept Visa or Master Card.

Every product has its own price calculator which provides an instant quote. Please view the product you are interested in purchasing and adjust the colour option drop down menu for instant prices.

Please complete a tax-exempt certificate and send it to us BEFORE placing your order. From that point we will mark your profile as tax exempt and no tax will be collected from you. If you place your order first without being marked as tax exempt sales tax will be collected and remitted to the appropriate Province.

Yes, please email us for additional information.

Shipping

We primarily ship with Canada Post, UPS and local courier.

Technical

Bleeds is a printing term to describe having the colour or image print directly to the edge of the paper. To do this, draw guides on the layout that are .125" from the edge all the way around. Make sure any photographs or backgrounds you want to bleed go clear out to the perimeter of the document, past the guidelines. After we have printed your piece, we will trim off the extra .125" all the way around so the colour will be all around your piece!

Uncoated Text:

Basic 60lb, Enhanced 70lb, Professional 80lb, Supreme 100lb

 

Coated Text:

Professional 80lb, Ultra 100lb

 

Coated Cover (C1S or C2S):

Classic 12pt, Popular 14pt, Luxury 16pt, Premium 18pt

Likely not. Scanners and digital cameras create images using combinations of three colours; Red, Green and Blue ("RGB"). These are the colours computers use to display images on your screen. Printing presses print colour pictures using a different set of colours: Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black ("CMYK"). At some stage your RGB file must be converted to CMYK in order to print on a printing press. This is easily done using an image editing program like PhotoShop.

It is advisable you do your own RGB to CMYK conversion. You will have more control over the appearance of your printed piece and know what you are getting before sending your file. When we receive RGB images, we do a standard value conversion to CMYK, which may not be perfectly to your liking or expectations. We want you to be happy, so please take the time to prepare your file properly. We cannot be responsible for sub-par results if you supply low-resolution or RGB images.

Be aware it is possible to make colours in RGB that you can't make with CMYK. They are said to be "out of the CMYK colour gamut". The translator gets as close as possible to the appearance of the original, which is generally an industry tolerance. Thus, it is best to select colours you use for fonts or other design elements in your layout using CMYK definitions instead of RGB.

RGB colors
 (what you see on screen)

CMYK colors
 (printing inks will do this)

RGB colors
 (what you see on screen)

CMYK colors
 (printing inks will do this)

 

It is strongly advisable not to colourize small text. Since printing presses can have a slight variance in the consistency of the position of the different colour plates, the type can move out of registration. The CMYK portions of the text characters simply do not line up exactly. The result leaves little coloured halos around the characters. It is ok to use coloured text on large, headline type or smaller sizes down to say 14pt.

Small Text Magnified

 

Be careful when using photographs for backgrounds. If you put text (any colour) on top it can be hard to read. Make sure the type can still be read easily.

 

 

No Coating is typically selected when the customer must write on the printed piece.

UV Coating is a slick, matte or gloss coating (environmentally friendly) which is applied to a coated paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet (UV) light. The gloss UV creates a brilliant and enhanced eye-catching finish, popular for covers of paperback novels, for example, while the matte UV tends to soften the finish for a different type of classy look.

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