Short notes, useful tools and practical details from real design work. No theory for the sake of theory—just small things that can save time, prevent production problems or make the job a little easier.
In CMYK, adding every channel to 100% gives 400% total ink coverage. That does not automatically make a colour richer or a black better. It can simply create more ink than the chosen paper and press condition are meant to handle.
Excessive ink can slow drying and contribute to set-off, where ink transfers onto the facing sheet. The correct total ink limit comes from the printer, paper and colour profile; 300% is a common working ceiling in many print workflows, but it is not a universal number.
Illustrator, InDesign and other design applications will happily accept very precise dimensions. If a project calls for an object that is 2.5″ × 3″, entering 2.51756″ × 3.1728″ does not make it “basically 2.5 by 3.” It makes it a different size.
Tiny differences may be invisible while the object sits alone on screen, but they can show up when artwork has to align with another file, a trim line, a dieline or a repeated grid. Convert units accurately and enter the intended size—not a number that happens to look close.
A book spine depends on the final page count, paper stock or caliper, binding method and the printer’s production specifications. Two books with the same number of pages can still need different spine widths if the paper or binding changes.
Finish the interior first, then calculate the cover from the printer’s current template or spine calculator. If the page count changes later, the spine changes too—and the full cover width changes with it.
Bleed exists so backgrounds and images can extend past the trim line and survive normal cutting tolerances without leaving an unwanted white edge. It is meant to be cut off.
Logos, page numbers, captions and other important content belong safely inside the trim. Extending a background into the bleed is correct; moving important information into it because “there is still room there” is not.
