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Multimedia is a term used to describe communications methods that include video, text and sound. Our focus will instead be on multiple media.
Multiple media production is the process you go through when creating an end product that involves more than one type of media.
Many of you are engaged in this type of production now, whether you realize it or not. Any time you are creating a videotape, CD or DVD and some sort of label or packaging for it, you are involved in a multiple media production where some of your graphics are winding up as video content on the tape or disc, and some of them are winding up on the printed labels or packaging on the outside of the disc or tape.
MULTIPLE MEDIA PRINTING: WHAT TO CONSIDER
When it comes to multiple media, one of the toughest aspects can be the actual media. When printing on a disc and printing on paper, can we expect the same ink colors to yield the same results? What you are printing on has a huge impact on your final result.
Plastic, paper, vinyl, fabric, cardboard, label stock, etc., all of these types of media absorb and hold ink much differently, which means that they will each display colors in a varied way.
The white of a sheet of paper is not the same as the white base coat that is put on discs, which is not the same as the bleached white used when printing full color corrugated boxes and so on. As silly as it seems, there are a multitude of different whites used on printable media, ranging from eggshell white to wedding white to more yellowish and creamy whites.
Disc Printing Process: Discs are often printed using a Screenprinting system whereas disc wallets are most often done using Offset Printing technology. Not only do these two different systems use different inks, they lay ink colors down in a different sequential order. This can have a profound effect on the final product.
What about Paper Coatings? Paper can be glossy or finished with a glossy coating, but it can also be matte or finished with a matte or satin coating. Discs are generally considered a glossy media by nature of the fact that they are plastic based. Labels are generally glossy.
Corrugate is Usually Matte Finished. The finish affects both how absorbent the material is for the ink that is applied as well as how reflective the finished product is. Both characteristics have an effect on the appearance of the final product and must be considered early on in the process to avoid potential issues.
The Design of the Item: Can have perhaps the biggest influence of all on final appearance. If the artwork consists mainly of areas of flat color and colored text, you should perhaps consider printing the job in spot or pantone colors instead of printing it in process colors. Discs especially can yield a much sharper result when printed this way, because it greatly reduces the chance that one color will be out of registration with the others. Another aspect of the design to consider is any neutral color used.
When Designing with Neutrals, make sure that where ever possible they are designed as true neutrals which are entirely composed of only black ink. Sometimes, items end up getting designed with what we call “rich blacks” or “process blacks” which means that some percentage of cyan, magenta or yellow ink is added to the black to make it appear deeper or richer. This is fine in areas that truly need to be a deep, deep black, but in other cases it may lead your grey or black color to gain a tint of cyan, magenta or yellow (depending on the colors that you used to achieve the richness). This tint may end up making your gray or black look like a brown, green or slate color.
If you have items in different media, these are just a few of the considerations to have in mind when trying to produce them. Bear in mind that different products rarely match color exactly, but thinking through the project in advance can help yield an end product that looks excellent and meets or exceeds commercial printing standards.
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