Keep Paper Grain in Mind for Digital Printing Jobs

Digital printing has become such a popular option — it offers flexibility in cost and timing when printing small quantities. An important consideration to keep in mind when designing a job that will be digitally printed is the paper grain. (What is “grain”? See “PrinterSpeak” in this newsletter.)

Granted, grain is an important factor when designing for offset printing, too. However, digital printing adds a slightly different twist. We have found that the paper feeds better into the digital printer when the sheet goes with the grain. The maximum sheet size for the digital printer is either 12x18 (with bleeds) or 13x19 (without bleeds). On these sheet sizes we can fit, for example, an 8.5x11 trifold brochure “two up” on the sheet. However, if your design includes images or blocks of ink that run over the fold and the fold goes against the grain, there could be significant “cracking” of the ink along the crease of the fold.

Your options for the above scenario would be: (1) avoid going against the grain by running the brochure one up instead of two up on the sheet (which means a little more time, cost, and paper waste but a better-quality fold), (2) run the brochure on the offset press instead of the digital printer (which would allow more flexibility to compensate for the grain and thus provide better quality, but possibly at a higher cost), or (3) accept the fact that the brochure would have some cracking along the fold (somewhat lesser quality, better cost savings, less paper waste).

If you have any questions about the design of your folded piece before it runs on the digital printer, please contact us. We’d be happy to assist you.


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