AFA ADSCHOOL

Subject Name: Print Production

Pre-requisites: Minimum 1 year relevant industry experience or

Less than 1 year + completion of the AFA
AdSchool Foundation course

Audience: Account and Marketing staff interacting with

production studios, Creatives and Production
Assistants.

Year/Semester: 2006

General Description

This course is designed to give students an understanding of how Print

Production functions within an Agency. Print Production has the
responsibility of turning a creative idea into printed material whether that is
a magazine ad, newspaper ad, brochure, outdoor sign or poster etc.

The course will teach you how to brief an idea into the Print department in a
concise and accurate way so that the Print producer/manager can execute
the job and simultaneously achieve the three targets of Time, Quality and
Cost. It will then examine how the Print Manager will go about producing
the job.

We will explore the steps required to achieve the end product. They involve:-

- How to write the perfect print brief

- Technical information
- Tricks of the trade
- How to avoid mistakes
- Cost and quality implications
- Scheduling

In addition to the fundamentals, the course will cover

- New technology & innovative print ideas

 AFA AdSchool – Print Production

- Trends in the printing world (how we are moving away from traditional print)
- Quickcut and the new generation of digital transfer

Content

Week 1 – Print Production Overview

What does print production mean to you?
Course outline - discussion
Introduction – flow chart
Different print mediums – what are they?
CMYK + PMS – the basics of all print
Press/Mag sizes – advertising in a publication

Week 2 – Estimating
Taking a brief from Art Director and Acct Mgmt
Questions to ask
Correctly briefing a supplier – appropriate paperwork
How costs are obtained
Panic jobs – what can go wrong & what to watch out for

Week 3 – Suppliers & Paperstocks

Suppliers/Negotiation
Traffic systems
Schedules & timelines
Paperstock activity workshop

Week 4 – Pre Production

Casting /talent
Visuals - Photography – supply portfolio & transparency
- Illustrations – eg’s of different types of illustrations
- Stockshots – image libraries
Pre production agenda

Week 5 – Electronic Art/Studio

Mac layouts
Typefaces
Laser proofs
Computer artwork – file formats, programs, Mac v PC
Flight checks – screen & printer fonts, tifs, quark layout,
Retouching – supply proofs.
Assignment question due week 9

Week 6 – Film/CTP
Colour material/Screen rulings
Film & CTP Proofs
Impositions

 AFA AdSchool – Print Production

Electronic dispatch/quickcut

Week 7 – Quickcut & Digital transfer

Sending artwork files to printers via the internet
Transferring images digitally with colour profiles
Quality control using digital files
New products within the market
Bandwidth required for high resolution files

Week 8 – Digital printing – the way of the future

New developments in digital print
Limitations with digital print
Industry leaders – who is ahead of the game?
What are quality & cost implications with digital print runs?

Week 9 – On site visit – Printing Company

Check out printing presses – offset & digital
Film facilities
CTP technology
General tour

Week 10 – Other printing techniques

New technology – advanced types of printing
Letterpress – an outdated method
Gravure/flexographpc – packaging & plastics
Silk screen/image setters
Binding methods
Mock ups
Finishing techniques
Delivery instructions

PLUS
Wrap up of course notes
Question time
Discussion of exam format/content

Week 11 – Exam

Teaching and Learning Strategies

 AFA AdSchool – Print Production

Each week we will examine a part of the Print Production process.
The lectures will start with terminology and definitions, and group tasks will be
assigned in class so that students can take a hands-on approach and rationally
think through answers. The various segments of Print Production will come
together during the course to give the holistic view of what Print is all about.

Some lectures will involve guest speakers and on-site visits to Print suppliers
which will help in understanding the role of suppliers in relation to Print
Production. Real case studies will be used in class to illustrate the complexity
and sometimes simplicity of Print Production.

Q & A are encouraged as students will have different levels of knowledge and the
basic questions are good questions. The classes are open and informal with
plenty of group interaction. Anything not understood within the lecture can be
taken up immediately with the lecturer after the class

Handouts

Every week there will be a handout of the summarised lecture notes and
terminology, however students are required to make notes as we go and fill in the
blanks

Activities

There will be group tasks in most lectures, so bring along pen and paper. Some
weeks you will need to bring in examples of print advertising so we can analyse
how they were produced.

Assessment
The assessment is made up of:-
1) In class multi choice test 20%
2) Exam 40%
3) Assignment 35%
4) Class attendance 5%

The class assignment will be handed out in Week 6 and due in Week 9, the multi
choice test will be held in week 9 and the final exam is held on Week 11.

Grading:

The outcome is pass or fail.

Pass: All assessment tasks must be completed and submitted and a

satisfactory level overall must be achieved to pass

 AFA AdSchool – Print Production

Fail: Less than 50% of the assessment areas. Unsatisfactory
performance in one or more objectives of the course as
contained within the assessment items.

Students must attend a minimum of seven lectures and notify the

lecturer of any absences

Minimum Course Requirements

Students are required to attend a minimum of 7 out of 10 classes plus

the exam. The assignment is to be handed in on the due date
in class.

Recommended Texts:

Australian Government Publishing Service 1995, Australian print standards,

AGPS, Canberra.

Heller, S. & Drennan, D. 1997, The digital designer: the graphic artist's guide to
the new media, Watson-Guptil Publications, New York.

 AFA AdSchool – Print Production