02.5 Design
Print &collateral.
01 / 04Every printed colour starts as four separate plates.
02 / 04Printed on top of each other, they become your colours.
03 / 04A fraction of a millimetre off and it looks cheap. So we check registration.
04 / 04Then paper and finish do the rest: the part people touch.
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What it is
Screens forgive. Paper does not.
Print design covers everything your brand puts in people's hands: business cards, letterheads, menus, brochures, packaging, labels, posters and signage. Collateral is the working set of these materials that sales and service teams use every day.
Print has rules a screen never asks about. Colours are mixed from inks, not light, so a vivid on-screen orange can come back muddy. Paper changes colour, texture and how it feels. And once ten thousand copies are printed, there is no update button.
We design print as part of your brand identity, prepare every file print-ready, and check proofs before anything goes to press.
Paper and finish
The same design, five different cards.
On screen, a business card is a rectangle. In the hand, it is paper, weight and finish, and that is what people remember. Build one and see what changes.
Paper
Weight
Finish
Colour on paper
Why your orange comes back brown.
RGB vs CMYK
Screens mix light in red, green and blue (RGB). Printers mix ink in cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). Some bright screen colours simply cannot be printed with four inks, so we choose and test brand colours for both.
What is a Pantone colour?
A Pantone (spot) colour is a premixed ink printed as its own plate. It costs a little more but gives the exact same colour on every job and every printer, which matters for logos and packaging.
Print-ready
What we check before it goes to press.
Most printing problems are file problems. This is the checklist every job passes before it leaves us.
- 3 mm bleed. Backgrounds and images run past the trim line, so no white edges appear after cutting.
- Safe zone. Text and logos stay at least 3 to 5 mm inside the trim, away from the blade.
- CMYK or spot colours. No RGB images and no surprise colour shifts on press.
- 300 dpi at final size. Images checked at the size they print, not the size they were sent.
- Fonts embedded. Every font embedded or outlined, so nothing is replaced at the printer.
- Right black. Rich black for large dark areas, pure black for small text, so it stays sharp.
- Print-ready PDF. PDF/X files with crop marks and the printer's own settings.
- Proof before press. A digital or physical proof is checked and signed off before the full run.
What we design
Everything your brand puts in people's hands.
Business cards, letterheads, envelopes, compliment slips and email signatures that match them.
Readable, easy to update and built to survive a busy service and a wet table.
Boxes, bags, bottle and jar labels, stickers and tape, with dielines prepared for production.
Product catalogues, company profiles and sales brochures, designed for reading, not just flipping.
Shop fronts, posters, roll-ups, vehicle graphics and event materials, readable from a distance.
Folders, proposals and pitch materials that make a printed offer feel considered.
Better choices
Printing with less waste.
Responsible print is mostly a set of small, sensible decisions. We raise them early, while they are still cheap to make.
FSC or PEFC certified stock, so the paper comes from responsibly managed forests.
Recycled and kraft papers look honest and work well for packaging, menus and labels.
Plastic laminates make paper harder to recycle. Uncoated stock or varnish often does the job.
Smaller runs, digital printing for short jobs, and files ready for reprints, instead of boxes that go out of date.
How we work
From screen to paper, safely.
You get a clear timeline before we start.
Brief
What it is for, where it will be used, how many and on what budget. Paper and finish are decided early, not last.
Design
Layouts in your brand system, shown at real size, with paper and finish suggestions.
Prepare
Print-ready files: bleed, colour, fonts and dielines checked against the printer's specifications.
Proof
We check the proof with you, and can coordinate directly with the printer until the job is delivered.
Who it's for
When print needs a designer.
Cards from one designer, menus from another, labels from the printer. A consistent set looks like a bigger business.
Packaging and labels that work on the shelf, survive shipping and meet the printer's technical requirements.
Wrong colours, low resolution, missing bleed. We prepare files that go to press the first time.
Next steps
Online and offline, one brand.
Print, screen and social, designed by the same team.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
What does print-ready mean?
A file the printer can use without changes: correct size with 3 mm bleed, CMYK or spot colours, images at 300 dpi, fonts embedded and crop marks in place, usually as a PDF/X file.
What is the difference between RGB and CMYK?
RGB mixes light for screens. CMYK mixes ink for print. Colours look different on paper, so print files are prepared in CMYK or spot colours.
Do you handle the printing?
We design and prepare the files, and we can coordinate with a printer you choose or recommend one for the job, checking proofs until delivery.
What paper should we choose for business cards?
Most cards look and feel good at 350 to 450 gsm. Uncoated feels natural and is easy to write on; coated keeps colours brighter. We bring samples to the decision.
What is the difference between spot UV, foil and embossing?
Spot UV adds a clear gloss to selected areas. Foil adds a metallic or coloured film. Embossing and letterpress press the design into the paper so you can feel it.
Can you design packaging?
Yes: boxes, labels and bags, with the dielines and technical files manufacturers need.
Can you adapt our existing designs for print?
Yes. We often rebuild existing materials into a consistent, print-ready set based on the brand guidelines.
How much does print design cost?
It depends on the items and quantities. After a short call we send a transparent proposal with the design cost broken down. Printing is quoted separately.
Make it worth keeping.
Tell us what you need to print. One real reply within 24 hours.