University of Technology Sydney

87007 Pre-press and Print Production

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2024 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Design, Architecture and Building: Design
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 87632 VC Design Studio: The Ethics of Image and Text AND 87222 VC Design Project: Symbols, Systems and Visual Play AND 87631 VC Design Studio: The Politics of Image and Text

Description

This subject explores the creative potential of print media and gives an overview of the main print technologies in the industry. Topics covered include: the design and production process for print; digital printing versus offset printing; paper and stock; colour management (colour and ink); embellishments and binding; die lines and packaging, and other pre-press tasks such as imposition, colour settings, dot gain management and trapping. Students develop a professional die line, produce packaging mock-ups of a professional standard and learn to produce print-ready artwork that includes print embellishments, with an emphasis on refined typography and image reproduction.

This subject aims to give practical experience in the problems involved, and the solutions available, in preparing files for print, and to develop proficiency in the relevant software packages.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

1. Investigate and present the potential and constraints of printed media including sustainability
2. Develop the capacity to learn software and technologies in the context of a professional design process
3. Produce visual work which is clear and engaging, considers issues of sustainability and responds to the project brief
4. Produce visual work which demonstrates thought, care, attention to detail, technical expertise and an understanding of practical constraints

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

  • Establish and develop a sustainable, informed and ethical position towards social and cultural issues. (A.1)
  • Communicate an informed well-researched viewpoint. (C.2)
  • Create designs that respond to their context in formally or conceptually innovative ways. (I.1)
  • Independent development of high level technical and craft skills for the production, presentation and documentation of work. (I.3)

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

The term CAPRI is used for the five Design, Architecture and Building faculty graduate attribute categories where:

C = communication and groupwork

A = attitudes and values

P = practical and professional

R = research and critique

I = innovation and creativity.

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs) are linked to these categories using codes (e.g. C-1, A-3, P-4, etc.).

Teaching and learning strategies

Learning activities occur on a weekly basis with contact typically being one hour lecture supported by two hours tutorial/studio-based learning. Students experientially achieve an intermediate level of knowledge and expertise through the print media specialisation. This knowledge is crucial to understanding visual communication design and practice in industry.

LECTURES The delivery of specific knowledge related to print and media requires explicit resource in lecture content. The lecture series will refer to exemplary design and print projects that align to the subject’s overarching themes, activities and learning methods.

STUDIO WORKSHOPS The two hours of weekly studio contact operates as guided studio-based workshops. During these sessions students are supervised by lecturers in project groups undertaken in computer imaging laboratories with access to current processing and production technologies. Students learn how to design using integrated technical expertise supported by industry professionals, tutors and peers. Projects and exercises cover ways of identifying and balancing the many requirements of successful communication of information and ideas. Students will also gain an intermediate level of knowledge of the creative potential of print and practical skills in the production of text and image based output.

PROJECT BASED LEARNING The curriculum uses project-based group learning activities to provoke participatory discussions and encourage multidisciplinary teamwork. For this reason, studio, in conjunction with the lectures, use a progressive, sequential project-based approach to design. All students are expected to attend all lecture and studio sessions, and follow suggested learning patterns and activities. Students are also encouraged to participate actively in the group discussions that occur during the studio sessions.

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
UTS staff believe that collaborative peer learning enhances learning. While there are no group assessments in this subject, technical demonstrations, project processing, production and presentation involves collaboration between design and print media specialists.

ONLINE COURSEWORK
There are a number of online resources used to support the learning objectives of this subject. A detailed overview of the pedagogy and associated tasks and assessment items are included in the subject documents. Recommended readings are also online. Significantly, the readings support the lecture series by providing students with an overview of design issues that result from the technical systems that serve print and media industries. All documents are accessible from UTS Online that support the learning objectives of this subject. A detailed brief, associated tasks and assessments, and additional documentation will, therefore, be uploaded to this subject’s UTS Online portal. The location of all documents referred to in any assessment task will be detailed in such a way as to make it is easily accessible to students.

FIELD TRIPS / SITE VISITS
From time to time, it will be necessary to make external visits to industry settings. Professional practice in print media is an important focus of this subject and develops the student's understanding of the technical problems and constraints of the print medium.

FEEDBACK
Students will have several opportunities to receive feedback during the subject. The feedback provided will vary in form, purpose and in its degree of formality:

Formative feedback will be provided during the learning process, typically provided verbally by the subject's teaching staff. It will address the content of work and a student's approach to learning, both in general and more specific ‘assessment orientated’ terms. It is designed to help students improve their performance in time for the submission of an assessment item. For this to occur students need to respond constructively to the feedback provided. This involves critically reflecting on advice given and in response altering the approach taken to a given assessment. Formative feedback may also, on occasion, be provided by other students. It is delivered informally, either in conversation during a tutorial or in the course of discussion at the scale of the whole class. It is the student’s responsibility to record any feedback given during meetings or studio sessions.

Summative feedback is provided in written form with all assessed work. It is published along with indicative grades online at UTS REVIEW. Summative feedback focuses on assessment outcomes. It is used to indicate how successfully a student has performed in terms of specific assessment criteria.

Content (topics)

  • Print and pre-press specialisation with a view to further developed in later stages of study.
  • Professional practice in print media
  • Technical problems and constraints of the print medium
  • Development and communication of information and ideas through an integrated text/image based medium
  • Creative potential of print and practical skills in the production of text and image based output.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Promotional – Flyer/Poster

Intent:

This project explores the design and print production of a poster/flyer for a Non for Profit event. It investigates the different file set-ups for different production techniques: when to choose certain printing techniques over others and what output best suits the designers intention and the correct file output for print.

The objective of this brief is to develop your ability to follow systems and procedures to work effectively and efficiently taking into account the technical constraints associated with specific print-production processes and to develop the ability to determine when to choose a particular printing technique over others. You will look at the difference between working with different colour set-ups for CMYK (process colour), RGB (digital printing) and CMYK (digital printing and offset printing) and spot colour (offset, screen printing, risograph, letterpress, flexographic).

Objective(s):

This task addresses the following subject learning objectives:

1, 2, 3 and 4

This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.):

A.1, I.1 and I.3

Type: Project
Groupwork: Individual
Weight: 40%

Assessment task 2: Packaging Design

Intent:

This project explores the potential of printed media as a vehicle for concepts less appropriate in other media. You will design a set of three packaging designs.
In particular you will look at how to professionally set up an original packaging knife (die line) for print and you will investigate sustainable options related to print techniques and how to minimise wastage.
You will also develop the capacity to develop relevant insights from research into print technologies and packaging design, reflected in the packaging design outcome, print specifications and research assignment.

Objective(s):

This task addresses the following subject learning objectives:

1, 2, 3 and 4

This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.):

A.1, C.2, I.1 and I.3

Type: Project
Groupwork: Individual
Weight: 60%

Minimum requirements

The DAB attendance policy requires students to attend no less than 80% of formal teaching sessions (lectures and tutorials) for each class they are enrolled in to remain eligible for assessment.

Recommended texts

Useful background to digital prepress for graphic designers:

Designing for Print Production: Essential Concepts by Martin L. Greenwald, John C Luttropp, 2008

Getting it Right in Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers, by Mark Gatter, Laurence King 2005

Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications: Industrial-Strength Production Techniques (Real World), Claudia McCue, Peachpit Press 2009

Production for Graphic Designers, 5th Edition, Alan Pipes, Laurence King 2009

The Official Adobe Print Publishing Guide, Third Edition: The Essential Resource for Design, Production, and Prepress, Brian P. Lawler, Adobe Press 2009.

InDesign CC: Visual Quickstart Guide, Sandee Cohen, Peachpit Press 2013


Links to Adobe resources:

http://www.adobe.com/studio/print/pdf/prepress_terms.pdf

http://create.adobe.com/

http://indesignsecrets.com/

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign.html