Repro for print

By their nature uncoated stocks are absorbent and the printing ink soaks into the surface of the paper causing dot gain, this affects the reproduction of the print. The effects cause loss of detail in the shadow areas and too much detail in the highlights. This leads to muddy, flat images that lack contrast and are a poor representation of the original files. The results will never be as vibrant as on coated stocks but attention at the repro stage and especially at the plate making stage will help to achieve the best possible results.

The level of detail required at either end of the scale, shadow or highlight, is of course subjective and adding contrast can affect these areas so it is often the case that the best route is to test a few images until the right levels are achieved.

If you would like to learn more about how to improve printing on uncoated papers please contact me. keith@opalprint.co.uk

Thanks for reading.