Let's clear it up, so you know exactly what you're getting (and what you're paying for).

First, what does "lamination" actually mean?

The word comes from the Latin lamina, meaning a thin plate or layer. To laminate something is simply to bond thin layers of material together, or to coat it in a protective layer.

That's a broad definition — and it's exactly why the confusion creeps in. Two very different processes both technically count as "lamination", but they produce completely different results. In the trade we use more precise, standardised terms to keep everyone on the same page.

The office laminator = encapsulation

Picture the laminator that lives in the corner of every school and office. You slide your A4 sheet into a stiff plastic pouch, feed it through, and it comes out sealed in shiny plastic.

That machine is, according to Taskmaster, no less than the king of the stationery world — when the contestants were challenged to bring in the most magnificent stationery, Kerry Godliman brought in a laminator, and she and Greg Davies crowned it in perfect unison. It's a genuinely handy bit of kit.

But here's the key point: that isn't what we mean by lamination in professional print. In the trade, what that machine does is called encapsulation.

Encapsulation uses relatively thick plastic pouches — typically 75 to 250 microns per side — that are melted and bonded around the paper. The plastic seals right around the edges, and the finished item is stiff, glossy and often noticeably thicker than the paper inside it. It's brilliant for menus, signs, ID cards and anything that needs to survive being wiped down, rained on or generally battered. But it's a heavy-duty, plastic-first finish.

Our lamination = a fine film, applied to the print

Commercial lamination is a different thing entirely.

Instead of a thick pouch, we apply an ultra-fine plastic film — usually only around 12 to 30 microns thick (a micron is a thousandth of a millimetre). To put that in perspective, it's thinner than the paper it's going onto. Think of it a bit like a giant roll of very fine sticky tape, coated onto one side of the sheet after printing.

Because it happens after the print stage, it's usually grouped in with what we call print finishing. And it does two jobs beautifully:

• Protection — it guards the ink and paper against scuffs, moisture and fingerprints, and makes colours look richer.
• Feel and finish — you can have a high-gloss shine that makes colours pop, or a soft-touch matt with a gorgeous velvety, almost suede-like feel.

That soft-touch finish in particular is why lamination reads as premium. It's the same trick many high-end consumer brands use on packaging and product boxes to give that expensive, tactile first impression. On business cards, brochures, book covers and folders, it lifts the whole thing.

So when we quote you for lamination, this is what you're getting: a fine, refined film that enhances the print — not a thick plastic encapsulation.

The green side

There's an honest trade-off worth knowing about.

Laminated paper is harder to recycle. Because you've bonded plastic to paper, many kerbside recycling streams either won't accept it, or they need the two materials separated first — which means peeling the film off the paper by hand. We've done plenty of that over the years, and believe us, it takes ages.

Unlaminated paper, by contrast, goes straight into standard paper recycling with no fuss.

None of this makes lamination "bad" — it just means it's a choice worth making on purpose rather than by default.

So, which should you choose?

Here's the simple rule of thumb:

Choose lamination when longevity matters. Book covers, menus, presentation folders, premium business cards, anything people will keep and handle repeatedly, or anything you want to feel high-end. The protection and the finish earn their keep.

Choose unlaminated when you want to keep it eco-conscious. Flyers, leaflets, short-run promotional pieces and anything likely to be recycled soon after use are better left uncoated, so the paper can go straight into recycling. Many uncoated and lightly coated stocks look and feel lovely on their own, too.

And if you want the premium feel and the green credentials, ask us about the alternatives — from biodegradable and recyclable film options to design tricks like spot UV or a heavier uncoated stock that add impact without the plastic.

TL;DR – The short version

Not sure which is right for your job? That's exactly the kind of thing we're happy to talk through. Get in touch and we'll point you to the finish that fits the piece, your budget and your priorities.

The post Lamination, Encapsulation, No Lamination — Oh My! appeared first on FAS Printing.

What Are Vector Graphics?

Vector graphics are created using mathematical equations that define shapes, lines, curves, and colours. Because of this, vector images are resolution-independent, meaning they can be scaled up or down without losing quality.

Typical uses for vector graphics include:

- Logos

- Icons

- Illustrations

- Business cards and flyers

- Signage and large format prints

Common vector file types: `.svg`, `.eps`, `.ai` (Adobe Illustrator)

What Are Raster Graphics?

Raster graphics are made up of thousands (or millions) of tiny coloured pixels. They're resolution-dependent, so enlarging a raster image can result in pixelation or blurriness.

Raster images are best used when high levels of detail are required, such as:

- Photographs

- Complex digital paintings

- Web images

Common raster file types: `.jpg`, `.png`, `.gif`, `.tiff`

The Benefits of Using Vector in Print Design

For anyone creating artwork for print—whether it's for a business card, banner, or custom signage—vector graphics have some clear advantages:

Need Help with Your Artwork?

At FAS Printing, we're happy to check your files and ensure they're suitable for high-quality print. If you're unsure whether your design is a vector or raster, just ask—we can help convert certain files or guide you through the best way to prepare your artwork.

Tip: If you're working with a designer, ask them to supply the final artwork in a vector format like `.pdf`, `.ai`, or `.eps`.

If you'd like us to review your file or if you have any questions about artwork setup, contact the FAS Printing team—we're here to help!

The post Understanding Vector vs Raster Graphics: What You Need to Know for Print Design appeared first on FAS Printing.

When you design for print, there are rules you must follow. Especially when you are going to have the work printed by a professional digital  or lithographic printing company like us 🙂

I know it can be tempting to break certain rules, but many are there for our protection, especially in print. You want your printed material to be the best it can be, right?  Well, so do we!

The process starts when you're first setting up your document to create your design, whether you're using InDesign, Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator or any of the similar programs available.

Let's look at what bleed, slug and crop marks actually are. Why they are vital (even if you are the rebellious sort) and how to set them up. Let's go!

Bleed and Why It's Absolutely Vital!

Bleed can be confusing, especially if you don't know what it's for and why it's important. Bleed refers to the area of the artwork that extends beyond the size of the document. The idea is that you won't see the bleed; it will be trimmed. But, if there was no bleed, when we trim the printed material to size, white paper may be seen if the cut isn't exact - usually due to the margin of error with sheets of paper that are so big.

The idea of extending the image or background colour beyond the actual finished print size protects you. If there is any variation when cutting, you won't see the end of the print or white, unprinted paper. As you can imagine, not including bleed is a mistake people don't make many times after the first. It looks pretty horrible. The bleed is a way to stop problems occurring with the fine tolerances when cutting the printed paper.

So to recap: the bleed area will be trimmed off, but is there as a safety zone so that any variations in trimming or cutting down don't show. If there is a blue background over the whole printed area, then the blue should extend to cover the bleed area. If a photo/image is going to be placed right up to the printed document edge, then it should go into the bleed area. Bleed really is one of the most important aspects of document layout and design and should never be overlooked if you want to achieve professional results.

The image above is a common A4 sheet

A4 Paper = 210mm x 297mm
210mm + 6mm* = 216mm
297mm + 6mm* = 303mm
Total Document Size = 216mm x 303mm

*6mm because 3mm bleed is needed on each edge, 3mm on the left & right is 6mm across, and 3mm on top & bottom adds 6mm to the height.

How do I apply Bleed?

The way we apply bleed is similar for all desktop publishing programmes. You need to extend the object box, whether picture or colour, out beyond the edge of your page. Then, when it's time to create the PDF, you need to set your bleed margins to 3mm (possibly more for some projects, i.e. banners ).

Unfortunately, with programmes such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Adobe Photoshop, you do not have the ability to add bleed when creating a PDF. You must make your page/image size 6mm bigger at the start. This extra 6mm (3mm all around) will then be treated as bleed, which is removed when your job is trimmed. For example, an A4 sheet is 210mm x 297mm. Your A4 page with adequate bleed will be 216mm x 303mm.

We will add tutorials for various software packages in the coming weeks.

Margins and Safe Zone

In many ways, directly related to the bleed is the margin - the margin creates the internal "safe zone" for the print area. The margin is usually a personal preference, but you should always include some. You see, if the printed document is 210mm wide and you need 3mm bleed on each side for any variations when trimming, then surely you should allow a minimum of 3mm margin for your safe zone (5mm is the preferred standard) in case the trim goes too far the other way. You can, of course, have more of a margin depending on the size of the printed document and your preference - but I would always include a minimum of an equal distance to the bleed for safety so no important information is accidentally cropped.

Why do we need a bleed?

You may see a piece of paper and wonder why bleed is even necessary for printing in this day and age with all the technological breakthroughs in printing. Well, paper is still paper, which means it can vary in size depending on humidity or moisture in the air and many other factors. This is why we need bleed and a safe zone.

Putting it simply, bleed means you get a better-finished product by ensuring you don't get any white bits of unprinted paper at the edge of your print. If you have a border at the edge that isn't printed, you will still need bleed, but it will be easy to add if missing.

What is Slug (in inDesign)?

It was recently pointed out to me that de didn't cover slug, so here we go. With the caveat that we will be talking about what slug is in InDesign and other similar software - because the term slug has had a few different meanings over the years.

In the old days, when people used lead letters to create a print layout, one type of slug was a piece of spacing material used to space paragraphs.

In modern typesetting programs such as Adobe InDesign, slugs hold information that relates to printing, such as a colour bar, or information or other instructions that are used between editors and designers that won't get printed. For example, if you were working on a magazine layout and multiple team members - it can be helpful to use the slug next to sections to convert information would don't want to be printed, e.g. 'we are waiting for the final article' or 'the advert is going to be changed', or 'the article is in its final form'.

The slug is the area outside the bleed and is mainly extra space for utility and any notes you may need during production that you wouldn't want to print.

Unlike bleed, the slug is not necessary but can be helpful on certain projects.

Printer's Marks in InDesign

Sources: Wikipedia

The post Design for print – Bleed, Slug and Crop Marks Explained appeared first on FAS Printing.

The difference between RGB vs CMYK

The problem is RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is made up of mixing light and CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) from mixing inks. They are different colour models used in different applications.

RGB can show off vivid colours, including glowing and bright lights, exceptionally well - think of your phone screen or TV, for example - because they are made of mixing coloured lights.

RGB is a colour model used primarily for electronic displays and digital media. It creates colours by mixing different intensities of red, green, and blue light. RGB has a wider colour gamut than CMYK, meaning it can produce a wider range of colours, making it well-suited for digital media with high colour accuracy. RGB applications include website design, digital photography, video editing and computer graphics.

CMYK, on the other hand, is a colour model used primarily for printing. It creates colours by mixing different amounts of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink. Because it is used in printing, it has a more limited colour gamut than RGB due to ink limitations. Examples of CMYK applications are print designs such as brochures, magazines, posters, and books.

Here are some pros and cons of RGB:

Pros:

• Wider colour gamut
• Better colour accuracy
• Suitable for digital media and electronic displays

Cons:

• Not suitable for printing*

And here are some pros and cons of CMYK:

Pros:

• Suitable for printing
• More cost-effective for large print runs - using the three primary colours and black is the least amount of colours you need to reproduce a full range of colours. You need more colours to reach a wider colour gamut, but more colours increase the cost. Some fine art prints use 6 to 12 inks to get closer to the RGB colour gamut, but this increases the costs drastically.

Cons:

• Limited colour gamut
• Not suitable for digital media and electronic displays

In summary, RGB is a colour model used primarily for electronic displays and digital media, which can produce a wider range of colours. At the same time, CMYK is a colour model mainly used for printing, which has a more limited colour gamut but is more cost effective for large print runs.

Why do we ask for CMYK Files?

When you save a file to CMYK, your computer usually tries to give you a representation of what it will look like, and it will usually appear slightly duller and flatter than its RGB counterpart.

That means you will have seen that version and approved the colours before sending it to us. There would be nothing worse than sending us an RGB file and expecting the colours to POP the same way.

*Some printing techniques may ask for an RGB file if they use more than a 4-ink process. These are usually for artist prints or limited edition runs.

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