What the heck is stochastic printing other than a pretty picture?!

Whew...nothing like getting nitty-and-gritty on a Friday evening. I had someone mention stochastic and staccato printing today. So I thought I'd share the story.

The Definition
There are two primary rules to stochastic printing:
1.) The pattern of dots is randomized, and
2.) The dot is significantly smaller than the standard line-printed dot. Density is determined by a frequency of dots in stochastic printing.

Basically in regular (or AM) line screen printing, the size of the dot shrinks or grows to basically portray a change in percentage or lightness/darkness of an image. In stochastic (or FM) line screen, the size of the dot doesn’t change, but rather the frequency changes.

If you’ve heard the term staccato thrown around, this is basically an upgraded version of stochastic. The primary difference is that the size of the dot in the mid-tone range (40 – 60%) increases ever so slightly (FM 25 as opposed to FM 20…the 20 and 25 being a micron measurement). After much testing, it was discovered that the smaller dot made the image a little grainier than the rest of the tone percentages. This was a simple change that seemed to smooth the entire image out.

The Benefits
AM screening, or stochastic/staccato printing, is a great way to re-produce high-end, detailed photography. Additionally, it is a great way to give high-end jewelry (especially glass and clear gems) more life and curvature. Stochastic/staccato is also seen in: nature and human photography (staccato especially performs well with flesh tones), and detailed still life photography.

The Negatives
Many printers establish an upfront service fee for stochastic/staccato printing. On the other hand, many estimators estimate the increase of make ready time/material it will take after each plate change. Regardless however, there is some cost to this service. So as I recommend to all my customers, stochastic/staccato printing should be something that is planned appropriately prior to go to press.

That's it! Okay...more fun stuff after this post...I promise

Eco-printing checklist

Well, my allergies are going hog-wild today, so everything that I’ve mentioned about saving the environment, I’d like to take back. Just kidding!

Here are a few ways that materials on a print job can be environmentally friendly.
Paper – 1. FSC and/or SFI certified? 2. Contains recycled Post-Consumer Waste (PCW)? 3. Process or Elemental Chlorine free? 4. Is it manufactured with "Green Power"?
Ink – 1. Soy based inks? 2. Does it contain aqueous coating versus UV varnishes? 3. Does it contain metallic or fluorescent inks, foil-stamping, or non-water based glues, as there are more eco-friendly alternatives?

Ultimately, there are other ways of improving your production as well (e.g.: using cleaner mailing lists…which saves postage costs too), but these are a good start. And all of these changes have minimal to no cost increases to a commercial print job.

Corporate responsibility turns a higher profit

So I've been thinking, what if all this "Forest Stewardship Council and eco-friendly printing" is actually good for business.

Here's what I mean: I recently had a conversation with a founder and CEO of a socially responsible corporation. We discussed the two competitive advantages of any company, price or differentiation, and he explained that by instilling value in his products (one of which was acting as a socially responsible corporation) he was able to differentiate his product offering, and in turn, capture a significantly larger profit margin than his competition. Surprisingly, there aren't many companies out there that choose this same path.

Margaret Hodge MP, United Kingdom's Minister of State at the Department of Trade and Industry had this to say in a recent seminar:
"CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] and making money are linked and complementary...A company’s success and its responsibility are two sides of the same coin. Commitment to sustainability can help promote a brand image and market position – it will become an intrinsic part of business purpose and our shared endeavor to conserve the planet."

So I suppose the simple equation is: position your product/service as having value and differentiation (whether it may be environmentalism, community responsibility, or whatever) and you can sell your product at a premium. More importantly, it helps you sleep easier at night.

A Generation X-er Finally Blogs. Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog,

And yes, I'm a bit late to be catching on to "blogging", especially coming from a generation that has been lucky enough to experience the web boom and bust of the new millennium and "iPods", "Blackberries" and the "Bluetooth" (all three of which I have yet to own). But regardless, here we are.

I'll be maintaining this blog to rant and rave about the new era of commercial printing and all the fun things that go along with it (well...fun for me), graphic design, and any cool happenings in the marketing world. And perhaps, a few odd things that I catch on to and decide to discuss...like hippies unknowingly hanging "Bright-Lite" games around Boston and causing city-wide bomb scares (after all, it was a marketing strategy for a TV show).

If you've got an opinion, a question, or some interesting news, please let me know - ATrull@acmeprinting.com.

All the Best,
Adam