In trapping cases involving smaller type, the eye can easily register changes in the shape of dark objects. To avoid the type appearing overly bold, shrink the background (choke). When there is light text on a dark background, use the spread technique, which allows the text to “spread out” across the darker background, making the…

While knocking out the background behind the text can create a sharp contrast and clarity, it risks white gaps due to misregistration. Overprinting – placing the text directly on top of the background – ensures there are no white gaps. Knockout Overprint Go to the View menu and select Overprint Fill. Come back later for…

Knockout in printing is a technique where the graphic on top “knocks out” the background color, allowing a cleaner cut. However, it requires trapping, as misregistration is likely to occur during the printing process, causing certain elements to shift and creating white gaps in the design. It also can create an unintentional third color. Overprint…

In a Spread, the object on top is “knocked out” of the one below it, creating a gap in the design, and the top color is extended to cover the bottom color. In a Choke, the top object is “knocked out” of the one below it, and the background color is brought into the knocked-out…

Sometimes, the resulting color from the overprinting of two other colors is a desired effect, as two inks overlap to create a third color, but sometimes it is not. Trapping would prevent the appearance of the “unintentional third color.” Come back later for part 6, Spread V.S. Choke!

Through the printing process, paper can shift from one color to the next. Without proper, or any trapping, image shifting, or misregistration can result. Come back later for part 5, Trapping Not Necessary!

When you effectively trap the color, there will be no white gaps in the print due to misregistration. That’s the first part! The next part is to create a “close-up” of the “A” to demonstrate further what trapping looks like. Come back later for part 4, Misregistration!

Overlapping elements create visual depth and hierarchy. Below is a clear example of trapping: color overlapping to prevent white gaps caused by misregistration in printing. Come back later for Part 3, Obvious Trap!

When designing for print, color output is critical to the quality of the project. This will be a 10-part series on Trapping. Below is an exercise in the difference between Black (100% black) and Rich Black (100% cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) in printing, completed in Illustrator. The “A” on the top left is 100%…

Today, I attended Lawrence and Schiller’s, a design agency in Sioux Falls, internship event, “Meet, Greet, and Repeat,” where I sat down with approximately 20 staff members for two-minute increments. Along with 20 other students, I shared my resume, pieces of my portfolio, and my graphic design experience. The hour I was talking to people…