Ask Nubby #20: Digital vs. Print Design & Magazine Submissions

I’m an artist and I have submitted to digital magazines but never anything in actual print. I’m most comfortable with digital work but now I want to get into magazines. Any advice?

Taking the leap from digital work to print can be a big adjustment, so congratulations for deciding to take the plunge! To make the transition, you’ll first need to get your work into the right hands. And secondly, you’ll need to know how to properly submit files.

Whether it’s formatted as a blog or standard website, putting together an online portfolio of your work will show that you’re a serious contender.

The beauty of an online portfolio is that it’s inexpensive, doesn’t waste resources and can be clicked through in an instant, saving everyone time, energy and money. If you’re planning on setting up a blog to display your work, WordPress has over 600 free themes on their site. I recommend WordPress because its ease of customizability and thousands of plugins. To get you started, here are 15 examples of WordPress themes being used as a portfolio.

If you’d like to stick to a standard site format, I’ve noticed that quite a few designers are using Indexhibit for simple layouts. Beyond that, if you’re building a site on a budget, local college design programs are an excellent place to find web designers looking to gain both portfolio work and some extra money.

If you’re searching for publications to submit to, most magazines have websites (with a contact us link usually lurking towards the bottom of the page) and even better, a great portion have blogs that they update regularly. If you can’t locate contact information online, you can always go to the bookstore, check out the masthead, find out who’s in charge and take notes. Or, if you want instantaneous access to over 750 mastheads for a low price, Mastheads.org has complete lists with information on how to contact editors and magazine staffers!

Once you’ve narrowed down the list of who you’d like to submit to, consider making initial contact via email first. Magazine staff can be incredibly busy and it’s much easier for them to check out an email and click a portfolio link versus opening a package and scanning through your print portfolio.

If you’re designing a piece of work for a print publication versus the web, there are a number of differences that you should be aware of. When you design work that will be printed, the outcome will be something that people can both see and feel the texture of. For this reason, the tactile nature should be considered. Think about the weight and textures of the papers that your work is being printing on. Will the type of finish that the publication uses convey the look that you’re trying to achieve?

RGB color mode (red, green & blue) is used in your computer monitor and is the way that websites and digital work are able to be viewed on screen. RGB can only be viewed with natural or produced light and not on a printed page.

If you’re working on a project that will end up in print, then set it up in CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow & black). When the colors of CMYK are printed as small dots, the human eye sees the final image.

So, how do you know if your work is accurate if you’re designing it on screen but sending it to print?

1. Always print a sample first and see if you can spot any visible errors. If you’re sending a file off to the printer, request a proof (especially if you’re doing a huge run) to avoid costly mistakes.

2. Use swatches. As a designer, Pantone swatch books are your best friend because both you and the client can see what the chosen colors will look like on paper. Even if the on-screen color doesn’t look exact, you have peace of mind knowing what the printed outcome will look like.

Crop marks are a visual guide for the printer to know where to cut the paper. Most layouts will have marks on each corner of the document, but to make sure that they don’t show up in the printed piece, they need to be placed outside of the live area. If you’re downloading premade templates from an online source or have been provided with them from a printer, crop marks may already be included.

To ensure that a gap of white space does not show up in your final printed piece, make sure that any images extend beyond the live area of the page so that the edges will be clean. The amount that your images need to be extended beyond the trim marks is called the bleed and can vary, though one eighth of an inch is common.

And finally, everything that you’d like to avoid getting cropped should be nicely contained within the live area.

If a publication offers you work, remember to request their specific file guidelines before sending off the final art. There is no better feeling than holding the finished product of something that you’ve created in your hands. The excitement of flipping through a magazine to see your work in print is unparalleled. Good luck!

Tags: Advice, Ask Nubby, Graphic Design