In more than 30 years of teaching graphic communications at the college/university level, I have observed many design mistakes that have led to dismal results on press. Many of those student design mistakes were made because of a lack of understanding on the entire print production process. "But it looked great on the screen" seems to be the unanimous defensive statement when staring at the disappointing final product and trying to decide what went wrong.Like most man-made disasters (plane crashes, automobile pileups, and industrial explosions), print disasters usually occur, not because of a single blunder, but due to a series of poor habits, misunderstandings, lapses of knowledge and diverted attention from over-confident designers who refuse to ask questions. These demonic forces line up creating a sinister synergy that always results in a "crash and burn" scenario on press. It strikes me that maybe these disasters aren't just limited to fledgling university students, but perhaps can be found within the package printing industry on a regular basis. If so, maybe a review of the most common mistakes and providing a few helpful hints would be of value to all.
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