Design For Print vs Digital – What Most Brands Get Wrong

There are key differences between print and digital design – from the file formats and colour modes to font types and user experience. For your designs to be effective, it’s important to understand these components.

One of the biggest misconceptions is the idea that once you have designed marketing material for your brand, you can use that single file for various marketing materials, be it a printed leaflet or online brochure. The main motivation behind this is, of course, the costs involved, thinking that you can save your business money. This is understandable, especially if you are still a small business with a more limited budget. However, the minutia of design is what makes – or breaks – its effectiveness.

If you want to avoid the trap most brands get wrong, you can begin by understanding the essential elements of designing for print vs. designing for digital.

Colour modes

Print uses CMYK colour models, while digital uses RGB:

• RGB is an additive colour model that uses red, green, and blue as the three primary colours fundamental to digital design for screen-based media. By combining these colours at varying degrees, a broad spectrum of colours can be produced. This model reflects the way pixels emit light and emphasises the necessity of optimising designs for devices such as phones and LED screens.
• CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) is a subtractive colour model. It uses these four colours in varying degrees to create the pigments which reflect and absorb light.

While RGB can produce a much bigger array of colours, it does not translate well into print, making the colours appear duller once the ink hits the paper. For this reason, brands must ensure they use the correct colour mode for each medium.

Image resolution

You need to use PPI when designing for digital, whereas the image resolution for print design is DPI.

• PPI stands for Pixels Per Inch and measures the number of pixels packed into one square inch on the screen. The higher the PPI, the better the visual experience because it will give you a higher quality image with more detail, sharper colours, and less pixelation.
• DPI stands for Dots Per Inch and measures the individual dots of ink packed within a one-inch line. Again, the higher the DPI count, the better the image quality and detail. A lower DPI could result in a print looking blurry or pixelated. What you are printing will affect the DPI count. For instance, if it’s a larger print viewed from a distance, like a billboard, you can use a low DPI of 12, but marketing material viewed up close, like a leaflet, will require a DPI of at least 300.

As with colour modes, choosing the right image resolution is essential if you want to ensure you get the most out of your marketing material. Choosing a low-resolution image from the internet to advertise your brand could make you look unprofessional and, dare we say it, cheap. On the other hand, if the image resolution is too high, it could slow down your website and have a potential customer click away instantly. It is therefore imperative that you choose the right image resolution for each medium.

Font choice

Typography is more than mere font psychology. Yes, you may like Arial because it looks clean and modern or prefer Times New Roman because it evokes a sense of tradition, but you need to consider your medium.

• Digital typography: Here, on-screen readability is paramount. With digital design, the font must be easy to read on various devices and screen sizes, which is why most designers will opt for the cleaner lines of sans-serif fonts like Arial or Verdana.
• Print typography: The biggest advantage here is that designers can choose from a much larger number of fonts. Refined details such as kerning (the space between letters) and leading (the space between lines) can be adjusted to improve readability. What’s more, serif fonts, like Times New Roman and Garamond, help guide the reader’s eyes, making it easier for them to follow long-form copy.

As you can see, there is more to choosing the right typography than merely what suits your brand identity best. The font should also convert correctly when designing the material for digital vs print to avoid layout issues and optimise readability.

User experience

The design layout and interaction of the user will differ greatly between digital and print:

• The design of your website, for instance, must be intuitive and responsive, as it needs to adapt to the various screen sizes and orientations of your viewers. You also need to be more interactive to engage users and, in turn, get them to engage more with you. Include elements like links, animation and clickable buttons to help navigate the user. But remember to keep it simple so as not to overwhelm the user.
• As print is static, your design needs to guide the reader through the flow of information. Your design layout will be affected by sizes, margins and bleeds. To get the most out of the user’s experience, be selective with elements like special finishes or paper quality.

File formats

Once the design is done, you need to choose the right file format to save your files in.

For the cleanest print results, save your files in the following vector-based formats:

.pdf
.tiff
.eps
.doc
.cdr
.psd

For websites and social media, save files in these lower-resolution formats:

.jpeg
.png
.gif
.web
.svg

Designs done right

Getting your designs right requires more than knowledge and understanding of these various elements, however. You need to know what works – and what doesn’t. You need to be distinctive in your designs while conveying your message. One of the biggest mistakes brands in the UK make is not to integrate digital and print. By relying on the services of a professional designer, you can get your message across while ensuring consistency between the various on- and offline platforms.

Whether you’re an established brand or a small business taking the leap into the big leagues, the Rebus Design and Branding Agency can help you take the next step in brand imaging. Get in touch today and let us bring your brand alive in digital and print.