Print Trapping

Trapping is an important – and often confusing – aspect of the print process. The term “trapping” refers to the process of adjusting the area where two colors meet to compensate for slight misregistration. If there’s too little trapping, you’ll see white space; too much trapping, and you’ll get a trap line (excessive overlapping) where one color overprints the other, forming an unwanted third color.

Without trapping, a misregistered image will show white space and/or a trap line if the image overprints. In the properly-trapped image on the right, the circle is expanded slightly to ensure that color borders are accurate even if there is slight misregistration.

If that sounds perplexing, have no fear; Springfield Printing handles trapping on all print projects. For your information, however, here are a few issues related to trapping that you may want to keep in mind as you design:

Trap Specifics – For many projects, Springfield Printing recommends a trap of .22 points to ensure each area of color is completely defined. Of course, this rule is not hard and fast. For example, projects that will make use of metallic inks require special trapping. Since metallic inks tend to spread after they hit the paper, a trap of .144 points is often sufficient. Some applications even call for a “dead fit” – or no trapping at all – such as those with solid areas on a cover stock.

Quick Design Tip - Avoid building illustrations in Photoshop that require trapping. If this is absolutely necessary, call us to discuss.

The Springfield Advantage
Keep in mind that trapping is the responsibility of Springfield Printing; it’s just one way we help make the printing process easier for you. Rely on us as your go-to resource for planning, layouts and technical suggestions when starting your next printing project. From managing color to submitting files and fonts properly, the team at Springfield Printing is ready to guide you every step of the way.