Frequently Asked Questions

No, not that kind of creep! In printing, a “Creep” is caused when you have a saddle stitched book that is over 48 pages, or printing on thicker paper. As the printed signatures are folded down and nested within each other, the thickness of the sheets will push out the inside pages. When the book is trimmed to final size the inner pages will be smaller than the cover pages. The imposition software compensates for this by scaling the center most pages so that nothing gets pushed out closer to the trim. You do not need to adjust your files, your amazing printer will do that for you!

A proof allows you to review your artwork before we print it. This can be both a digital or printed copy of your work.

For Offset Printing, we offer three different proofs to approve:

First, a “soft proof” or high resolution PDF. In some cases our clients feel this will be enough information for their job to print and do not require a printed proof. Note, that for an accurate soft proof you must have a properly calibrated screen to review colour.

Second, the digital content proof which comes to you folded into individual forms and trimmed to final size. This low resolution proof is for you to make sure the pages are in the correct order, page size is correct and nothing is being trimmed of that is not supposed to.

Third, our high resolution contract colour proof for approval of critical colour. The importance of this proof is for you to double check that nothing has gone wrong with the files, the colour and design elements look right after going through our rip processing.

The best way to produce crossovers is by using facing pages in your document layout program.

The best way to produce crossovers is by using facing pages in your document layout program. The imposition software will take care of the center grind for perfect bound books.

Bleed refers to an extra 1/8” of image or background color that extends beyond the trim area of your printing piece. The project is printed on an oversized sheet that is then cut down to size with the appearance that the image is “bleeding” off the edge of the paper. This makes sure there are no white edges showing on the final trimmed piece. It is important that the trim marks are outside the 1/8″ of bleed.

We have a handy “tips for creating great print files” sheet we would be happy to send you. Pls send us a request and we’ll send it to you.

For offset projects, just click on the upload arrow on our website and you will be able to login to our InSite server. For digital projects, please send via https://mitchelldigital.wetransfer.com/

We think printing today is pretty environmentally progressive, paper is a renewable resource, we harness and eliminate any chemistry, we recycle EVERYTHING. Did we mention we’re ranked #3 in North America for our sustainable practices?

How fast is greased lightening? We have an incredibly fast and efficient workflow.

Yes we do, our Digital division has a very capable graphic design department, capable of creating everything from brand identities, magazine design, prototyping.

Pantone inks are used to match a very specific color, sometimes for large area coverage it works best, it all depends on the nature and size of your project, we may have a solution to “simulate” the Pantone with CMYK or CMYK and a custom digital embellishment. Let us know more details and we’ll recommend the best option for your project, your vision and your budget.

We offer every type of offset print so will recommend the best method to suit your budget, timeline and vision. If you desire one method over another, let us know. Let’s talk.

Oh yea, we love 100% post consumer recycled stocks and make it look amazing. We can also offer a wide array of FSC® Certified stocks with various percentages of post consumer recycled content.

It used to be reserved for huge runs of 10,000 – 1,000,000. Our team have it down to a science so we run small and mid size runs as well. Bottom line is, let us now what your project is and we’ll use the best mix of equipment and capability to suit your budget, timeline and vision.

No way, we can access a wide range of beautiful paper stocks, gloss, matte, dull, Uncoated, offset, opaque, recycled and even agriculture waste wheat straw paper products. Let us show you.

At Mitchell, we don’t print newspapers (sorry) our “Web” press is “Heat Set Web”, meaning the ink is transferred and cured at high-speed using heat to set the ink with extremely high resolution (210lip for those who are counting). The heat and our afterburners eliminate any VOC’s, preventing them from reaching our environment. Newspapers are run on “Cold Set web”, this is good for high speed, but lower quality projects where high fidelity is not as important. “Cold Set web” can have issues of ink rubbing and transfer because the ink has not been “Set” on the sheet so is still a bit soft.

The main difference is speed and finishing, Heat Set web uses heat to “flash off” any moisture in the inks to “Set” it on the sheet, allowing us to produce ultra-high-speed, high-quality offset printing on huge 2,300+lb rolls of paper and exiting the press as pre-folded signatures ready to bind. Sheet fed offset uses cut sheets of paper fed into one end of the press, printed, flipped over, fed back into the press, send to bindery to cut, fold, and then bind. Our Heat set web is an astonishing 210lines of screen per inch print fidelity. No matter what we print on, it’s all meticulously managed under the strict IdeaAlliance G7 colour management protocol so your brand colors are safe and secure with us.

We accept almost anything! If you can give us press-ready PDFs, or better yet, Native Files, we can handle the Prep work for you to make sure we produce what you’re looking for. Please connect with our team for an informational PDF.

Yes! Whether it’s images, text or even barcodes, we can do it all! Guidelines are available, so talk to your Sales Representative for more information.

Yes! With this addition of gamut-expanding Red, Green and Blue, almost any Pantone colour can be matched.

Yes! There are a variety of options available. Spot clear, Protection Coat, Glass Coat are to name a few… Want something extra special? Try our Raised Dimensional to give your piece that extra tactile feel.

Yes! When printing on dark substrates, amazing effects can be created. Discuss your ideas with your Sales Representative for more information.

We would ask you to fill in as much information on our Request for Quote section : dimensions, number of pages, what colours you want, what kind of paper, quantities and what desires you hope to fulfill.

A VARNISH is an embellishment that protects and enhances your project, it can be gloss, matte or satin finish. A varnish is typically applied in a traditional printing unit. A COATING is similar to a varnish but is applied on a specialized unit at the end of a press that can lay a much thicker and robust film of material on the sheet.