With the advent of the new media era, the combination of technology and art not only brings development to picture books. But also makes picture books face new challenges. In this article, we discuss in detail how to realize the printing process value of children’s picture books through four aspects. Read on to learn more.

Table of content

• Children’s picture book’s challenges in the new media era
• How to break through the creative bottleneck
• The Design Value of the Printing Process of Children’s Picture Books
• Explore the innovative way of combining children’s picture books with printing technology

1. Children’s picture book’s challenges in the new media era

Children’s picture books, also known as picture books. Picture book take an important role to cultivate children’s interest in painting art and promote children’s cognitive development. Children’s picture books have a long history. Their development has always been closely related to the progress of printing technology.

The challenges of children’s picture book in illustration art

First, the wide application of computer technology in the field of illustration art. It has made children’s picture books flourish to the point. Where there is nothing to add visual style, visual interest, and visual expression. Novel painting styles and individual visual languages are constantly emerging. emerge.

The challenges of children’s picture book in digital media

Second, the comprehensive popularization of digital media is also gradually changing children’s reading world and reading psychology. Children are surrounded by computers, mobile phones, and tablets all day long. The ever-changing and rich interactive media has greatly changed the way children read. They are no longer willing to read paper books consciously and quietly. But are more accustomed to watching e-books to get more rich reading experience. With the help of multimedia during the reading process.

From this point of view, in the face of the new reading needs of today’s children’s readers. The traditional picture book creation method based on two-dimensional vision has encountered a serious bottleneck in the past. And children’s picture books in the new media era urgently need to seek new breakthroughs in creative methods.

2. How to break through the creative bottleneck

Design critic Chris Foges (Chris Foges) believes: “In the future, paper books can only be used as decorations or luxury goods, while digital media will occupy a dominant position.” Under the impact of digital media, the development and future of children’s picture books printing have become very delicate. The traditional platform advantages of books are gradually losing. How to reshape the reading value of children’s picture books has become a new hot spot of common concern for picture book authors and people in the publishing field.

In fact, to attract children to read effectively, picture book authors and designers should respect the laws of contemporary children’s physical and mental development. Design innovations that cater to children’s reading preferences. Influenced by the Internet and digital media. Modern children prefer to experience novel and interactive reading methods. Thus, traditional children’s picture books printing need to follow the trend of development. And provide children readers with a richer reading experience to win the market. A richer reading experience requires a more powerful reading carrier to support it. So, the printing process has become one of the important means of innovating the reading experience of children’s picture books.

3. The Design Value of the Printing Process of Children’s Picture Books

The modern printing process includes several main links. Such as printing, post-press special effects processing, and book binding processing. The development of science and technology has made great breakthroughs in the printing process of printing technology, special effect processing and binding form. It also provides more choices for the design of children’s picture books. From the perspective of practical effect, the printing process of the new era improves the visual experience of picture books. Strengthens the tactile experience of reading, and shapes the multi-dimensional form of books. These special reading experiences cannot be brought by relying on graphic design alone. Relying on the design value of modern printing technology to achieve.

(1) Improve the visual experience

Children have an innate perception of color. Especially those bright colors with strong visual impact and strong appeal. Bright colors often quickly attract children’s attention. The rich color expression of new media children’s electronic books has affected traditional paper children’s books. But the improvement of printing technology. Such as new inks has made traditional paper media catch up color.

Ink is one of the key indicators that affect the color quality of printed matter. Traditional printing uses offset printing as the main method. And conventional four-color inks are generally used. The expressiveness of colors is far behind that of new media.

The emergence of new inks such as spot color ink This situation will be greatly improved. Spot color inks are pre-prepared specific color inks. Such as fluorescent blue, gold and silver metallic colors, etc. Its color transfer is accurate, the color is delicate, and the color gamut is wider. It is mainly used in high color reproduction requirements. Or printing children’s picture books with large area and many color blocks in the picture.

For example, the children’s growth series of picture books imported from Japan. They are spot-color ink printing works that are color-matched according to the original illustrations and then printed. Because spot color ink has texture, luster and visual characteristics, that other inks do not have. Some picture book authors use it as a creative means to enhance the “highlight” of the picture. And realize the personalized language of the book. Such as the French children’s book “PEAU D’ANE”. , is to use spot color ink for partial printing. So that the picture printed with golden metallic ink looks unique in vision and unique in painting style. The superiority of high-tech inks has made it an important way to improve the visual experience of reading. Traditional children’s picture books can completely compete with new media children’s picture books of visual experience by new ink and other technologies.

(2) Expand the tactile experience

Children often recognize new things through touch, expecting to get a unique sensory experience. Children’s picture book printing and processing, designers can use post-press special effects to create the tactile feeling of books. So that young readers can have a diversified sensory experience.

Post-press special effects technology is a process derived from adding special texture effects to books. It brings changes in shape, structure and texture to books. Thereby enriching the overall visual experience of books. Among them, UV and flocking are commonly used craft types for picture book authors to make diverse creative attempts.

UV is a special processing method that covers UV ink on the surface of books by screen printing. It is divided into global UV and local UV. Books with global coverage of UV can reduce the wear and tear caused by flipping through. Spot UV will make the page look special. Because of the special gloss and texture of the UV part, which is different from the simple paper material on the same plane. The strong contrast brings subtle changes in texture and touch. The changes will produce certain differences with different visual angles. This visual experience of “interaction” with reading behavior. It is also something that ordinary printing methods cannot bring.

The flocking process has two forms of full flocking and partial flocking. It refers to applying glue on the surface of the object that needs to be flocked. Then spraying the fluff on the glue layer with a flocking machine. Then drying, and finally removing the floating surface. The post-press processing process of velvet. In some children’s picture books depicting animals. The use of flocking technology can make the animals look more realistic. At the same time, children can experience the tactile sensation of the animals by touching the simulated fluff on the paper. Such as “touch” by Dk Publishing and “feel baby animals” series of children’s books. They are printed the corresponding animal imitation fur on the book by partial flocking. So that readers can feel the content by touching when flipping through.

(3) Enrich the space experience

Picture books with unique shapes will attract children’s attention. And allow them to have a unique spatial experience. The surprises and visual effects brought by the creativity of the book form. They are incomparable to the traditional graphic and text methods. The modern printing technology makes the innovation of the picture book form possible.

Die-cutting technology and binding technology are technical means. To make the visual form of children’s picture books printing look different. Die-cutting technology is to use the pressure of the mechanical mold. To cut and shape the whole or partial surface of the printed matter with the knife plate. By die-cutting pictures or texts in special shapes. It can present the spatial level between the front and back pages and the contrast in texture, graphics and structure. Thus creating a unique artistic sense for the book.

Binding is the processing step of connecting the printed single pages to form a complete book. It plays a decisive role in the service life and comfort of the book. That makes itself a book through the innovation of form and structure. An important part of “artistic”.

4. Explore the innovative way of combining children’s picture books with printing technology

Today, children’s picture books from Europe, America, Japan, South Korea and other places. They have already realized the creative application of modern printing techniques and materials. In fact, the organic combination of modern printing technology and children’s picture books can not only effectively convey the emotion of the story content. But also bring children readers a multi-level and multi-dimensional reading experience. Finally realize the artistic value and educational value of children’s picture books at the same time.

Thus, as an author who is interested in creating excellent children’s picture books. Also to having a solid foundation in painting. He should also be familiar with the entire process of picture books from the initial conception to the final publication. And be able to design according to the reading object and content. , Design concept targeted selection of appropriate types of printing materials and process methods. Build a bridge across the art and printing industry. So that good stories and picture books can enter children’s field of vision and penetrate into children’s hearts.