CAREFUL OF BLACK AREAS
Large areas of solid black are not advisable. Think it over. Ink flows irregularly on newspaper presses. One copy may show up exactly as in the original; the next may develop a white halo, a gray tendency, a smeary, half-baked look. No two impressions will be quite the same. And it is logical to see that this is apt to be so. Any imperfection or irregularity in the ink roller will cause it, or the collection of foreign matter on cut or roller. Any black area larger than two inches square is a hazard.
Advertisers often think that masses of solid black will make an advertisement “stand out.” They would if they printed a smooth, even black—which they seldom do. But liberal white margins are far more potent in attracting attention and in segregating an advertisement from mixed company than solid blacks.
The appearance of large areas of black may be secured via subterfuge. One method is to form the background of heavy black lines, quite close together. The white spaces between save the printing. Look at straight type through a magnifying glass. Not even type is printed clear black. Then what chance would an even surface of large proportion have?
Newspaper cuts should be “routed deep.” Routing is merely the deepening or entire cutting away of extraneous matter on the engraving—that is, where there is no printing surface. The smudges of hideous design often seen are really an impression of a metal surface that has not been routed out properly. Every engraving should be examined critically for such defects.
Avoid placing a shaded area against a black area. As we have intimated, the heart and soul of the successful newspaper drawing is contrast.
The beginning of every advertisement or series of advertisements is represented in terms of a first visualization. It is in pencil. These should be made same size—that is, the actual size they are to eventually appear. Then no one, the artist least of all, is fooled by disparity of proportions.