Top 12 Print Designer Skills to Put on Your Resume

In the competitive field of print design, showcasing a blend of technical proficiency and creative flair on your resume is crucial for standing out to potential employers. This article highlights the top 12 skills that print designers must include in their resumes to capture attention and demonstrate their capability to excel in creating compelling visual communications.

Print Designer Skills

1. Photoshop
2. Illustrator
3. InDesign
4. CorelDRAW
5. Typography
6. Color Theory
7. QuarkXPress
8. Acrobat Pro
9. Sketch
10. Affinity Designer
11. Prepress
12. Pantone Matching

1. Photoshop

Photoshop is a digital imaging and photo editing software used by print designers for creating, editing, and enhancing raster graphics and photos for print materials.

Why It's Important

Photoshop is crucial for print designers as it enables precise manipulation and enhancement of images, ensuring high-quality visuals that meet exact print specifications and color accuracy, essential for professional-grade print materials.

How to Improve Photoshop Skills

Improving your Photoshop skills as a Print Designer involves focusing on techniques and tools specific to high-quality print outputs. Here are concise tips and resources:

1. Master Color Management: Understanding color profiles and settings ensures your printed work matches your digital design. Adobe's own guide to color management is a great start.

2. Learn Advanced Layer Techniques: Utilize layers for non-destructive editing. Adobe's tutorials on layer basics provide the foundation you need.

3. Understand High-Resolution Images: For print, high-resolution images are key. Learn about resolution and image size adjustments on Adobe's how to resize images page.

4. Get Familiar with Typography: Typography in print design is crucial. Explore Adobe's tips on working with type to enhance your text handling.

5. Use Photoshop's Print-Specific Features: Dive into features like proofing to preview how colors will look when printed. Adobe's overview on proofing colors is essential.

6. Practice with Real Projects and Tutorials: Hands-on practice is invaluable. Websites like Tuts+ offer a variety of tutorials tailored to print design.

7. Stay Updated and Explore New Features: Adobe regularly updates Photoshop with new tools and features. Keep up-to-date to make the most out of the software for print design. Check Adobe's What's New page regularly.

Focusing on these areas and integrating new techniques into your workflow will enhance your Photoshop skills for print design.

How to Display Photoshop Skills on Your Resume

2. Illustrator

Illustrator is a vector graphics editor developed by Adobe, widely used by print designers for creating and manipulating high-resolution, scalable illustrations, logos, and layout designs for print materials such as brochures, posters, and packaging.

Why It's Important

Illustrator is essential for a Print Designer as it allows for the creation of scalable vector graphics, ensuring high-quality prints at any size. It provides precise control over typography and layout, vital for professional print design.

How to Improve Illustrator Skills

Improving your skills in Adobe Illustrator, particularly as a print designer, involves mastering tools and techniques that are crucial for high-quality print output. Here's a concise guide to help you enhance your Illustrator prowess:

1. Master Pen Tool: The Pen Tool is essential for creating precise vector graphics. Practice creating complex shapes and paths. Adobe's Pen Tool Tutorial is a great place to start.

2. Understand Color Management: Learn about CMYK color mode for print materials, ensuring your designs retain their intended colors when printed. Adobe's guide on Color Management is useful.

3. Utilize Layers and Groups: Organize your artwork efficiently using layers and groups. This simplifies modifications and selections. Check out Adobe's tips on Organizing Artwork with Layers.

4. Explore Typography: Delve into advanced typography features in Illustrator to enhance your print designs. Adobe offers a comprehensive guide on Working with Type.

5. Get Familiar with Print Specific Functions: Learn about bleed, trim, and slug areas to ensure your printouts look professional. Adobe's explanation on Setting Up Documents for Printing will help.

6. Practice with Templates: Use templates for common print designs like business cards, brochures, or posters to get accustomed to standard print sizes and layouts. Adobe Stock offers a range of Templates.

7. Stay Updated with New Features: Adobe Illustrator is constantly updated with new features and tools. Regularly check Adobe's What's New page.

8. Join Online Communities: Engage with other designers in communities like Behance or Reddit. Sharing work and receiving feedback can significantly improve your skills. Visit Behance and Adobe Illustrator Subreddit.

By focusing on these areas and regularly practicing, you can significantly enhance your Illustrator skills as a print designer.

How to Display Illustrator Skills on Your Resume

3. InDesign

InDesign is a professional desktop publishing software developed by Adobe Systems, primarily used by print designers for creating and laying out periodicals, posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, and books, among other print media, with sophisticated typography and page design capabilities.

Why It's Important

InDesign is crucial for print designers as it offers advanced layout, typography, and pagination tools, enabling the creation of professional, high-quality print materials such as brochures, magazines, and flyers with efficiency and precision.

How to Improve InDesign Skills

Improving your skills in Adobe InDesign as a Print Designer involves refining your understanding of layout, typography, and efficient workflow management. Here are concise tips with resources for enhancing your capabilities:

1. Master Typography: Understand kerning, leading, and font pairing. Use Adobe's typography tutorials to deepen your knowledge.

2. Leverage Templates: Start projects with templates to save time. Explore Adobe Stock's templates for inspiration and efficiency.

3. Utilize InDesign Shortcuts: Speed up your workflow by mastering keyboard shortcuts. Check out Adobe's shortcut guide.

4. Understand Color Management: Ensure your colors translate correctly from screen to print by mastering color profiles and settings. Adobe's guide can help.

5. Learn to Use GREP Styles: Automate formatting with GREP Styles for efficiency in long documents. This InDesignSecrets introduction is a great starting point.

6. Keep Updated with New Features: Stay updated with the latest features and updates from Adobe. Visit the What's New page regularly.

7. Practice with Real Projects: Implement your skills in real-world projects. Sites like Behance can offer inspiration.

8. Join InDesign Communities: Engage with other designers for feedback and tips. The Adobe Support Community is a valuable resource.

By focusing on these areas and leveraging the provided resources, you can significantly enhance your proficiency in Adobe InDesign for print design.

How to Display InDesign Skills on Your Resume

4. CorelDRAW

CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor used by print designers to create and edit logos, brochures, and other print media, offering tools for layout, vector illustration, and photo editing.

Why It's Important

CorelDRAW is important for a Print Designer because it offers versatile vector graphic editing capabilities, essential for creating scalable designs, layouts, and typography with precision and control, crucial for high-quality print outputs.

How to Improve CorelDRAW Skills

Improving your CoreLDraw skills as a Print Designer involves focusing on efficiency, mastering key features, and staying updated with new tools. Here are concise tips:

1. Master the Basics: Ensure you have a strong foundation. Learn about vector basics, shapes, and paths. Corel's Official Tutorials provide a great starting point.

2. Utilize Shortcuts: Speed up your workflow by mastering CorelDRAW shortcuts. CorelDRAW Shortcut Guide lists essential shortcuts.

3. Explore Advanced Color Management: Proper color management is crucial for print design. Dive into advanced settings to ensure colors match from screen to print. CorelDRAW Color Management offers insights.

4. Leverage PowerTRACE: Convert raster images to vector format efficiently with PowerTRACE for cleaner, scalable graphics. This PowerTRACE Guide explains the process.

5. Stay Updated: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite updates introduce new features and improvements. Keep your software updated and explore new tools. Check the Latest Updates regularly.

6. Join the Community: Engage with the CorelDRAW community to exchange tips, tricks, and resources. The CorelDRAW Community is a valuable resource.

7. Practice Regularly: Like any tool, proficiency comes with practice. Set personal projects or challenges to apply new skills and techniques.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve your CorelDRAW skills, streamline your print design workflow, and produce higher quality work.

How to Display CorelDRAW Skills on Your Resume

5. Typography

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and visually appealing when displayed, crucial for effective print design.

Why It's Important

Typography is crucial for a Print Designer as it enhances readability, establishes hierarchy, conveys brand identity, and engages the audience, ensuring effective communication of the message.

How to Improve Typography Skills

Improving typography as a print designer involves understanding and applying several core principles to enhance readability, visual impact, and message delivery. Here are concise steps with relevant resources:

1. Choose the Right Typeface: Match the typeface's personality with the project's purpose. Use Font Squirrel for quality, free fonts.

2. Hierarchy and Contrast: Establish clear visual hierarchy using size, weight, and color to guide the reader's eye. Learn more from Canva’s Design School.

3. Consistency: Keep your typeface choices and styling consistent across the project. Adobe’s Typography Primer offers insights into maintaining consistency.

4. Alignment: Text alignment (left, right, center, justified) affects readability and mood. Use alignment to create a clean, organized look. The Futur’s Typography Manual provides advanced tips.

5. Line Length and Spacing: Optimal line length (50-60 characters) and adequate spacing (leading) improve readability. Experiment with these using Type Scale for visual harmony.

6. Color and Background: Ensure sufficient contrast between text and background for readability. Use tools like Coolors to find harmonious color schemes.

7. Proofreading and Testing: Always proofread and print test copies to check for errors or readability issues in different lighting conditions.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve the typography in your print design projects, making them more engaging and effective.

How to Display Typography Skills on Your Resume

6. Color Theory

Color theory in print design is the study and application of color combinations and effects to enhance visual communication. It involves understanding how different colors interact, the psychological impact of colors on viewers, and the technical aspects of color reproduction in print media. This knowledge helps print designers create aesthetically pleasing and effective designs.

Why It's Important

Color Theory is crucial for a Print Designer because it guides the effective use of color to enhance visual communication, ensure color consistency across different printing processes, and evoke the desired emotional response from the target audience, ultimately influencing the success of the printed material.

How to Improve Color Theory Skills

Improving color theory as a print designer involves understanding the basics of color interactions, color psychology, and the specific challenges posed by print media. Here's a concise guide:

1. Master the Color Wheel: Familiarize yourself with primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. Understand complementary, analogous, and triadic color schemes for harmonious designs. Color Wheel Basics

2. Learn Color Models: Differentiate between RGB (for digital) and CMYK (for print) color models. Optimize your designs in CMYK for accurate print outcomes. CMYK vs. RGB

3. Understand Color Psychology: Colors evoke emotions and reactions. Use color psychology to convey the right message to your audience. Color Psychology in Design

4. Practice Color Harmony: Use tools to create pleasing color combinations and avoid clashes. Tools like Adobe Color can help you experiment and find harmonious palettes. Adobe Color

5. Consider Print Material: Different materials absorb and reflect ink differently. Test colors on your intended material to ensure fidelity. Printing Tips

6. Study Accessibility: Ensure your designs are accessible to everyone, including those with color blindness. Use high contrast and avoid problematic color combinations. Color Accessibility

7. Continuous Learning and Experimentation: Stay updated with color trends and innovations in print design. Experiment with new palettes and techniques to refine your style.

By focusing on these key areas, you can significantly improve your understanding and application of color theory in print design, leading to more engaging, effective, and aesthetically pleasing designs.

How to Display Color Theory Skills on Your Resume

7. QuarkXPress

QuarkXPress is a desktop publishing software used by print designers to create and layout complex page designs for printed materials such as magazines, brochures, posters, and books. It offers a wide range of typography, color, and layout tools for professional print production.

Why It's Important

QuarkXPress is crucial for a Print Designer because it offers powerful layout and typography tools, enabling the creation of high-quality, professional print materials efficiently, such as brochures, magazines, and posters.

How to Improve QuarkXPress Skills

Improving your QuarkXPress experience as a Print Designer involves a combination of enhancing software skills, staying updated with new features, and integrating efficient design practices. Here’s how:

1. Master Keyboard Shortcuts: Learn and use QuarkXPress keyboard shortcuts to speed up your design process. QuarkXPress Keyboard Shortcuts.

2. Utilize Templates: Start with professionally designed templates for consistency and efficiency. QuarkXPress Templates.

3. Stay Updated: Regularly update your software to the latest version for new features and bug fixes. QuarkXPress Update.

4. Learn New Features: Explore and learn about new features in each update. Quark provides resources and tutorials for this. QuarkXPress Tutorials.

5. Experiment with Typography: Utilize QuarkXPress’s robust typography tools to enhance the visual appeal of your print designs. Typography Tips.

6. Optimize Images and Graphics: Learn about image and graphic formats and their best uses in QuarkXPress for high-quality print outputs. Image Handling in QuarkXPress.

7. Attend Workshops/Webinars: Participate in workshops or webinars hosted by Quark or other professional bodies to learn new skills and techniques. QuarkXPress Webinars.

8. Join User Communities: Engage with other QuarkXPress users in forums or online communities to share tips, tricks, and get help with issues. QuarkXPress Forums.

9. Customize Workspace: Arrange and customize your QuarkXPress workspace to suit your workflow for better efficiency.

10. Feedback and Suggestions: Actively provide feedback and suggestions to Quark for improvements you’d like to see, making the tool more tailored to print designer needs. Quark Customer Support.

By following these strategies, you can significantly improve your proficiency and productivity in QuarkXPress, making your print design process more efficient and effective.

How to Display QuarkXPress Skills on Your Resume

8. Acrobat Pro

Acrobat Pro is a comprehensive PDF editing software that allows print designers to create, edit, secure, and review high-quality PDF documents, including interactive forms and print-ready files.

Why It's Important

Acrobat Pro is crucial for a Print Designer because it provides advanced tools for creating, editing, and preflighting PDF files to ensure high-quality print output, enabling precise color management, font embedding, and layout accuracy.

How to Improve Acrobat Pro Skills

Improving your experience with Acrobat Pro as a Print Designer involves optimizing PDFs for high-quality printing, ensuring color accuracy, and streamlining your workflow. Here are concise tips:

1. Utilize Preflight Tools: Use Acrobat Pro's Preflight feature to automatically check and fix common printing issues, ensuring files are print-ready.

2. Color Management: Ensure color consistency by managing color settings in Acrobat Pro, matching your print output expectations.

3. Optimize PDF Files: Reduce file size without compromising quality for easier sharing with printers by using the PDF Optimizer.

4. Use High-Quality Images: Ensure all images in your PDFs are high resolution. Acrobat's Image Settings can guide you in checking and adjusting image quality.

5. Implement Layered PDFs: Use layers to separate design elements, making it easier to edit and update your PDFs without affecting the entire document. Learn more about layers in PDFs.

6. Embed Fonts: Always embed fonts to maintain the intended design aesthetic. Acrobat Pro allows you to embed fonts in your PDFs, ensuring they look consistent across different computers and printers.

7. Regularly Update Software: Keep Acrobat Pro updated to benefit from the latest features and bug fixes. Adobe provides a guide on updating Acrobat.

By following these tips and leveraging Acrobat Pro’s features to their fullest, you can significantly enhance your efficiency and output quality as a Print Designer.

How to Display Acrobat Pro Skills on Your Resume

9. Sketch

Sketch is a vector-based design tool primarily used for creating user interfaces, web designs, and digital graphics, offering print designers a flexible platform for layout, typography, and color management for high-quality print materials.

Why It's Important

Sketch is important for a Print Designer because it offers a versatile and intuitive platform for creating high-quality vector graphics, enabling efficient design, prototyping, and collaboration, which are essential in producing compelling print materials.

How to Improve Sketch Skills

Improving your skills in Sketch for print design involves mastering both the fundamentals of the software and understanding print-specific requirements. Here’s a concise guide:

1. Learn the Basics: Start with Sketch's official tutorials to understand the interface and tools. Sketch Tutorials

2. Understand Print Specifications: Know the requirements for print design, like CMYK color mode, resolution (300 DPI), and bleed settings. Sketch primarily supports RGB, so you'll need to adapt your workflow for print. Adobe provides a great primer on these topics, which is beneficial even for Sketch users. Adobe Print Guide

3. Utilize Templates and Plugins: Leverage Sketch templates designed for print and explore plugins that can streamline your workflow or convert files into print-friendly formats. Sketch App Sources is an excellent resource for templates, and Sketch Plugins can enhance functionality.

4. Practice Color Management: Learn about managing colors for print, ensuring your design’s colors stay true from digital to print. This guide from X-Rite is a good starting point. Color Management Guide

5. Export Correctly: Master Sketch’s export options to ensure your designs are in the right format and specification for your print provider. This involves choosing the correct file types (often PDF, TIFF) and understanding when to outline text or embed images. Sketch Exporting Assets

6. Seek Feedback and Iterate: Share your designs with peers or print professionals to get feedback on how to improve your print designs.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly enhance your print design capabilities within Sketch. Remember, practice and continual learning are key to mastering any software for specific design needs.

How to Display Sketch Skills on Your Resume

10. Affinity Designer

Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor designed for professionals in graphic design, including print design. It offers advanced tools for creating high-quality illustrations, layouts, and branding materials with precision and flexibility, supporting both vector and raster graphics within a single application.

Why It's Important

Affinity Designer is important for a print designer because it offers high precision, vector graphic capabilities, and CMYK color support, essential for creating scalable and print-ready designs with accurate color reproduction.

How to Improve Affinity Designer Skills

To enhance your skills in Affinity Designer as a print designer, focus on the following areas:

1. Master the Basics: Familiarize yourself with core functionalities. The official Affinity Designer Workbook is a great starting point.

2. Understand Color Management: Learn about color profiles and settings for print. This color management guide from X-Rite is very insightful.

3. Utilize Vector Tools: Improve your vector illustration skills. Check out Frankentoon's tutorials for creative techniques.

4. Learn Typography: Enhance your typography skills for better design layouts. Typography tips and tricks on Canva’s Design School are quite helpful.

5. Explore Print Design Specific Features: Understand bleed, slug, and print settings. Serif’s official forums and tutorials can guide you through print-specific functionalities.

6. Practice with Projects: Apply your skills on real-world projects. Websites like Briefbox offer practice briefs.

7. Stay Updated with New Features: Affinity Designer is regularly updated. Keep an eye on the official Affinity updates page for the latest features.

By focusing on these areas and utilizing the provided resources, you can significantly improve your proficiency in Affinity Designer for print design.

How to Display Affinity Designer Skills on Your Resume

11. Prepress

Prepress is the process of preparing design files for printing, ensuring they meet technical specifications such as color correctness, resolution, and layout for the desired print output.

Why It's Important

Prepress is crucial for a Print Designer as it ensures the accuracy and quality of the final printed material by addressing layout, color, typography, and image optimization before printing. This process minimizes errors and production costs, guaranteeing the intended design outcome is achieved efficiently.

How to Improve Prepress Skills

Improving prepress as a Print Designer involves several steps focused on ensuring accuracy, quality, and efficiency in the printing process. Here are concise tips:

1. Understand Color Management: Master color profiles and color spaces (CMYK, RGB) to ensure colors match from monitor to print. Tools like Adobe Color Management Adobe Color are invaluable.

2. Use High-Resolution Images: Ensure all images are at least 300 DPI for print. This guarantees clarity and sharpness in the final product.

3. Preflight Checks: Use software features or dedicated programs like Adobe Acrobat's preflight tool Adobe Acrobat Preflight to catch errors before printing.

4. Proofread and Review: Beyond automated checks, manually review your design for typos, alignment, and layout issues. Tools like Grammarly Grammarly can aid with text.

5. Soft Proofing: Utilize software to simulate how your design will look in print. This can be done within Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator through their proofing setups.

6. Stay Updated on Software and Technologies: Always stay current with your design software and prepress technologies to leverage new features and improvements. Adobe Creative Cloud Adobe Creative Cloud regularly updates its suite for this purpose.

7. Communication with Printers: Clearly communicate with your printing service to understand their specifications and requirements. This ensures your design is optimized for their printing process.

By focusing on these areas, you can significantly improve the prepress process, leading to better print quality and efficiency.

How to Display Prepress Skills on Your Resume

12. Pantone Matching

Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a standardized color reproduction system used by print designers to ensure accurate and consistent color output across various materials and printing processes by referencing Pantone's specific color codes.

Why It's Important

Pantone Matching is crucial for a Print Designer because it ensures color consistency and accuracy across different printing materials and processes, maintaining brand integrity and visual coherence.

How to Improve Pantone Matching Skills

Improving Pantone Matching for a print designer involves a combination of accurate color selection, consistent printing practices, and routine maintenance of equipment. Here's a concise guide:

1. Understand Pantone Colors: Familiarize yourself with the Pantone Matching System (PMS) to select accurate colors for your designs. Pantone provides comprehensive guides and tools for this purpose.

2. Use High-Quality Materials: Invest in high-quality inks and paper. The quality of these materials can significantly affect how colors are reproduced.

3. Calibrate Your Equipment: Regularly calibrate your monitors and printers to ensure color consistency. Tools like the X-Rite i1Display Pro for monitors and i1Studio for printers can be invaluable.

4. Proof Before Printing: Always run a proof print before finalizing the project. This step can help identify any discrepancies between the digital design and the printed version.

5. Stay Updated: Pantone occasionally updates their color guides. Keeping your resources up-to-date ensures you're working with the most accurate colors. Pantone Products page lists the latest guides and tools.

6. Educate Yourself: Continuously educate yourself on print design and Pantone Matching. Websites like Print Magazine offer valuable insights and tips.

By focusing on these key areas, print designers can significantly improve their Pantone Matching accuracy, leading to more consistent and vibrant printed materials.

How to Display Pantone Matching Skills on Your Resume