Issue with design looking jagged when printed (diagonal lines)

[PCCF]

Hey all - i am not sure what's wrong here. I have designed a business card - when i print the item here at my office the logo looks great, but when i have the printer (both local and online company) print the cards, the design looks jagged, and when you look close or zoom in, the entire card, all of the ink is made up of diagonal lines. The printer says its my font that is the issue, but I have 3 fonts on the card and circles and they all are jagged. Any help or insight would be greatly apprecaited! I created the card in InDesign and exported to a PDF. Please see example attached. the logo on the left is printed in office, the logo on the right has the jagged edges (if you zoom in you can see). 

[Peter Spier]

What is the file format for the logo?

My guess is you've used a raster (pixel based) image rather than vector artwork (as you would get with a .ai file) and your image resolution is way too low for printing smooth curves.

[Jumpenjax]

I agree with Peter Spier. You can also check your dot gain. The ??? Picture is much more saturated. What type of paper is it printed on?

[PCCF]

Hi Jumpenjax! Thanks for your response. The logo (on left) is printed here in my office, using just regular printer paper (this printer is very dark though with everything we print). 

[Willi Adelberger]

I think it is the problem. Additional I would recommend to use only AI or PDF/X-4 files in InDesign. If it is a logo take care no rasterization is done in the workflow which can happen in combination with transparency (effects or image, like psd or png, above vector which has a transparen area).

[PCCF]

Hi Peter! Thanks for your response. The logos on the card are SVG files. (I normally use AI files but someone told me to try this way). but the problem is i am getting the diagonals on the words as well (name, address, contact info, etc.), which is not a part of the logo, those are items created in indesign (that i converted to outlines)

[Jumpenjax]

I would save as Ai, open in photoshop, make sure the ppi is at 300 and save as a psd.

[Willi Adelberger]

Never convert a vector to a raster image for print, here never convert a AI/PDF to PSD for print. You would  decrease quality.

[Peter Spier]

 but the problem is i am getting the diagonals on the words as well (name, address, contact info, etc.), which is not a part of the logo, those are items created in indesign (that i converted to outlines)

Converting text to outlines removes the hinting that makes real fonts look smooth. Even on a high-res digital printer outlined text and and curves or lines that ar not dead horizontal or vertical are likely to show some visible stairstepping (it's there wheter you are able to see it without magnification or not). On a typical office printer it can be quite noticeable.

[Brad @ Roaring Mouse · Accepted solution]

I suspect what you are seeing is the halftone dot structure. On your home printer, which is likely an inkjet, your image is made up of random very fine droplets of ink and these, especially on normal bond paper, tend to bleed a bit so you don't see the dot structure. In the offset printing world, but also with digital presses, colours are made of halftone dots that are considerably coarser and vary in size. Halftone dots are quite ordered so are arranged in rows (hence the definitions e.g. 150 lines per inch (lpi) as a screen value). This presents a problem as there are only so many dots to make up a skinny object like the lined circles in your logo, and very small type, so the halftone pattern tends to show more as a bit of a jag; lighter colours are the worst. Granted, more professional printers use higher line screen for quality work (175 lpi or 200 lpi and even more) but some of the online companies are pretty coarse.

I would ask your printer what line screen they use, and inquire if they have an option to go higher.

[PCCF]

Hey roaringmousegraphics! I have to say i believe you hit the nail on the head. I just didnt know what i was looking at. But what you described is exactly what i am seeing. it is made up of all diagaonal lines and little dots (i am looking through a magnifying glass) i can see its actually not jagged, its just yellow and orange color dots mixed to make up one color. Thank you for explaining this all to me, I will defintiely talk to my printer and see if we can use a higher line screen! Thank you again!!