Preparing documents for print.

looksee

I know this is Digital art and design, but I have seen a few cases where people want to print their artwork. If you are printing digitally, either commercially or on a desktop printer, then there isn't really any issue, on the whole, what you see is what you get. Though a resolution of 150dpi will give you a better result than 72 (default screen resolution)

If you want to take your work to an off-set litho printer though, (for big runs of four colour printing), its a whole different ballgame and there are a good few things you need to be aware of.

People who send commercial material to print - magazines etc - will have spent several years learning how to do it, so you are not going to learn all the rules based on a few tips, but it may help you make a start.

So I'm offering a few very basic rules, hopefully other people will add others.

The printer will have to make separations (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) in order to do four colour printing. You cannot separate a Word document, so you must bring your images into a page layout program - Quark and Indesign are the most usual.

Photoshop can be separated, but there are a lot of reasons why you should not present a finished job in Photoshop, not least being that the printer will have to put it into a page layout program, and charge you, and you will look like an amateur

When you set up your image it should be in CMYK, not RGB (though a few places, the Indo is one I think) require RGB, but don't get side-tracked into the exceptions.

Images should be at the correct size (centimeters) and the correct resolution. Resolution should be 300dpi. To adjust a 72dpi image in Photoshop untick 'resample image' and change the resolution. If the image is then very small you will not be able to use it. You can increase the image by about 20%, depending on the quality of the original.

Only use type in Photoshop for large titles etc, or words that you want to alter in some way. Type should be added in the page layout programme - and in fact this is easier once you have got the hang of it. Type in Photoshop is rasterised so it will not be as clear as the vector print in the layout program.

Save Photoshop documents as flattened Tiffs.

When you send the job to the printer you have to send the images that you have used and the fonts, so ask the page layout program to 'Collect for Output' into a final folder that you do not subsequently change at all.

Hope this is helpful, its only the tip of the iceberg, but its stuff you need to know if you want to go to print with a job, also I admit I am a little bit out of date, so if anything has changed with the above please say .

banquo

I love you.

Dublin_Gunner

looksee - in addition to your post.

I wouldn't generally use tiff at all. It generally makes for quite a large image file.

If using newer versions of quark and inDesign, simply place the .psd directly into the layout.

Also, I would send all docs to print as print ready PDF's, and embed all fonts. Saves you having to package up everything and send them off to the printer.

It is also important to point out that if sending PDF's for print, ensure you're using a pdfx1a compatible file, and ensure to include crop marks and colour bars.

You also neglected to include information about 'bleed'.

Bleed is very important, as it ensures your finished image / design does not have white edges etc

Always use a 3mm bleed, unless specifically asked for a different size bleed.

Also, if there is any confusion or uncertainty as to how / what to send to the printer - ask them, most printers are more than happy to inform you of what they require, and would in fact prefer you asked, than having some ongoing e-mail tennis, or your work having to be re-printed.

Another thing, if you're running a 4 colour job, ensure you have your output set to 'convert all spots to process'.

looksee

OK, things have changed I would never have dreamed of putting a psd into a layout program.

Useful info Dublin Gunner, you are right about bleed and registration and...a million other things (I used to spend a lot of time making jobs that graphic designers thought were finished into documents that would print!)

This might be a useful resource to get people started though, any additions welcome.

Dublin_Gunner

looksee wrote: »

OK, things have changed I would never have dreamed of putting a psd into a layout program.

Useful info Dublin Gunner, you are right about bleed and registration and...a million other things (I used to spend a lot of time making jobs that graphic designers thought were finished into documents that would print!)

This might be a useful resource to get people started though, any additions welcome.

Yep, update the PSD, and InDesign can be automatically updated without having to re-insert the image

Havent used Quark in years, but I'm sure it must have the same functionality these days