Points to include in my research paper

[Calligirl]

Gotta write a paper on printing, how to get the design off the paper and on the paper correctly.

What points do I need to cover? I have some ideas but would value practical experience.

What makes you pull your hair out?

[prepress_goddess]

Here's some for your paper:

PDFs with no bleed
PDFs with fonts not embedded
RGB files that need to print 2 spot colors
Incorrect measurements
Designers that say "I don't know how to do that"
Designers that say " It's your job to fix the file, not mine"

Not using "Collect for Output" in Quark
Not using "Package" in InDesign

Grabbing images off the internet for printing

Microsoft Publisher


to name a few. . . . . . . . . .

[doubting_thomas]

I saw your other post in a different thread.

Biggest problems I have with client submissions that need to be fixed:
Not submitting the correct (or any) of the fonts actually used in the design
Not submitting the correct (or any) linked or embedded images
Not having a grasp on basic color spaces used by graphic applications (RGB, CMYK, Grayscale and Device N/Spot)
Not understanding the difference between Raster and Vector artwork
Not understanding what bleed is or how it can be accounted for
Not proof reading a document before submission

The easiest solutions to these are:
A *free* phone call to me or most other prepress operators who are generally
happy to educate because down the road it pays off
Look at proofs that are provided by service providers. That's what they're for.
Learning a little about what you're doing and what your service provider does.

This stuff isn't hard. If I can do it...

[PrintDriver]

Large format has a whole different set of rules.
Most important to call your vendor if you've never done it.

1. The biggest issue right now is Transparency mistakes. Adobe has a pdf for designers and printers here:
http://www.adobe.com/studio/print/ptd.html#colorandtransparancy
Sometimes the page takes forever to load.
All designers should read both the printer and the designer material.

2. Color spaces. There IS a large format RGB print process that uses lasers/LEDs to expose photo paper. Ask how to set files up properly.

3. Colors. When to use Pantone's Bridge and when not to. Do NOT use it for large format.

4. Out of gamut colors.

5. measurements, object placement and not knowing how to work in scale.

6. improper image resolutions for print size and improper use of Photoshop's interpolation engines.

7. Not knowing what bleed is or not knowing how much is really needed.

8. Not checking Quark Collect and InDesign Package to make sure all the parts of the fonts are there. Sometimes they make mistakes.

9. Not using the Usage palette in Quark or the Pre-Flight function in InDesign to see if there are any extraneous fonts you really aren't using. False starts, empty text boxes and not specifying a Style so that the last space after a period shows as the default are usually the culprits.

10. Not removing all stray points in an Illustrator doc or empty text boxes in other programs.

11. Not deleting swatches not being used. This includes all the patterns, gradients and fills the programs supply by default.

12. Lots of things in the signage/logo creation department. The fact that a designer does not usually know the mechanics of sign making is why you will always see a disclaimer that a set-up charge may apply upon receipt of actual files. There are so many ways to mangle a logo even when it is supplied in vector format. (spun beziers, improper use of Pathfinder, stroked lines, non-outlined fonts and improper trapping just to name a few)

13. Freeware fonts. Especially TrueType. We are still seeing 25% of Freeware TrueType not surviving the rip (yes updated rips) without workarounds. Freeware and Shareware even Postscript have their share of bad outline files. May look great on a magazine page but blow it up to banner size and oh boy...bad news.

Yeah, some of these are just peeves. Of course I can go to Select All Unused and delete swatches myself but how do you work that way - with all your PMS colors scattered all over the palette. Waste of time. And I can go to Select Stray Points and delete them myself to unsloppify a logo for the signage program. But I'll charge you for it. ;)

[Calligirl]

Appreciate the posts, guys.

I'm absorbing...

[budafist]

One thing I am getting a lot lately: Text that is supposed to be black, but set up in about 40% of each of CMYK. I believe this has something to do with setting up a file in RGB. There is no K in RGB hence the problems.

[PrintDriver]

Some people believe that 40/40/40/40 is 'rich black'.
Rich black is print vendor dependent.

[budafist]

Rich black is a pain in the ass for small text work...My printers throw it back at me so I have to fix it or throw it back further... :(

[PrintDriver]

Most wide format vendors prefer it because just plain black is 'flat' (and there is no plate registration to worry about in WF). But each vendor has his own specific formula for each wide format material they print on.

[hewligan]

That's probably true when your letters are HUGE. But a 10 point font in a rich black will be all kinds of mis-registered ugly.

[urstwile]

The biggest point, which has been made on here, but I feel it's important to make as a separate point, is calling your print vendor.

I'm afraid too many designers assume that all print vendors have the same workflow, RIPs, etc. It's important when going with a vendor with whom you're unfamiliar that you contact them, preferably the person actually doing the production of your project, not just the CSR, as you'll only start up an elaborate game of post office. Insist that you get to speak with someone in the production department, explain to them how your file is currently set up, and find out what they need you to do to make sure your project prints correctly.

I seriously CAN'T stress this enough.

[PrintDriver]

The only thing I ever see in 10pt type are photo credits. LOL!
And most of the time in a color that is one shade darker or lighter than the background.
:D

Seriously, tuned Lightjets and Lambdas don't have registration problems.

[hewligan]

I've never worked prepress, but I did used to work on magazines, and have to deal with the disasters that were supplied ads.

The one I remember driving me nuts was the number of people who would send me ads where they'd selected all their colours from the Pantone Solid Coated Swatch palette. Now, (leaving aside that we weren't printing on coated stock) when you go to seperate that, or when you preflight it, you find you have 10 or 15 plates.

So then I got to track down all their spots and convert them to process.

And, sadly, when you're working on a magazine near the bottom of the publishing food chain, you don't get to bounce jobs, or even charge extra for fixing the files, so when that ad comes in next week, you'll be doing the same thing over again...

[budafist]

Unfortunately we get business cards with type as small as 5pt with "rich black". Of course the printers refuse to print that stuff. If you get 1 plate out of registration, you get a halo of that colour around the "black".


Indesign is wonderful - you can convert all spots to process when you make your postscript file. Which is fine when you got a bunch of pantone colours to print CMYK.

Does anyone have a fix for the rich black situation though? How can you make rich black into 100% black only when it's within a CMYK pdf?

[prepress_goddess]

Does anyone have a fix for the rich black situation though? How can you make rich black into 100% black only when it's within a CMYK pdf?

Yeppers! A little plug in called PitStop!

[Ned]

Precisely... No pre-press room is complete without it.

Of course, it can only be opened in Illustrator and converted if it meets certain criteria, ie, fonts must be sent with the file or outlined, a high vector balance must be maintained (transparency not flattened), etc.

[budafist]

Normally these rich black files come from Word, Exel or Publisher...Never used pitstop before. Must look into it one of these days!

[mattmainster]

Yes, pitstop is a godsend when it comes to working with PDF's...
Especially when those pesky Publisher/Word files come in...
Just PDF 'em and it's so simple to change those blacks.

[Ned]

Normally these rich black files come from Word, Exel or Publisher...Never used pitstop before. Must look into it one of these days!

Pitstop is provided by Enfocus Software, at www.enfocus.com (http://www.enfocus.com/)

[stickleback]

when we get a pdf with spot colours -(which, of course is sent as a cmyk print job) we send it back
Pit Stop is a great app - but clients will jump on anything to bitch if the job is not to their liking - even if it's because they sent it wrong in thee first place. If we make a change - even if it is so the job can actually proceed - we run the risk of the blame landing on our plate.
we send it back to be corrected - kindly and diplomatically explaining what is wrong and what needs to be done to fix it - even to the point of where the spot colours are to be found in the document (i.e. you have spot colours in the "x" logo on page 2)

this helps to cover us..... just a thought

[PrintDriver]

You can't bounce everything.

[budafist]

It's a good idea to bounce regular customers though. It helps them to learn to send files correctly in future. If a client isn't a designer though, or if their designer is hard to get hold of, I will surely try and fix it my end.

[PrintDriver]

Sometimes there isn't time.
You can't email a 200+MB file.

I don't know if it is a good idea to do it even for regular customers. Those are the ones who get the preferential treatment. Usually a fix is only a phone call and a pdf verification away.

I'm sure there's a happy medium somewhere.