Poster Design printing

danedawg99 · 09-02-2006, 10:32 PM

I think which ever your printer prefers. Just for ease of use, I'd recommend a hi-res flattened tiff. This way, once it leaves you, it can't be monkeyed with, or messed-up if the fonts go all screwy.

**Buda** · 09-03-2006, 12:22 AM

I would use high res pdf. Make sure you have at least 5mm bleed and trim marks. Never send a jpg to your printer. Jpgs are for web not print.

urstwile · 09-03-2006, 01:57 AM

If you send a tiff, your fonts will be raster, not vector, so the edges won't be crisp. Either send the Quark plus support files and fonts, or a PDF, if the printer will take that.

**Buda** · 09-03-2006, 02:20 AM

It would probably be helpful to let us know what you have done the poster in. I guess if you have done text in photoshop it doesn't matter if you save it as a tiff, it will come out crap anyway...

Sorry if I sound harsh (reading up all my responses lately I sound like a right bitch) but I'm just not a fan of people setting up text in photoshop. When the text looks crap in print it's pre-press that often gets blamed.

cornfed · 09-03-2006, 02:45 AM

I agree generally Budafist, but I have a lot of instances where I have to set text up in PS. I age my text manually in photoshop so I have no choice but to do it in ps. I guess the aging and stuff that I do to them also prevents them from turning out crappy. I do however go into those print jobs knowing that its a risk - thats why I get a proof first!!

I don't think you're being a bitch. Someone asked an honest question and you gave an honest answer. I know I have the ability to be gruff at times and watch out for myself too.

urstwile · 09-03-2006, 02:50 AM

Cornfed (sorry I missed your set today, by the way), there's a big difference between using Photoshop to age text, where sharp edges become somewhat moot, and people who send text, in fact, entire layouts, for no reason, that are built in Photoshop.

I'm not ruling out all text in Photoshop, but if it's just straight copy, and it was just "easier" for the designer to do it in Photoshop, then they should expect for their ten-point type to look like crapadingus when it comes back from the printers.

Budafist, you don't sound like a bitch at all. You have some very sound advice, that's what people supposedly come here for, and you're not out of line for offering that up.

SurfPark · 09-03-2006, 03:52 AM

Bottom line is send your file as a PDF or send the original Quark or InDesign files (including all graphics and font files). Most printers only want these formats. If you're smart, call ahead and ask the printer. Every shop is different.

Sending anything as a Photoshop file is asking for trouble. I won't go into detail as to why Photoshop causes problems, but one possible issue is the printer converting the file from RGB upon opening it. As mention, Photoshop un-vectorizes your fonts, making it even more possible for those grainy edges to appear on your text.

**Buda** · 09-03-2006, 05:10 AM

Glad we're all on the same page then....I'm usually very passive, was just worried it might not come out that way. Talking in real life is so different from text.

As Urst said, aged text ok for Photoshop, just please be careful with small print!

Weecutz · 09-03-2006, 10:21 AM

Hi, thanks for the replies... basically the Poster is a Photo (which I had to alter in PS) and then it will have two lines of text on it, there won't be any small text but the problem is I'm not 100% comfortable with Quark so I'm crappin it incase I mess up using it and I haven't got InDesign (I heard its easier to use?)

Anyway, You guys said that PS Vectorizes fonts and stuff... don't you mean Rasterizes?.. just confused, I always thought vector was clean crisp and raster was pixels...?

And, Am I right in saying that if I do send it as a PDF the font will look better once printed, e.g. better than what a Tiff would do?

Also, I know about JPEG, just added that cause it states it on the printers site

Thanks a lot!

naydies · 09-03-2006, 03:40 PM

Originally posted by budafist

I would use high res pdf. Make sure you have at least 5mm bleed and trim marks. Never send a jpg to your printer. Jpgs are for web not print.

Ditto. Chances are, whatever file you send to them they will turn into a pdf anyway.

PrintDriver · 09-03-2006, 07:11 PM

Depends on how big a poster and whether or not you have PMS colors you need to hit.
You send a flat raster file, you get what you get when it comes out the other end of the machine.

The submission formats you mention sound like an on-line printer anyway so no matter what you send the same is probably true.

Poster Design printing

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