DESKTOP PUBLISHING 101Written by Blur Loterina
Do you often pay a service bureau to print your document? If you want to save money and time, read this page.The last part of a typical desktop project is printing process. If you’re practical enough, you’ll know that this end part is very first thing that you’ll have to consider. Before you start creating your document file, think and determine first how a commercial printer will reproduce it. Remember that presses use different requirements and techniques. Determine first what color to use, it may require either process or spot colors. For documents with screens and photographs that include tints or grayscales, you must set screen frequency and angle. Find out what type of material to use for your output. Ask whether your document has to be printed on paper or on film. Paper is not ideal for document with over 100 line screens. If you must use a film, determine whether to use negative or positive, right-reading emulsion side up or down. Ask for professional advise if you do not know how to scan a photos properly. Then, learn more about service bureau that will output you file. Identify what platform and software does company uses. Ask if it supports software you are using. Make sure that both you and your service bureau are using same program to eliminate incompatibilities. Ask what imagesetter suits your document and what driver or Postscript printer description (PPD) file is appropriate.
| | PSD JJPG BMP or PNGWritten by Ariel Velasco
Choosing right file format in saving your images is very important. There are specific formats that are suited for kind of image you are saving. It should be kept in mind though that when you are to choose format for your image, you need to take into consideration both image’s quality and file size. Photographic images can be saved in different file formats. Of course obvious choice answers questions about compatibility. The format of choice is one that does not lose color quality, contrast or file size. TIF or EPS files are examples of lossless file formats. They are designed to print clear and crisp at a resolution of 300dpi at their final size in layout. JPEG/JPG or GIF files are examples of lossy file formats. They were originally designed for easy file transmission and internet use, not for printing. When a lossy file format is saved over and over again, jagged edges are exaggerated. The process creates extra pixel garbage that you do not want printed. Therefore, if you start with a JPEG file that then needs edits, save it as an EPS or TIF file. This way, additional information will not get lost and quality of original JPEG image will be maintained. Each file format is designed for a specific purpose. It must be understood where they are used best for you to make full use of their individual potentials. For images intended for print fundamental requirement is good color support. It is by providing this that TIFF format, with its support for RGB, Lab and especially CMYK color models, established itself. However, there’s much more to successful print than just storing pixel values. In particular it’s important to recognize that photographic images are unlikely to be printed directly from their originating bitmap editor, but instead must fit into a wider print-oriented workflow. This immediately requires additional functionality such as DTP-based color management and compositing capabilities.
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