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An Introduction To Digital Color Prepress
Digital Color Prepress - Agfa-Gevaert
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An Introduction To Digital Color Prepress
Digital Color Prepress - Agfa-Gevaert
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COR a LR oy Digital Color Prepress~~ Graphics Software . coon a eS *, A Image Nanipuain & Speci Effects rey goa =u Tiapping "Taping Tis ong Images i ‘Scaming & Scorge a eg Layout & Oumar S A Ale : Toa & Cobr or ooh a ee TE oe LPB *) esDesign Concept | sll Tustipe ‘The designer roughs outa simple page, using pens, square, specimen type, color markers, and 0 on, After some discussion, the original design may be Imoifed or recreate from scratch by thedesignet, When a design concepe is approved, the text is prepared by copy ‘writers and the designer specifies type. Perea) ‘Typesetting ‘The specification goes o the ypesctter where the textis se in galleys. Miseakes are corrected and rewrites are made. Imperiety fistores ae edited or sometimes rewritten, Then the type is returned to the typesetter to be reset. “This ean go through several iterations. Electronic Color Separations Color photographs with specifications ae sent wa color separation house for scanning, correction, cropping, and separation, ‘Advantages: Trained professionals do work Inthelr ata of expontise. The desig {nly to supervise srodueton, review tho work and have corrections mado. Disadvantages: While init prices may te reasonable, making changes can be vory ‘expansive, Lastrinute changes are par ticularly expensive and alltoo common, Design Concept ‘The designer can create an decuonie comp forthe planned design on a com- puter offen in much less time than wsing traditional methods. Design alt cane created. Changes ean be easily ‘made by altering the origina. ‘Seanning ‘Ascamer elctonically “cad slides, transparencies, or photographs, and converts them into tapped images With the limits of current tons, r= suing scans can be corected, retouched, and separated. For more information ‘on scanning, se page 2 Layout ‘Advantages: Design, typosoting, ana page layout can all be ereated inthe same placo ty one person or group. Thi ‘minimizes the amount of mater Last minuto changos aro is lion. ‘Machines con break down, often ateritca times. With such new-foura flexibity, el {ents may make many last-minute changes.‘Type galleys and dectronic separations come back to the designe rom outside bureaus tobe masked up and returned for changes. The designer pastes up the corrected type and positon-only at- work on « mechanical, ading insrue- tions on vssue overlay dealing the artwork and spec ees forthe film Preparer to work fom, Using considerable hand-eye skill, 2 stripper assembles and imposes a secof pages, often in assodation with the inter. Proofs are made from film for the design studio's approval. ‘Advantages: A g00d prepress shop Deskiop-o to color printers and usedas “comps.” ‘These ate sufficient for prooficading and peliminary approval. Once film is our- pur, industey-stndard proofing systems like Color Key®, Cromalin®, or Agfa- proof™ aan be used. For more infor- ration on proofing, sce puge 26. Jnated files can be ouput ‘The service bureau acts as film preparer and stripper, and ofien as color separator and corrector: Film and proofs are exe- ated o your specifications. Advantages: Ouck turnaround, essor. ‘able ries, and growing expertise in many limagesetters process ovtput sow. Princes are selected based on quality, price, and expertise. They are dosely involved with preparation of the film and usually assume responsibil for is orig the ourput closely at evry stage. This enables chem to per form lst-minute changes, if ncesay quality, mo The printer's roe is similar in this see- «specially when the film has been prepared correctly. Yet many printers are nervous about accepting it because receiving fil from outside sources is sill a novely. Assigning responsibility for the quality ofthe fiaal page can be a difficult issue,Graphics Software: Most illustrated pages contain two kinds of artwork: bit mapped and object-oriented. f bitmaps (MacPaint files, for example), white) In these f ach pixel either iti on (blac ink here nk here Current graphics progran much ated with the The characterbtics ofeach pixel might require eight or even 24 bits Another key factor for bitmaps is resol inch, In general, the higher the n tion, the greater the memory requited fo rr, 300 dociper-inch Bassiaps aie coca eed fer apap photographic images. By the time bitmap: si ies pho iographic images are usually converted 1a halons. See page 20 for a discus: Bitmapped Artwork ‘bit iMacPainttype fe) 2 =2 shades 2! = 256 shadeswas drawn in irri paths. These objets can have specific Hines and fils Object-oriented images are dened by points. These contro points can be moved 8nd the curves manipulated by handles Much of the artwork that ap- pears on pages can be defined in terms of mathematical for- ‘ mula. This ype of aework object-oriented. "Type and ln examples of object-oriented page clements Because ofits eficient handling of these clemenss, PostScript has become an impor tant standard in our industy. Since itis based on formulas and numer ai fF anwork can hips this yp be resized easily, Objects can be made up shapes, Wich PostScript ie is also possible in very precise increments, with All PostScripe objects ate defined by a st of control poins. By adjusting the posi tion ofthese points or by adding new ones, performe Script wses curv Bezier curves, based on the postion of (RIP) acts as an incerpreter berween a! input workstation, like a Mac, and an out put device, likean imagesertet. A RIP con verts objects and bitmaps from graphics programs into machine pixels (bitmaps) at Graphics Software:One of the advantages to work- ing with color on the desktop is the variety of options f ing and manipulacing images. Current clecionie image manipulation software (such as Phocoshop and ColorStudio") gives you sophisticated tools for fine ‘uning and altering a continuous tone image, These tools enable you to recouch and alter an image, 8 well as experiment In general, the various options are easy to By using different options, succession, you can create an infinite number of eects, You can also apply effects thar cannot easly be created even con high-c retouching systems Many effecs are generally easier and cheaper ta praduce an the desktop com: per than on high-end systems thas per hour, And contol is inthe hhands of the document creator, not the trade shop operator, Many of the special effecs ate straight forward, These include the abiliey to shar pen, blend, soften, and blur area. In a dition, i is possible to change one color ora range of colors, and to compres or expand a range of colors More sophisticated effects can be created using masks, Masks allow you to manip: slave specific arcasof an image individ ally. Images can be menged, cropped, 0 tared, and distorted, Photomontages are cierto visualize and produce. Sharpen, blur, and other tools give you the ability toperform a deualed touch-up onan image. In shore, she current range of color mage manipulation software puts photo sgrphic art and a multitude of special ef fects capabilities into the bands of desktopEven when flim is preparedwith precision, printing prasses oten have probleme holding ‘act registration. Paper can stretch vertically lca als shit horiznvaly while on th ress. Movernent of even a fw thousands ofan inch ean cause visible problem, Bad Registration Good Registration No Tao Tra NoTtan Tao ‘Traditional Trapping yan spre Magenta chokes Desktop Trapping Line overprires Fill knocks out Wah conventional fin, exposure can be ‘aetully contraliadto slighty over end un that areas of different colors whieh butt up ‘against one another wil slightly overlap fand “spreading” can be adjusted to accor ration tolerance of diferent Drinting presses. t's usually dane bya pro: fessional enmera operator at» separation house just before thm is sent tothe printer for platemaking, image separate elements (usually 5 be created that will overprint the ple arectangle may have a eya fl that ‘nocts out ofa magenta background. The line or stroke to the roctangle the line ‘ther cyan or magenta only half ofits thick ® cree shows an overprintirg cyan Ine withthe white dotted ine indesting the cen Regis: up on the printed page at any place where colors adjoin. Onc ‘ion problems can crop the designer or publisher must be awar precise so variations in registration fre quently oceue, Even minute shifs ean cause noticeable problems, resulting in white gaps beween a leer and its background or blurred averlap between distinct color ate The tralisional and a key part ofthe erat of film pre specialized techniques called choles and spreads that are the responsibilty of the etal printer or the color trade shop. As prepress develops, however, the responsi biligy For trapping i shifting grams on the deske Adobe Photoshop, Aldus FreeHand, and Qua XPress") al ddo trapping for type and object (notably Adobe Illustrator give the user the ability co The basic concept in trapping is provid ing an overlap between adjoining color 1 by adjusting the stoke —th external outline of an object, When you specify a stroke, half of the specified width prints inside the filled area and half prints outside, When the strokeis speci fied co overpring the adjoining color is allowed to print under the outste half the seoke, thus creating trap, Nore that a trap i equal to halfof the specified stroke thicknes. Strokes with ‘overprint can abo be applied to type to produce a trap, You can adjust the wideh of the soke according o the specifica trapping, That proces includesuncommon colors, Notice the white paper showing through, Even on the highest quali y presses, this «comes about because of sight variations in paper position as each plate is printed Ino allowance is made for this move ment and a precie knockout is specified such white lines are likely o occus: No trap, common colors Instead of the white ofthe paper, the component common to the busting colors shows through. In this eample no knock: ‘out is specified, and the letter contains ‘one of the process colors (magenta) in the same percentage a che bickground. As a result, no background shows through, Trap, with uncommon colors Overprine a stroke the same color as the bject you are tapping, Half che width of the stroke will il outside the edge of the abject and blend with the abutting color. ‘Trapping with common colors The higheet percentage ofeach process color common coboth objects can be aixed, and overpeinted at a stroke, The fall width ofthe stroke serves as a trap by blending with both objecs. ‘Trapping with black I the blac isa mixcure of proces colors, apply a 100% black stroke knocking out of the object to be trapped. This prevents rnisregistration from reveding the colors in the mixed black, he ‘sc oom ‘8c 60M 1007 Hai he thickness, ofthe line trae ‘3C 60M 1007 Full tickness of the line traps 8¢ 60M 100vTo crap a line oF any thickness into a ‘Trapping Lines background ofa different color, to lines, one ditectly over the other, Set the the first line wide enough to create a The trap ine must be a wider thickness. and ine. trap, For example, to get aone-poine trap sake your line two poinis wider than needs tobe and overprine the back ground. Then ereate a duplicate right over the Fist line, Set i tobe ewo points thinner than the fist one and have it Overprinting uncommon colors __Overprinting similar colors knock out of the background. ‘The extra With no simitar Etisigtndtemmenn olor the over fer act dlsibuted wap tea color This bccground ompnely oe fesaoncendine ee Ines hn 6 be overrintng soa nan 0% itond 020% Aa increasing number of programs allow you to anti-alias 2s a way of blending ‘ype ot ubjsces ino oder biemapped a ages. This creates a fuzzy border in which lements of each image merge, eliminar ing the jagged edges normally associated with biem ped abjects. Without jagged Wie anthaliasing aa ‘edges images actually look sharper, and the common border serves asa kind of Abitmap adge tha bualt-in crapping effec eanspicuous gaps ster printing. since the colors don't overlap. Without antialiasing Show these examples of uapping to your ay . - pracrandak wichosesppropicc — KAMGSET) EINES Music) for your specific jb. Printers often give which you may have to corvert to points, “2apt trap depending on your program. There are approximately 72 points roan inch, (0.003 inch) (0.008inch) {0.01 inch) (0.02 inch)Color is a particularly complex phenomenon, made up of three basic components: a light source, an object, and a human observer. The color that wee is based ‘on the amount and kind of ight flected from the colored object and abo on the wary ou ees and brn proces color, I is important to remember that there are hc my to vew color in tarue en the comput moni, 0 printed 08 paper "The widest variety of colors isthe visible specteum. This spectrum consists of the colors that most people are capable of secing, Some of these colors can be n= ‘countered in nature; other visible colors (some varieties of paint, for example) ae entirely manmade, ‘The range of coors that you can ee on a ‘monitor is more limited. A monitor shows color by emitting red, green, and blue light, which is added together at diferent levels These three colors ae called the and in combination they produce white light, In full-color rmionitor there are 256 levels ies) ‘of each color, thereby creating 16.7 mil- liom (256 x 256 x 256) colors. Full-color monitors can display awide range of colors. bur only a subset of the colors present in the visible spectrum. AApriowed document displays color in yer another way, Ink on paper reflects ight, rather ha emitting it. The inks used in process color printingare cyan, magenta, and yellows che ‘These colors in combination are meant to produce black, In fact, because of impur- ities in the ink, they produce a datk gray. Printed artworkComponents The actual spectrum of ight is composed of milions and millions of colors. The widest variety of co spectrum of tight Colors on computer terminals are made up ‘of red, green and blue phosphors, which together create white Fant ‘The range of colors that can be printed is smiar tothe range of colorsthat can be ‘splayed on a monitor. They de not, Now ‘ver, match exactly. Some colors can be lsplayed but not printed, and vice versa, All eolot monitor can dispay over 16 milion colors, ‘The components of process color are eyan, yellow, and magenta. Black is added to for type and lirework, {deepen shadows and to provide a true tack Color Models Neither the RGB nor the CMYK mode idequately defire color, As a result there have been severl attempts to deine a un versal colorspace that ean include both the luminous colors on the sereen and te on the page. Color spaces are based on thee-dimensional models that are used to make mathematical rram You are likely tof will abo change che way in which colo A numberof prog HSL color spac CMYK and RGB, ‘The theory is that ns offer HSV and he basic coloracon, V isthe value or intensity of the color, § stands for satu Jn the HSL system, L stands for lightness An emerging alternate set of standard is knowe as CHE (named after the Com pale de 'Eelarage, an been adopted by Adobe as the basis The CLE definitions have wo great tues, Fis, they make i easy ta taste ne color space w another by esablishin neutral definition. Second, they give aWe get so used to working with crisp color monitors that it is easy to forget how different the dis tion played colors canbe from those tha appear on the priated piece, There isn easy way to match screen colors to the Monitors have tobe calibrated and stabil ined often because they have a tendency vary widely fron sion, That itor Calibration & Color Selec oni Me Also critical is the ambient light in che 100m where the monitor is located. Ifthe nonitor and to stabilize is Monitor Calibration Color pront Printed pce 100M 100¥ ove 190m 100C 100% 200 10M 1O0Y Color Pickersand secondary colors on the scteen to an at they will ook like ce relative stability has been reached, q you shoal eaivnthe monisn Tha datesrovamcanuclyourmontere Fscedafeabionwndhoepr: | gis reer re Tenet amdhgracem-Nanrappliccons ha Antrim traces tia vente een alo hep ye ina Gossip un eannus aS eeer ‘cared ingen amour la them on pape aan be pet cn puree aurtona!ighen!daten Lake year, ever alg : Serwontr ein pec mage ; t ‘moniton have been introduced. Opinion ie divided about how useful they are, a pecially for the expense, Unless you are a ib arefl operatorin a stable lighting en 006-1004 i TAdusting tho Computers “think” of dark to light in a vironment, such monitors will not make Sisplayod on the gamma distributes linear foshion, . monitor using _‘BO-100% among, any difference. this many grays. this many grays. ‘One other area in which monitors can Humans soe carkto light in 2 logarith vary i the way they dis mic fashion with darer shades being compressed ute brightness Gamma correction isa techniyue for : ; in highlight areas and wader ones im dar (One recent technical development that can help you obain printable colors is the use of smart €olor pickers, Several pro- ams ean inform you when the colors ‘ustator Frootiand you have picked for the screen image ate PMs 148 PMS 348 ea PMS 8 wrx) ot printable with proces colors Some even choose the closest process color to yr match the color you have selected Dn the other hand, be careful of matching, 1 Pantone colors when creating pro- cess color documents. Colors from the Pantone Matching System (PMS®) can XPress PMs 248 only be approximated using CMYK (006 70y 274) (006 79¥ 30K) aveaeus RGB monitor colors have been set to simulate Pantone colors by many programs. But {ram's version. At best, Pantone colars can be used te give you tn approximate idea of colors for comping. Exact matches toPantone colors can only be mate with spet colorYou can convert RGB files to CMY files with a simple math- ematical formula. The tricky pare comes with the addition of black into the imix. As we have tated befor, black ink i used because the combination of eyan, magenta, and yellow inks in equal pro- portions do not produce a true black. An- cxher important pare of the RGB 10> CMYK conversion is using the black plate to add detail and to deepen shadow areas “The conventional processes of undercolor removal (UCR) and gray component placement (GER) are duplicated by desk- a differ top color separation programs y. For example, Photoshop's “black Eyen though mort users need nor get involved in depeh with this technique, itis imporeane to undersand the basic concepts of UCR and GR, We will exp Posts n the terms as applied wichin ripe and nor strictly as they are used in conventional color processes Dring RGB-t0CMYK conversion, as frst step the RGB is converted ro CMY. Then the proces color with che smallest percentage i used ro determine black (K) substtuion, For example, fa pixel value is 30, “index” value 20M is used co determine IM, 6GY, then the minimum the amount of K added. Using builein oF custom tables, the program decides the amount of K robe added: for e this case it mighe be black at 10%, With the addition of K, it is necessary to emovesome of the other color (UCR). Again, custom ables or program defauls determine how much color is removed from under the black. This process is generally left to the software manufac~ turer to decide, though some programs allow for more sophisticated user conttl When 75% CMY exists loss than 508 back is added rd to an image, pro trams must consider the total potentat Ink ild-up ofthe separatedimage. Most re thatne more thar 300% ary point ina {400% ink would be 100% cov teach procers color. The curve above in tieatos the omount of black added against ‘the amount of process color Notice the example above the colors ach Diack there isa smooth tansiton, (into the shadows as black s ade. Th ‘example 0” the right illustrates how max: ‘rum block generation causes a sudden shift {rom the tree process colors to oniy black, Registration. Without undercolor dark dtals wil be produced with a! pro: ‘ess colors and will show with the alightost Inisepistration on press. Although Back by Ital has rogistiation problems, wil stem lessrich or doop In appearance, For fine detilthis worrt be missed FF F ‘Wher black generation swaps out the fraying component ino three process col ‘ambinationciferen colors wil respond in ‘itferent ways yellow is thecolor bong black, the chengos are mostvec: high-speed presses litle time isle 250-2600 ate highly recommended Maximum MaximumHalftone Dots Halfione dots on a PostScript etter are composed of a number of pixel: selected resol grid made upIn traditional separations, a halftone screen is created from each of the four colors. The lap. Using traditional sereen an Screen Angles raked eye. This patter i called rosette. Ifyou look through a loupe, yo made up of a seties of dows and rosertes RIP) ate not capabl placing dots in exactly ce right pace f Moiré patterns commonly occur when illusion of realist Whenever all smoirés in P ery caret wi ms usually causes the most rouble. Brownish ggayish and purplish colors tend n the most moiré problems. In th biemapped images, you ‘of black to be prin d. See page 1¢ for discussion on UCR and GCR A numberof solurions for moiré problems are on the way. Level 2 PostSeripe will offer mor angling for coler when iis implemented. A varia of hadwar and sofiware solutions offer alternatives to PostScript halftoning, Barn thetions G 18 2 DPI — Total shades LPL ( The formula above will enable you to cae: work within a blend, The actual upper lit (of PosiScript i 256 shades, However, using to distibute those 256 possible shades percentage change, giving Don’t ge the terms dpi and Ipi co Dpi that can be ereated on cach linear inch of heron a printer or on a com purer screen, Dpi isa measure of resolu jon, Upi, on the other hand, isa measure screen frequency, The normal range of nalfone screens is From 55-200 Ipi, and the higher the pi, the Finer the serer and Ipi ofthe halftone sereen, Calculating To design» gradient, follow these steps ‘blend automatically) using the equation (pip (Note: the blend does not cover the fll range from proprtionaly less. For example, a grads tion from 20% to 60% gives a range of 4% 2. Measure the distance in poins between, 3. Calelate the size ofeach step in points by dividing the distance by the numberof ray levels or shades, It tho resus greater than one, you are likely to got banding, or visible stair-stop ping on the blend, To void banding, yeu ‘decrease the distance, increase the per ‘lution, or lower the screen froquency. 300 oP! 3 Serer re (er (Ge 32 shades 90 LPI 10 shades 5s 512 shade 11200 DPI y 9OLPI_150LPI 178 shades 65 shades2400 DPI S3LPI SOLPI _‘150LPI 2081 shades 712 shades 257 sha ) At the 50% point in a gradated blend, black before the wite dots emerge, This may cause an artifact to occu an obvious id ing tne. As with banding, itis visible in darker colors When oniy a iited number of gray loves fara used with an image, the eFect scaled Posterization, Subtle smfts of shading are replaced by cbvious tena plateaus, In process color banding is loss noticeabie in lighter colors such as yellow, and moro In colors like magent ination, a shor distance, banding compressed and becomes less pradierts, use the max ‘mur numberof steps of eachPostScript halftones are some- what eiferen om the hall tones used in traditional prine ing. Inthe PowScript model, «grid is created, and is fineness is based on the line scren frequency (pi) that you select Within each cel in the grid, the progeam ‘an create a hallione dot that reflect the frequency and level of the eolorat location, Depending on the resolution of Pica totaltone dot ratio shouldbe 21 the imageserter (dpi) up 10 256 levels forbest esas. (dor sizes) can be created Note tha Pose Scrip halftone dors vary in sizebur ae fixed in position on the gid When you are eereating a photographic eomputerimage ‘output image on the page using halftones, the bit map image created by ascanning device is programs such ae PostScript uso the computers pixel information totranstorm tho square used to generate the halftone screen, ‘The pixels inte a screen (or haltone) of much finer dots. The number of pels per inch should ‘be about wiee the sereen Frequency used (Ii amount of information scanned in, met suted in pinels per inch (ppl) is therefore ctitcal to eventual image quay, Aer some experimentation, ia been dere (iid daa mined that you get thebest results if you have two timesas many pi in the scanas there ae Ipi in che ourpue. TI ship guarantees that there is enough color information available w make a reason: ably accurate halftone dot [eal ensures that pels are small enough nor ro be iaible (as many as war pixele can exist in the same spaceas one halfione dot). If you are planning to resample (reduce or en- large) the scanned image, keep in mind the new image may lack the quality ofthe original scan. Experience has shown that, when sean- ning, higher ppi readings do not neces- sarily improve final output quality. They do, however, wie up more storage space It isa good idea to plan your page and image sites hefore scanning to ge che best possible images at the lowest cost in file sine and output processing time.The diagram above provides an average RGE file size (in Kilobytes) by inches, This diagram 'sparticularty useful when deciding how large an image should be scanned, Piel to-hafone det ratio '92"1 If you plan to do a significant amount of color scanning, you should be very aware ofthe conierble overhead that scanning ean con sume, Scanned color images ca fill mega se with astonish gspecd and an ambitious scanning project, like & catalogue, can ext up even a large hard disk in almost no time ‘One solution isto invest in removeable storage media, Syquest® drives (with thei removable 44-megabyte disks) are the cu rent industry standard, Resold by a num ber of supplier, chese disks allow you ro sven archive a numberof high resolution images ata resonable cost, Read-write optical (600 megabytes provide anorher alternative for the high volumescanner ‘Along with storage, color scans can eat yp ‘computee memory and slow down the sereen redraw. Ic makes sense to invest it as much memory as your computer car use ifyou will be working frequently with Alto, you c up the production process by using low-res scans during the eatly stages ofa project and substituting the hi-res files when ready to print, Any color correction or retouching on the high res images can be performed separately ca those files before they ae linked to the page fr final ourpur. See page 23 for a more complete discussion ofthis processPage Layout & Output Make sure bieed is tor yur print and is spect tpi [Atmos ees | to iced mustoxtond ‘yoko sure your type knocking our er over Drinting to your spec: software; some appl © || magunta cyan black ver these ar print to al Moke sure your pre-separated a8 CMYK EPS files placed into a pub: lishing program rate RGB-PICT Some publishing rovide tapping for type. Type specified agains color back ‘grounds may noed to another graphics program. See also Text kerning and high-resolution i ‘ageseters may not 300-dp laser pr ikean be usefuito ‘out images, to chock Juatieation and space ing. What you see is sometimes only close et side the image aroa lems during image setting. ‘ie name sd date ‘Complex object an be. process colors and Tints, ules, anc simpie objects can from most publish ing programs. 1 your images use up ‘20 much memory, you can create solid filled mask, oF 2nd have the stripper dannough poges ts spreads, (acing Separate pages so thet he stripper can im- recording to theOutput 1. Consult your service bureau atthe ‘beginning of each large project. Ask which ‘athe most cost-fective, ficient way to ‘:complis the tase you are about 0 ‘undertake and how to ensure optimum Binting results, 2 Give your service bureau enough time {for output. laserocint will give you an ea ofthe time this wil tbe, Film dowen't ‘always come out perfectly at fist. Ask the ‘uchnician how long it might take, and bull extra days ino the schedule i possible. 3. Double check the following: ‘Ae crop marks and registration marks Included within each fo? ‘Ace all images propery trapped andor ‘verprinting? ‘Ave your page dimensions accurate? ‘Ave lines-erinch sereen parameters set ‘roperly Wl applicable)? ‘You can save time pinting roots on 9 plain-paper printer. lace Nigh resolution ‘cans in afldor nama "Linking Miles" be- {ore they are placedin a publishing pro ‘ram, Then save low-resoluton copies of thehigh-resolution scans, giving thers the ‘same namos Pace each in Teldors wah rospective rames, When you priat from the publishing pragrar wil ook forthe ‘and it prolongs the imagesetting proce the service bureau must walt for you to send missing les. 2. you are using specialized or unusust fonts, include a copy of the printer and ‘sereen fonts with your job in order to ‘ensure proper output, Line frequency tpi) Rosolation (4p) ‘Negative or positive film Emulsion up or down ight-eading or \wrong-reading) Fontsused Job deadline ‘Applications vsed (inching placod files) 4: In laserprint with your job. Pubishing program ‘bublishing program wil link wit ther 48 they ware the hgh tesohution exginals. But, ‘nike the high-res fies, they wil take less time to print and are adequate for proofing the page layou. Choosing a good service bureau Not evey imageserter operator is qualified to run olor files, While many service bureauscan do exellent black-and-white typesetting, thesis need for fine color work are more advanced, You should sec high standards for your color work (and expect to pay litle more fori, Above alla service bureau must know rare film for printing. Handling film correctly requires care and experience how to ps Awide tang offactors from sofware bugs to an incartect sting inthe film processor «an cause major problers Beyond careful handling technigucs, the imagesewer operator must know how to operate 1 densitometer. A densitometer is the only way to check the sytem for con sistency and accuracy of ray levels on fl asiris produced, Without a densivomecr, an imageseter operator i only gesing With it, the system cam be calibrated, preferably on a rgula bass, to ensuce tat quality emains constant fiom one roll of film to the next and from day co day. Otherwise you will get widely varying, results, See page 28 for a more complete discussion on density and densitometers. Last, the operator should offer some kind ofa proof, such as those discussed on page 26, Making proofs can be expensive and time-consumingbur you shouldn't try « ‘cut corners by cutting the proofing stage.While putting a document to- gether, designers generally use more than one program. For example, layout could be produced in PageMaker with graphic brouge i from Phocoshop,IMusaor ora specs ized scanning program, Evenly, thee will be merged into one fi fiom which separations can be generated, Ieis impor tant, then, to know which file ypes can be accepted by each hics program, Uso the chart to determine how 0s files within the various programs. By ‘choosing the righ format you can import land merge files so that the final product will separate properly. Far example, a (QuertPrees document containing & placed PixePaintimagein EPS format will ot separate. You can accomplish this inthe following manner: ‘Step 1: Notice that PixePaint cannot ex ‘or EPS filos with CMYK color afi ‘Step 2: Choose an image program that uch as Photoshop of ColorStudi, ‘and save the PikelPaint in a format the new program can accept. PCT, Step 3: Import he file into the new appl cation, and youcan now save tas an EPS file that wil separate whon exported, Note: This selective listing provides file formats of currently popular programs. As technology and standarés evolve this Information willehange Bon REE TGA Cros BQ Hansshake, C12E ae foe LEW TEE bie Proto PM 2 Spe. GALT GW pcan PrePnint Muster, Pincc eee! OE at — ao Cree ms 8 a a erie) Cerio onens joan va 5 cae 2s fz a eT ae oy wu Sau = 2e bit ei Be Bebe Bit Bn Supports Randsrato, C12 Artive: ARutotrace feature can save as PICT or luatator a8 LEW TF wot FE i TGA: CT, GIF PIXAR; Startap sereon) No support PSF) contain are roughly half the sizeof similar ASCL are beginning to accept DES (Desktop ‘Color Separation) files, These are EPS color files saved in five parts—a master file and separate cyan, magenta yellow the basic Apple black-and-whit iraphicr file format. PICT files are d ‘of objects using Apple's Quick Draw” graphical inter panded PICT format that supports 32-bic ments cannot be separated, of standards for describing bitmapped files, especially scanned files. This flex standasd can represent black-and-whiteService bureaus accep files in different ways: on diskette, via modem, or on - movable hard disk cartridges for larger files, Detailed instructions are often re- quested to accompany the work, includ ing list of fonts, a laerprint and all output requirements, ‘The service technician opens each file and selects the printing options speci- fied for the job: emulsion up, repstra- tion marks, line screen, ete, Minor fies can usually be made at this point by the service bureau, if needed, Problems en- countered here often involve files inad- vertently omitted by the lien when preparing the job, such as linked THRE or EPS images, special hyphenation or kerning cables, nd unusual typefaces. Te job insene tothe Raster Image Pro- cesor (RIP) which convers PostScript instructions into abitmapped image at the resolution ofthe selecerd output de viee, Any problems in the output are likely co oscur dusing this phase and, based on the err message, the image seiter operator will try to determine che cause of the problem and fix it before sending itagain co the imagesceer Color projecs demand thorough proof: ing. Various methods can be used, de- pending on which elements of the job need to be checked, sich as color qual ing tapping, overp ion, Time and budget constrains infu- ence the extent of the proofing tage. ting, and regisisa- Rough color profs ean be obtained quickly and at relatively litle expense from 300-dpi printers. Although output quality varies among the many salable models, the low-resolution color pro duced by each is generaly adequate for basic design review and approval Photographic profing uses photo: graphic dyes to simulate printing ins While the color quality is generally geod, and the cost isa faction of over lay or comet methods, the dot sue- tute of images isnot readily definable ‘Tvo photographic proofing systems in common use are Recoprin and DoubleCheck™ig laser cechnelogy, the imagesetter records the page or color separation on resin-coated paper or on film, The best service bureaus pay close attention to calibration and maintenance of their ma- chines to ensure constant, predictable, can ourput. A variety of models exist, which differ in speed and precision, res- olution and media capability. ‘This method is suitable for 2-and 3-color jobs in which color quali J lower priority than color positioning. Eich colors produced ona separate layer ofactae, che density or dhickness of which afecs the appearance of the layer below. Beyond standard CMYK, only a few Pantone colors are availible, Color Key is an oerlay proofing sytem. ‘Ourput from che imagesetteris then de- veloped in the film processor For color separations, several models of slEneplen- ishing deep-bath film procesons are avail- able, Care and maintenance also affect resus here, The temperature and speed ‘of the procesor muss be monitored and concolled to achieve proper exposure of the film ourput, ‘These proofi offer awide range of colors and the mos faithful accuracy short of pres proofs They are com- posed of separate layers of pre-colored ‘material or toner adhering toa single base material. and ave prodvced from the actual film negatives. Three popular contract quality proofing systems are Agfaproof, Matchprint, and Cromalin Close inspection of the final produce is the next step. IFnegative film has been generated, light able and a densitom- ter are required. Witha light table, che service technician can tell whether dust for scratches have marred the film image A densitometer measures the accuracy of tray levels and film exposure ro ensure thatthe output is eamera-teady. Press proofs ate printed samples thar show exactly what a job will look like when it comes off the press. Because the choice of paper and ink introduce a variable known as press gain, press proofs are used to determine how much effect the ink will have. This method of proofing, however is time-consuming and can be very expensive.Dots & Density Strict quality control will en- sure the printability of im setter-generated film. Th dark lm negative light imoge“Highlights become darker more quel Highlights become ‘dealt the distrib Ltion of dark to ight Iseven and consis- tant Thisresuits {twat the greatest number of possible shades. 10-20% could be washed cut to ‘white. Deal in ight times as ight as 8%, Shadows bocome poorly defined; the entre image has low 0.097 0.125 0.155 0.187 0.222 0.259 0.301 0.347 0.398 0.456 0.522 0.602 0.698 0.823 0.998 1.298 100 3.500 (On Sim negative, the dots appear with a plate This causes the color values to shi SSRsasaesssseseeas ‘The chart above sts the optimum density levels for a Drnax of 3.5 on negative film, For example, 10% coverage, indicating & Color or shade of 90% whan printed, should ‘measure 0.046 ona densitometer Note the large diference in density levels between Hard dots reproduce corretly onthe pate, theratore mairtaiing consistent color and tonal range, Bot Gein, Film stoula be cnecked forthe quality of the dots which makeup an image, Various imagesotters produce diferent types of dots: "hard" or “soft” Sof dot ay appear tho right size but have 8 triage fr hal on the film tha can produce color Detter film are.capable of ereating "harc™ dots that reproduce cocrecty. Another erties! area isthat of dot gain, Dot ‘ain eccurs whan the halftone dots in a {do on film. Ths can cause oversaturated colors and inaccurate reproduction, depend hy of nkadditive primaries: 10 Red, green, and bluc ight that, ropether, prodice white light. Compate with sub- tractive primaries. ‘alpha channel ‘An Stir channel reserved by some im age-processng applications for mask ‘oF additional color informacion, anti-aliasing The rendering of hard-edged objects so they blend smoothly into the back. ‘ground, A technique for merging object- ‘oriented at into bitmaps. artifact: 19 AA visible indication (defect) in an image, ‘caused by limitations in the reproduction process (hardware or software). AScit 25 (American Standard Code for Informa tion Interchange) A sandard format for representing digital information in 8-it chunks, banding: 18 Avisble sairstepping of shades in a eadien, * Bezior curves: 5 In obiec-orenced programs a curve whose shape s defined by anchor points Set abng its are bi Binary Digit) The smallest unit of in- formation in a computer. Iecin define by inselfone of wo concitions (an oF of), bitmapped: 4.6 ‘An image formed by rectangular grid ‘of pels The compucer assigns a valve to each pixel, from one bit of informa: tion (black or white) to as much as 24 bits per piel fr fall colo images. byte ‘Auunit of measure equal co eight ‘gia information (2, The wanlard unit measure of file sz. See also megi- byte, kilobyte, and gigabyte. ‘camora-ready art “Any artwork or type that is ready co be prepared for printing calibration: 12,13 Setting equipmens toa standard measure to procuce reliable results. calibration bars: 12,28 Oma ng, proto rine pi a srip of wes used check pasting ality IE: 11 {Comaision nema de Ei international group tha: has de- veloped a set ofcolor definition standars ‘endorsed by Adabe for PostScript Level 2. trative pari, or proces color, used in color printing, Black (K) is usually faded enbntscolorand eo pines true black. color correction: 12.18 ‘The process of adjusting an image to compensate for scanner deficierees or for the chacacterists of the output device, color picker: 12 A utility for specifying colors on the color proof: 26 ‘A representation of what the firal printed composition wil look like, ‘The resolution and qualcy of cifferent types of color rook at ary greatly. color separation “Thetleatee ofan ape ata compe pend cle orien ech Glocieoe- sonia pestis oie color transparency ‘A photographic image on transparent fim claro 35am, 405" on 8°x10" formats are commonly ase. ‘comp: 2 Comprchensive artwork used to present the general color and layout of page. See proof. contrast "The relationship berwesn the li and darkest areas ofan image. Cromalin: 3,27 ‘A color proofing system that uses pow- dlored pigments instead of ink. ‘erop marks: 22,23 Lines printed showing the dimensions ‘of the final printed page. These marks ae used for Final imming 5 (Continuous Tone) A fle format used for ‘exchanging high-level san information, os: 25 (Desktop Color Separation) A format ‘which creates five PostScript fils for cach color image densitometer: 28,29 device semsiiveo the density of ight teansmttd o reflected by paper or im Itis used wo cheek the accuracy, quality. and consistency af ostpu. density: 28,29 “The degre of opacity of a photographic Jage on paper or film, dithering The process of specifying color wo adjacent pin are smu inl carina imap ped image. This technique used wen a fll range of colorsis not avilable, max: 28,28 “The highest level of density ona film negative ‘prin ethan defect in which dots prin lat tended, causing darker colors dpi: 18,19,20,21 (Doss Per Inch) A measure ofthe output ‘solution produced by printers. image elliptical dot: 16 ‘Arype of halfione screen dot with an el- liptcal rather than circular shape, which sometimes produces better tonal rada- tions. ‘emulsion: 28 The coating of light-sensitive material on =o emulsion down ‘This specifies a readable film ima wit the elt ade Eig ery the viewer. The printer usually decides whether emulsion should be up or down, EPS: 25 Encapsulated PowScrips) A file format used 10 transfer PostScripe image informa ton fom one progam soanoteer. fii ‘Axransparent material coaced witha light-sensitive subatance, film negative ‘A piece of film with a reverse i ‘which dark areas appear white, anfour-color process: 10,11 The se ofeyan, magenta, yellow, and black i printing to prodivce a wide vari- ery of cols. gamma: 13 ‘The measure of how compressed or ex- ppanded dark or light shades become in an image. gomma correction: 13 Compressing or expanding the ranges of dhe light shader in an age Gor: 14,15 (Gray Component Replacement) Aech- nigue for ducing the amount of ean ‘magenta and yellow in an area a ing them with an appropriate level ol black, ‘gradation: 18,19 ‘Aamooth transition between black and white, one color and another, or colot and thelack of grayscale: 4,25 “Ths dpi of gay cones bere black and white. A grayscale monitor is able to display distinct gray pixels as well as black and white ones, but not color pixels, halftone screen: 17,20 ‘A pattern oF dots of different sizes used ‘o simulatea continuous tone photo: ‘graph, cther in color or black and w hard dot: 29 ‘Adot in flfionesreen that has smooth, esp edges hightight The lightest part ofan image. HLS: 11 ‘color modal based on thre co-oni- nates: hue ightness (or hurinance) and Hsv:11 ‘A-calor model based on three co-ordi- nates hue, saturation and value, hues 11 "The wavelength of light of acolo in porta Chanute nln fe rac imagesetter: 3,23.26,27 device used to ouput a computer image or composition at high resoluion ‘onto photographic paper or fil. kilobyte (K, KB) A unit of measure of digital infor: ‘mation corresponding wo 1024 bytes, Ab- breviated and refereed to as K. knockout: 7.8 A shape or obec primed by dena ing (knocking out) all background coors. (CBatat wo overpriating LAN (Local Area Network) A group of con nected computers in relatively small nea that share access vo printers and other peripheral devices. Ini: 18,19 ine er Ind A mane wency ofa halftone eee lly rang ing from 55-200), OnginallyhalRones were made by placing an eiced las late sper ana rl cning pouce dds. Up rele to the fequency of he hhorianal and veri lines luminosity A value corresponding to the brightness of color Lut (Look-Up Table) The table of colors a computer can display aca given time The ‘computer uses the rable o approximate the desired color from the range i has available, (MacPaint: 25, ‘A-common format on the Macintosh compares for oving and iranfring ow resolution, monochromatic bitnapped images Ie rgnated withthe punt api ask ‘The inactive area of a bitmapped ima which will not respond to changes. megabyte (MB) A unit of measure of soced data corresponding co 1,024 1,048,576 bytes moiré: 17 ‘An undesitable artifice produced in print= ing when halfione screen patterns become ible. This soften caused by misaligned monitor calibration: 12,13 TThe process of correcting the color rendi- sion settings ofa monizor ro match se lected colors of printed output monochrome Ablackande-white dsphy with no gray negative Sce film negative. objectoriented: 5 ‘Atype of drawing chat defines an i mathematically eather han as pics in bitmap, overprinting: 7.8.9, Printing over aris trast to knockout, ay printed. Con: pier/Picr2: 25 A common format for defining bi ‘zapped o object-oriented images onthe Mache, Thetnors cen era (PICT2 sippons 24-bit color. pigment Particles thac absorb and rellce Eh and appear colored t9 our eyes. The substance Rat give ink iscolon pixel [Picture Element) The smallest distinet unic of abitemapped image displayed om a PMS: 13 [Pantone Marching System) A commonly sed system for idenciying specific ink posterization: 19 ‘The delberareconseraint ofa gradation le stepsas a special effec. pi: 20 Pixels Por lnch) A measure of che amount of scanned information. The finer the optics of the scanner, the Aigher the sean revolution. process colors: 10,11 The four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) tha recombined print a wide range of colors. When blented, dhe reproduce only asmall portion ofall the
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