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100% found this document useful (1 vote)
486 views33 pagesAn Introduction To Digital Color Prepress
Digital Color Prepress - Agfa-Gevaert
Uploaded by
lkyatanoCopyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF or read online on Scribd
/ 33
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 *)
es Design 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 shades was 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 desktop Even 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 includes uncommon 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 100v To 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 artwork Components
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 a We 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 Pickers and 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
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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 color You 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 most vec: high-speed presses litle time isle
250-2600 ate highly recommended
Maximum Maximum Halftone Dots
Halfione dots on a PostScript
etter are composed of a
number of pixel:
selected resol
grid made up In 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 the tions
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 shades 2400 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 each PostScript 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 process Page 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 the Output
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
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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-white Service 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 nk additive 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, an four-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
