Preparing files for print

Sorry Marco.

I got some very clear information out of this thread thanks!

Dear "pfigen', you are always such a gentleman.

I bet it would kill you to say "sorry" and just move on...

So it took a left turn. Big deal. There's no altercation here at all. Perhaps it should have been a different thread but it wasn't. These things happen all the time. Besides, it's sort of related anyhow.

How did this exchange make it here? You guys ("pfigen" and "g ballard") are not even talking to the author of the OP.

How does *he* profit from your conversation/altercation?

Perhaps you should just start your own thread.

>> Because you don't really know if you have the right output profile. You've only been guessing at that,

That is the best guess I have available to me if he is using a high end 4-color sheetfed press on premium poster paper and if he is clueless about what profile his press is based on what's the alternative send him an "RGB" file with an embedded profile so the genius can ignore my profile because he "doesn't use profiles"

And because he has "turned colormanagement off" which means he will take a sledgehammer to my color to beat it up into his goofy work flow?  BTDT.
>> so nothing else really matters at this point unless you're going to a press check and the pressman is able to push or pull his rig to conform to your file.

I have faith, if they are savvy enough to follow my instructions send my eps files straight through, please he will be able to hit my mark, my Photoshop-Epson proof, because my file is correct and within his press tolerance.

"> The way I see it is that you have no idea if your pixels are right or not at this point
Why would you see it like that?

I am on a hardware-calibrated Apple 30" screen and already proofed my color in Photoshop."

Because you don't really know if you have the right output profile. You've only been guessing at that, so nothing else really matters at this point unless you're going to a press check and the pressman is able to push or pull his rig to conform to your file.

Gary,

PDF-x/1 is a standard group of PDF export settings widely used for jobs going to press. In order to conform, ALL components must be in a single CMYK color space, and that CMYK space must be shown in the PDF (output intent). Any CMYK elements in your ID document that are already in the destination space will be left along. Any RGB elements, or CMYK elements that are in a different CMYK space (or an assumed CMYK space that doesn't match the output intent) are converted to the output intent CMYK space on the way to PDF-land.

If your printer doesn't demand PDF-X/1 compliant files, you can use the Press Quality preset when exporting to PDF from ID. Leave the General, Marks & Bleeds, and Compression tabs alone. On the Output tab, set the color conversion to "No Color Conversion", and Profile Inclusion to "Don't Include Profiles". All components in your ID document will be sent to the PDF unchanged, even RGB elements and CMYK elements with a different CMYK space. No color profiles will be included, so the person on the receiving end won't know for sure what your CMYK profiles are, and they will be inclined to leave your files alone, lest they guess wrong. If you want your CMYK numbers honored, this is one way to approach it. But, be SURE to put a big note with the submission telling them not to screw with or convert your files....just print the numbers. And get a color proof and sign off before releasing for print. If the proof looks good, then it is their job to match it. If not, it means they are totally clueless, or you sent them numbers that don't jive with the the way their press is run. That's one reason so many people use US Web Coated SWOPv2 ...it is probably the most widely used "standard" in the US. Many people claim to print to that standard, but many of them really don't. Such is the current state of the industry as it SLOWLY tries to move forward from the old ways of doing things.

You CAN set compression to Do Not Downsample, but be sure your files are approximately the right rez. Normally, you don't want to send a 150 ppi or a 900 ppi file (at final image size) to the RIP when burning plates. Assuming a normal sheetfed press and line screen, you should be fine with resolutions between about 266 and 400 PPI.

Remember, PDF can create RGB documents for the web, inkjet output, press, etc.

Lou

>I don't have the background to argue otherwise you probably have good reasons for that advice yet there is no reason why a good eps file won't work (unless someone down stream messes with it).

No reason, true, but I'm making a point of best practices -- that it's more advisable to use TIFFs within color-managed workflows, and that I see the EPS format as obsolete by now.

As I said, I would make an exception only if a print provider *demands* that one use EPS files, for any reason they may have to ask for that. But, honestly, I have not met any such instance, yet.

>> The way I see it is that you have no idea if your pixels are right or not at this point

Why would you see it like that?

I am on a hardware-calibrated Apple 30" screen and already proofed my color in Photoshop.
>> You could do that with TIFFs that are already correctly separated to the appropriate output profile *and* have an embedded profile.

Very true.
>> I think it would just be a good thing to move away from the EPS format altogether.

I don't have the background to argue otherwise you probably have good reasons for that advice yet there is no reason why a good eps file won't work (unless someone down stream messes with it).

The way I see it is that you have no idea if your pixels are right or not at this point. I would be sending a tiff with embedded profile. What does their proof look like?