How do I best prepare a document for printing?

[Sagatustra]

Hi! I am doing a school project and need some tips. Lately I have been working on a book in InDesign, and I am nealy done. The book features colourful pages with decorative patterns on them. The problem is: When I export the book to PDF, and view it, I get mixed results. The book looks nice in Acrobat, but if I open it in Apple's own PDF viewer, the colours are totally different. Also, many of the patterns just "blend in" with the rest of the page, making them nearly invisible.

Now I am really unsure about how vivid I should make the colours, and how opaque I should make the patterns. The only thing that matters is that the book prints well, but how will I know which PDF viewer shows the most "true" preview of the final print?

I realize it mostly boils down to the actual printer, and how it prints, but I do not have the oppertunity to be there in person when the book will be printed. Therefore I am asking if anyone here is familiar with designing documents for printing, and how you best prepare for the printing process?

[Creamer Training]

Don't use the Mac PDF viewer--that's is not meant for proper color viewing. There are many issues in viewing color for printing accurately on a monitor, including monitor profiling, color output profiles, viewing settings, etc. 

My first question is always: have you calibrated (profiled) your monitor?

Other questions:

What type of printing are you doing--commercial offset or laser? 

Have you set your color settings to match your output in your Adobe programs?

Have you discussed the proper proofing process with the printer?

[Sagatustra]

Hi!

1. No, I have not calibrated my monitor.

2. I have sent an email to the printing company regarding the type of printing.
3. Probably not, I have almost no experience with the Adobe programs.

4. I have sent an email to the printing company regarding the proofing process too 🙂

Thank you for answering!

[Creamer Training]

I would wait until you hear from the printer, post their response, and then we will have more to go on. 

[Randy Hagan]

Even if you're not there, how you're printing the book and who's doing it for you matters immeasurably.

You need to find those things out first before we can help you, because they will greatly drive how you should prepare your files for them. You shouldn't be preparing your files for either Acrobat or Apple Preview; you should be preparing them for printing at the end of the process.

We can help you with that, after you find out how it will be printed and by whom. But more important, when you finally define how it will be printed and by who, they will often be happy to help you get the best results for your efforts.

Once you know how it will be printed, we'll be able to help you get the best results.

Randy