i need a printing expert...or poprock

[eviltwinisdead]

i don't deal with printers too often, so i'm not 100% sure about the jargon.

i sent them a high res PDF file in CMYK to be printed full colour, but there were actually only two colours in it (black and orange) - he asked me if i could send it back again converted for two colour printing.

I also have to send some adverts to some newspapers pretty soon, and their guidelines specify the files should be process separated. i kinda know what this means, but i'm not exactly sure how to do it. I can phone the printer guy tomorrow morning and i'm sure he'll help me out, but i'd rather know beforehand....

...can anyone help?

[poprock]

It’s not easy making PDFs for print that are set up for printing in spot colours (specials). The easiest thing you can do for the first piece is remake it in 2PMS rather than sending a full colour file, and send it in the format you made it (Quark, Illustrator, whatever). The only thing is, if the printer specifically asked for it in PDF format, they may charge you extra for ripping it themselves. They shouldn’t, but they might. My question would be that if you’ve specified and are paying for CMYK process, why the fuck are they trying to get you to do it in two specials instead? It’s cheaper, and you’ll get better quality results, but crucially it ain’t what you asked for.

As for the second, ‘process’ means CMYK. You shouldn’t have to separate the artwork yourself, they should be doing that. You don’t have a clue about the trapping, dot gain, etc for their printing presses. It’s the pre-press guys’ job to do all that.

What could happen with both jobs is that the printers/publishers demand PDF files to their precise specs. If they do, ask them to send you their PDF .joboptions file. They can email it to you, and tell you how to install and use it. It will ensure that when you select their settings from a drop-down list in your PDF maker, all their exact settings will be applied for you.

Hope that helps, I’m kinda rushing it here.

[eviltwinisdead]

they didn't specifically ask for it as a PDF, but i had a nightmare with another printer with illustrator - things kept going wrong with the file - possible pc/mac/version issue.

i don't think they'll charge the same for doing it 2 colour instead of full colour but i'll make sure.

i assume 2PMS, is 2 pantone colours. i know how to change the colours to pantone ones, but would i have to do anything else to the file.

i can phone the guy tomorrow - he did seem friendly enough.

just in a new job, and want to make sure everything is fine

[poprock]

Heh. I’d always recommend sending Illustrator EPS files rather than PDFs, make sure all the text is turned into outlines and all the images are linked (not embedded) and saved into a clearly marked folder. That way you don’t need to think about sending fonts (which you/they aren’t likely to have the license to do anyway, even embedded in a PDF), and said fonts can’t cause any conflict issues.

Checking with the printer beforehand to see what version of Illustrator they use is a good habit to get into. If they only have version 10 and you send them a CS2 file, you’re likely to lose a day by the time they find out and you send them a saved back version.

It’s also a hell of a lot easier to deal with Pantone (PMS) colours than it is in PDF format. Depending on how good you are at setting up your PDF distilling options, you can very easily find yourself converting all spot colours to CMYK (or even RGB) without realising.

You know that if you can print in 2 colour, then you should—using a real, solid ink colour is infinitely preferable to approximating it with dots. You’ll find that you can acheive sharper edges, clearer text, that sort of thing.

Once you’ve made a 2PMS document, you just need to double-check and make sure that there’s no CMYK objects left at all. You don’t need to change any settings or anything silly like that.

It’s good practice to always send full-colour printouts along with your artwork discs, as reference. Just to be sure the printer knows what the file should look like when they open it. If it’s relevant, make full mock-ups. Show the printer how things cut out, how they fold, which order the pages come in, etc. In extreme circumstances, you can print out separations and send those for reference too. That’s especially useful if you’re doing anything tricksy like overprints.

The main thing to remember is that you’re sending your artwork away to somebody who has never seen it before and hasn’t a clue what you’re trying to acheive—so you have to show them, and ensure that nothing is left ambiguous.

Basically, check, double-check and triple-check everything (it’s called preflighting, if you want to sound technical and poncey). The printer or publisher should always be sending you a proof to check anyway though (even if it’s only a PDF via email), so you do still have the chance to check that what the printer is seeing matches what you wanted them to see.

[djtoast]

Originally Posted by eviltwinisdead

I can phone the printer guy tomorrow morning and i'm sure he'll help me out

Lucky you! Most of my experience suggests that if there's a problem or an ambiguity, however minor, they're likely to say "It's fucked, sonny" and if pressed for clarification, merely repeat the phrase.

The biggest job I've done was a 220 page book where each chapter was black plus a different second colour, and I found it a right pain having to work with DCS2 EPSs and duotones etc (not to mention fudging each chapter to be exactly the right length; it was printed on a web press so each chapter had to be either 16 or 32 pages to make the second colours line up with the chapters) but it did come out looking spactacularly good. Good enough that the following year, the budget was significantly increased and THAT year's designers got to use CMYK throughout

Having said that, as Tony says, the cleanness of two colour pages is lovely, without the dotty, fuzzy colours that CMYK serves up.

[poprock]

Originally Posted by djtoast

Most of my experience suggests that if there's a problem or an ambiguity, however minor, they're likely to say "It's fucked, sonny" and if pressed for clarification, merely repeat the phrase.

That’s what you get for using shite/cheap printers. You gets what you pays for.

[eviltwinisdead]

i prefer web design, cos if you screw something up it is sooo easy to fix...printing scares me, especially when it's not my money.

i'll ask the printer what he needs, now he's seen the PDF he should know what it's meant to look like, so perhaps illustrator eps is the best format to send them.

[poprock]

Web design is so ephemeral though … there’s nothing like holding a thing in your hands, knowing that it’s actually finished. Websites are always in progress … the online world is in permanent beta.

[eviltwinisdead]

it's a fair point - it's always nice holding something you've designed. more sense of achievement.

[Ghostsuit]

Originally Posted by poprock

Web design is so ephemeral though … there’s nothing like holding a thing in your hands, knowing that it’s actually finished. Websites are always in progress … the online world is in permanent beta.

I like Beta

[Rev Scapegoat]

It's what makes Friday Friday.