Gregg
Well-known member
I have just recently sent a book jacket out to print (done in ID CS2), in which I was stumped re: Transparency. Hoping to get some feedback on if what I did was best.
Typically, all of our text is on the top layer and therefore not affected by any transparency flattening. Still, I always check my Flattener Preview for "Outlined Text" before sending the job out. This particular job had imagery that had to overlap the title. The cover illustration (which is of a boy), partially sits on top of one line of the title. The illustration is a PSD file with trans background placed in ID. So, in this case, the text could not be on the top most layer.
Since the title was going to be outlined when flattened I decided to open up the frame of the illustration so that it covered the entire title (not just the one line which it overlaps). My thinking was that if text is going to be outlined, it might as well be the whole title, so that if it does appear a little more bold, the whole title will be affected.
Here are my questions:
1. Was there a better way to set-this up? (I have done this similar design numerous times before, but using Quark 4, so the title, art, and background end up all being a flattened TIF)
2. Does the fact that the title is a spot-color change how things should have been done?
3. If the text is outlined will it even be an issue/noticeable when printed offset?
4. If my print vendor accepted live transparency, would I even need to worry about this? This brings up a another question, if a vendor does accept PDF 1.4 or above, at what point in their workflow is the transparency flattened? For this job, I send native files to our Repro-House for all of the proofing stages, once color is approved the repro-house sends PDFs to the printer (the PDFs are 1.3).
I realize this is lengthy, hope it is clear, and thanks in advance for any feedback.
Gregg
Typically, all of our text is on the top layer and therefore not affected by any transparency flattening. Still, I always check my Flattener Preview for "Outlined Text" before sending the job out. This particular job had imagery that had to overlap the title. The cover illustration (which is of a boy), partially sits on top of one line of the title. The illustration is a PSD file with trans background placed in ID. So, in this case, the text could not be on the top most layer.
Since the title was going to be outlined when flattened I decided to open up the frame of the illustration so that it covered the entire title (not just the one line which it overlaps). My thinking was that if text is going to be outlined, it might as well be the whole title, so that if it does appear a little more bold, the whole title will be affected.
Here are my questions:
1. Was there a better way to set-this up? (I have done this similar design numerous times before, but using Quark 4, so the title, art, and background end up all being a flattened TIF)
2. Does the fact that the title is a spot-color change how things should have been done?
3. If the text is outlined will it even be an issue/noticeable when printed offset?
4. If my print vendor accepted live transparency, would I even need to worry about this? This brings up a another question, if a vendor does accept PDF 1.4 or above, at what point in their workflow is the transparency flattened? For this job, I send native files to our Repro-House for all of the proofing stages, once color is approved the repro-house sends PDFs to the printer (the PDFs are 1.3).
I realize this is lengthy, hope it is clear, and thanks in advance for any feedback.
Gregg