Need help with PDF proof on Epson 4800

[sync]

I do IT for a small university. Our press recently lost our prepress person and we haven't found a replacement. This motivated us to move to a computer to plate system.

We are new to a pdf workflow and our pdf proofs aren't coming out right. I've been asked to help.

I am familiar with selecting printer profiles using Photoshop. I tried bringing the pdf into Photoshop but I wasn't sure how to import it.

Then I tried printing from Acrobat but I couldn't figure out how to select a printer profile. The printer is connected to a Mac 10.3 system. There is a Printer Color Management section in the Print dialog but I don't see any way to set a profile in there.

 

[Werby]

Re: Need help with PDF proof on Epson 4800

Hi Peter

You need to provide more details. What RIP is producing your PDFs? Is it the same workflow that is making your plates? You say "The printer is connected to a Mac 10.3 system". Is there a RIP in front of the Epson 4800, or are you printing just using the Epson driver from the Mac? You won't be able to get a very accurate proof unless you have the RIP driving the Epson and you have an accurate profile of your printing condition.

You don't want to print your PDF from Photoshop, it will rasterize your file. You need a RIP that will accept PDFs and do the color management there. I suppose its possible to proof out of Acrobat, though I have never done it. Acrobat 8 has the option to select a color profile in the advanced print setup, but it don't know how accurate this will be.

The best option is to try to drive your printer from the same RIP that is running your PDF workflow.