Prepress Tips for Designers

[minch]

six colours please

six colours please

Designer has a process and two spots job to print, but the spots use the same angles as two of the process colours and are set to overprint.

So you want this horrible brownish sludge colour ? say we.

Why no, I want the result of overprinting the spot colours on top of the process colours and each other as I can see on my screen. says designer.

So you do want this horrible brownish sludge colour. say we.

We now go through the process of telling designer how to set InDesign to show a correct colour proof on the designers screen.

No! now it looks different to the way I designed it - its awful. says designer.

So redesign it. say we.

No I want you to reset my display back the way it was when it looked beautiful.

We tried to explain, we really did, but all we managed to do was upset the designer to the point of threatening legal action. We reset the monitor and declined the job and then we all sat down in total disbelief, yet again.

 

[CathieHarris]

A new designer every month? Wow, sound like with that turnover that your client's company must be a bad work environment or they promote people extensively.

 

[Possumgal]

Yet another stubborn designer who always blames the printer when stuff looks lousy, because it can't be their files. Congrats on being able to decline the job.

 

[dabob]

Those little "overset text" indicators are there for a reason . .. and it's not to make us crazy trying to figure them out . . . you may know that the text isn't important but we can't read your mind (thank god)

 

[BarbWPP]

Sounds like another "designer" who will be looking for a new job soon!

 

[CathieHarris]

What kills me is that most graphic design jobs where I am require an Associates Degree and you wouldn't believe how many graduates come in needing their portfolio printed and I have to go round and round with them to tell them how to recreate it to print correctly. Not to mention the abundant amount of typos.

I think on my resume I'm going to put "Associates Degree Equivalent" and if I get in to talk to them and they ask, I'll tell them exactly what I said above.

 

[MacTwidget]

Please don't think that you are helping us by building your documents in printers spreads!!!
We are re-printing a job today that the customer supplied in printers spreads. Unfortunately there were no page numbers, crossovers or other clues to tell us that it was not built in readers spreads.
We processed the files, produced a proof. The kicker is that the client approved the trimmed, folded, stitched blueline. And it was wrong!

 

[CathieHarris]

Oh, the dreaded spreads...

 

[Possumgal]

Please don't think that you are helping us by building your documents in printers spreads!!!
We are re-printing a job today that the customer supplied in printers spreads. Unfortunately there were no page numbers, crossovers or other clues to tell us that it was not built in readers spreads.
We processed the files, produced a proof. The kicker is that the client approved the trimmed, folded, stitched blueline. And it was wrong!

"Well, of course the proof was wrong, but I didn't think you'd print it like that."

 

[jackmlynek]

OK, so here's one from the other side of the fence.

I'm a graphic designer with many years under my belt. I sent a job to a printer, selected by the client, and received a digital proof. All the placed images were lo-rez in the proof. I sent it back to the printer as not acceptable. This is what I got back:

"This is a PROOF; the file size was reduced for e-mail-ability. The photos are fine."

Well, I suppose that the definition of "proof" is quite malleable.

On another occasion, using a printer of my choice, after accepting the proof, the printed job came back with a few logos dropped. I complained to my contact who said it was impossible because the proof was correct. Yet, here it was. Eventually he found out that someone had opened the file after proofing and the logos got dropped. How, I don't know, but it happened.

 

[CathieHarris]

Jack, I think most of us are talking about people who aren't graphic designers "per se". Like I'm working with someone at a church who is using Publisher to do a banner. She sent me an 8.5 x 11 PDF and wanted me to make it a 3'x4' banner.

Then she needed help on how to resize images in Publisher because she had to redo her files and didn't know how. It sounds like you know what's what and I personally would've told you that the pix were low res for proofing sake and not to worry about them when I sent you the proof.

I would imagine that at least half of us here are graphic designers and pre-press people, the other half printers. So we're really on the same side of the fence.

It just gets frustrating when you're the pre-press/graphic designer at a printshop and get files from people that really have no idea what they're doing and should pay someone to make their files useable. Or let US do it BEFORE they mess it up. Or ask us how they should set the job up before they spend all their time creating an unusable file.

 

[jackmlynek]

Cathie,

The problem you're facing is the same problem that graphic designers, illustrators and photographers have been facing for the last 30 years or so. Software vendors have sold the notion that anyone can do anything if they just buy their software or their cameras. It seems skill, talent and training are irrelevant.

As to your Publisher client, why not charge her for re-doing the job? Your time is valuable. Giving it away just proves that you don't really need to know anything in this business. It also undermines graphic designers.

I commiserate with you, but I wouldn't have accepted the lo-rez proof even if you told me about the lo-rez images. I need to know that they will be printed at their proper resolution. That's what a proof tells me. Your word, as in the second example I gave, does't really mean anything. Sorry.

 

[dabob]

If there is a file listed in the "links" pallet - we are going to think its necessary . . . either get rid of it or include it!!!!!

 

[prepressdork]

(Dork steps up onto his soap box): Ohhhhhhhhh, I have a fewwww:

1. When naming spot colors, "Bobs Blue" doesn't tell us anything. Use correct Pantone naming so we know which ink you want.
2. Want to tint a color 50%? Then tint it. Don't make it 50% transparent.
3. Have a job you want to perfect bind? CONFIGURE YOUR FILE FOR SINGLE (NON-FACING) PAGES AND BLEED PAGE CONTENT ON ALL APPLICABLE SIDES!

(Dork gracefully steps down from his soap box and pops a couple of throat lozenges).

pd

 

[Laodamas]

Customer wants a pdf "proof" emailed, and that job is a 60 page, image heavy brochure. Then tells you to make sure that the pdf is under 5mb. THEN complains that the images are low res in the pdf you had to compress like a trash compactor.

In my opinion, a pdf proof should never be used to determine image quality or color. It's for content only. If you do want to see a pdf with original resolution, use a cloud service like Dropbox. As a rule I send pdf proofs with the highest quality resolution possible, which is only mitigated by insistence on sending it through email (though the allowed attachable file size is steadily increasing)

 

[ajr]

8.5"x11" is not A4! No it cant just be enlarged and reduced and look the bloody same!

 

[claude72]

I went through the 16 pages of this thread, and it is exactly the story my 18 years of pre-press: I have seen (and suffered) all the crap described in this 16 pages (and even some more), including stupid customer's/designer's giving crappy files and saying "I had no problem with other printers" or "I'm doing the job this way since 20 years and I don't see why I should change"... and me having the strong desire to answer that they do the same mistakes since 20 years!

(and dreaming that I could slit their throats).

 

[claude72]

And, just to add my 2 cents (3, in fact):


Most of the """designers""" I worked with (or for, as a slave, to fix their crap for free!) did pirate their softwares... so, as they were afraid to be caught by Adobe's servers if they use the automatic update function and also have poor computing habilities/knowledge, they never update their softs... and consequently they work with bugged ".0" versions, with bugged PDF export, that make unreliable "press-ready" bugged PDF!

Leave it to the pro's you cheap a#@!, pay a professional to do your work.

The problem is that "professional" only means "people who earn money by doing this job", but it doesn't mean "competent"...
... even if "pro" normally should imply/suggest that the guy is competent, I saw "professional" designers make an 100 pages book in Photoshop and deliver 100 JPEG files to the printer, or make a 18 or 30 pages saddle-stitch, or make a 2-color job containing a CMYK JPEG logo...
I even saw a "pro" make 4-pages newsletters printed 4 times per year with Publisher and generating a crappy "press-ready" PDF with an outdated version of PDF-creator... or another "pro" who made an ad-page in Word and exported it "press-ready" in JPEG @100 ppi!!! (in fact, both of them were not real designers, but were in charge of the communication in their company, and, consequently, design was a part of their job!)
And don't forget that all the secretaries who make their company's newsletters with Word or PowerPoint are "pro's"!!!

In fact, today, many "pro's" in design are simply people having bought a computer and bought (or pirated) an Adobe CS/CC, and believing that this is enough to pretend to be designers and to charge high prices for their artistic creations and the crappy files that are intended to make them printed...
And the only way to have an idea of their """skills""" (yes, triple quotes, at least!!!) is to look at their computer, as generally those who have a PC are the far worst, because they are even not able to buy the right tool!!! (but it does not mean that those who have a Mac are the best... no, they are only less worst)

I have also created a screen caption step-by-step, with spoon fed numbers in a pdf on how to produce a pdf that we will supply to customers/designers.

I also try to make an "how-to"... not for PDF, but for general advices on how-to make a good job, that matches my softs and "my" rules and that I will easily process...

And I realized years ago that it cannot work and it is useless, for a simple (triple) reason:

- competent people who know how to do the job do not need it...

- self-proclaimed designers who believe that they know their job and have nothing to learn will not read it because they are sure they don't need it...

- DIY people who have absolutely no knowledge but believe that they can do the job just because they have a PC and a pirated Photoshop will not understand it... (and will give up reading at the third line!!!)

 

[Possumgal]

Too many designers today are being trained solely on web design. When they're asked to produce something for print, they're stymied when told by the printer that their file won't work. Designing for the web and for print are two different things; learn the difference and how each works.

Unfortunately, too many design courses don't even provide anything on print design these days.

 

[Russ_G]

I can't seem to find the color ''EGGPLANT" in the pantone book!?!


This thread must live on!!