off color? Or your file was "off"??
Hey guys, hoping I can re-awaken this thread just for a quick question...
A magazine that I recently submitted an ad to required a proof in order to guarantee accurate color (as many of you had mentioned)... Being my first print project, I did my research about proofing colors in PS and everything looked fine in working CMYK and even SWOP web coated proof previews. I exported to PDF with all of the correct, press-ready settings as outlined in their media kit.
The ad apparently printed off color and the publisher says they need a proof for it to print correctly next time. Until reading this thread I wasn't even aware of where to get a proof.
How often does this seem to happen to you all? Could it just be that this publisher has a second-rate printer, or is it more likely a problem with my PDF?
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Yes... the SWOP proof line is standard boilerplate, CYA stuff, held over from years gone by. However, I would suggest you DO get one for your file, for the most important reason of getting an external color reality check for your own equipment.
Calibration can be easy, or a nightmare, and the deeper you look the more complicated it can become. That being said, there are some basic steps to take. First off buy an inexpensive hardware calibration device. I use the Spyder2 Pro Suite (around $99-149). Most LCD monitors these days are REALLY bright, so start off by turning the brightness all the way down. Run the calibration test, your greys should appear neutral and not tinted with a colored tone. Your "white" should actually appear very slightly yellowy greyish white. LCDs do not degrade as quickly as the old tube style monitors, so once you are "calibrated" you should be OK for 6 months to a year easily.
You need to know what is on screen matches what any printer will have on their hard copy proofs. My screen is about 98% color accurate to Kodak Approvals/Fuji/Epsons etc.
Lastly, if the job is being run on a web press, as opposed to a sheet fed press, be aware that inline conflicts may occur (other pages may interfere and effect how the ink gets put down on the paper). With sheet fed presses this is less of a concern.
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I both produce materials for printing, and also produce publications that get files from other artists/agencies. These days almost NO ONE supplies a hard copy proof, let alone an actual disk (or even working files). Most files & even entire publications are provided as high-res PDFs. The most common error made by amateur and professional alike is failing to convert all artwork to CMYK before making the final PDF. A high-res PDF made from RGB artwork will appear flat, dull, and oddly casted. It is almost impossible to recover the file, you need to go back to the source files convert to CMYK & re-export the PDF. Lastly, avoid the shortcut of one-step PDF creation... export the file as Postscript and then use Distiller to create the PDF. If you deal with a lot of files I would highly recommend Badia's ExporTools for QuarkXpress. It gives you a lot of the functionality back that had been removed from the newer versions of Quark (ability to export as single pages, etc.).
You should not assume the fault is the printers, unless you are SURE your files are sound color-wise to begin with. I am amazed how many designers & photographers are not calibrated even in the most basic sense. That being said, once you are comfortable your screen matches SWOP standards (Specifications Web Offset Publications) you are good to go...
cheers,
michael
