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File Preparation
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RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is the color scheme used in computer graphics. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black or “Key”), on the other hand, is the standard for printing color images. The computer screen displays light. As colors are added in RGB, light is added as well. Alternately, the CMYK color scheme is used in combining inks. Therefore, as more colors are combined, the resulting color becomes darker.
If you are working in RGB, you must convert your promotional printing files from RGB to CMYK so that they can be printed on a printing press. Unfortunately, not all colors can be replicated in the transfer process. While some colors may be out of the CMYK gamut, it is usually difficult to tell the difference in full color fine art printing.
So what the differences?
RGB uses the colors red, green, blue which are the primary colors of light. The secondary colors to these are cyan, magenta, and blue, which can be found in CMYK. Therefore, CMYK is opposite RGB.
Both RGB and CMYK modes use 8-bit channels for each of their colors. Since RGB includes 3 colors, RGB is a 24-bit model. CMYK, on the other hand, uses 4 colors, and therefore it is a 32-bit model.
The RGB process of color is additive. The colors throughout the color spectrum are created in RGB by adding different intensities of red, green, and blue light to black. Black is equivalent to no light on the computer screen. The intensities of RGB light can be as weak as 0, or as strong as 255.
The CMYK process of color is exactly the opposite. As RGB light is striking an object, CMYK colors are absorbing the light and reflecting back appropriately. The amount of light absorbed depends on the amount of CMYK color present. Therefore, CMYK is considered a subtractive process. The colors displayed by CMYK are the result of subtracting varying amounts of red, green, and blue light.
When your promotional printing project uses custom RGB printing, the eye sees the varying light of red, green, and blue (and all the colors they produce) before they are absorbed. When you produce Giclee printing in CMYK, however, we are seeing the color lights that have been reflected back to us after absorption.
This is just more proof that full color photo printing is an amazing and intensely detailed process.
Filed under: Uncategorized, Design, Education, File Preparation, Technology, Digital C Print on December 19th, 2007
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Over the course of the past year, we have been lucky enough to print many custom large format posters and displays for museums and traveling exhibits.
This past spring and summer we had been doing ongoing Digital C Prints and Duratrans signage for a traveling display for Reptiland, which is a traveling display of Reptiles that goes from museum to musem and this summer was at The Museum of Natural History, here in New York City.
Over a few month span last winter we had printed similar images but with insects for the Staten Island Children’s Musem.
All in all doing this type of printing is rewarding, but knowing that children and their parents really get to enjoy them and learn from these types of applications is it’s own reward.
If you have a project like this, please contact Dan Morse.
Filed under: Proofs, Products, Design, Education, File Preparation, Technology, Digital C Print on September 15th, 2006
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File preparation is very important to the quality of you final output. To help you get it right, we prepared two file prerparation guides:
Color printing and stationery file preparation guide
Large format file preparation guide
If you have questions after perusing the guides, don’t hesitate to call. We want to make sure you’re happy with your final results.
Filed under: File Preparation on June 12th, 2005
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Follow the checklist below to make sure your files are print ready.
The following products all print in spot color (Pantoneâ„¢) PMS colors only, which means your artwork needs to be vector, and the best program to use for vetor output is Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, or Quark.
Photoshop will not give you the ability to print spot color at all. Photoshop files can be used to print anything in CMYK, Full Color. See below.
Letterhead
Envelopes
1-4 Spot color Pocket Folders (Full color folders, see below)
1-2 Color Business Cards
The following products all print in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) 4 color process, a.k.a. Full Color.
Coop Business Cards
Coop Postcards
4cp Pocket Folders
Inkjet Posters
Banners
Promoplanesâ„¢
Brochures
Giclee Fine Art Prints
The following product prints in RGB.
Digital C Prints or Photoprints
- Images: Before placing or embedding your artwork into any layout or illustration application, please make sure your images, photos, and raster graphics are saved in CMYK mode or grayscale mode, not RGB (they will not print correctly and it will cause our system to detect a problem and halt the production of your proofs and production of your job entirely). You will receive a message letting you know that your images need to be converted to CMYK mode.
- Fonts: There are thousands of fonts and that means that there are an unlimited amount of potential font based problems, to make it simple, include a compressed folder with all the fonts you used in the project; ones used in Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, InDesign, or any other popular graphics software programs. Send both screen and printer fonts for Type 1 fonts. Send the same format (Type 1, TrueType, OpenType) as used in the document. Send all the fonts used, including fonts in EPS graphics (or, convert fonts in graphics to outlines before placing in page layout application). By outlining the fonts in Illustrator or other EPS capable programs, you can outline your fonts which turns them into vector (or shaped) graphic elements as opposed to editable type. Since we are not in the business of editing copy, this should not cause any problems. If you want to leave your files in an editable format, make sure to include ALL the fonts used.
- Page Layout: When using programs like Adobe Page Maker, InDesign or Quark XPress, make sure to include in a compressed packaged folder of all the elements that are used to create your layout; logos, images, photos, vector art, fonts, etc…this way when we open and decompress your files we can see everything that was used to create your project in one convenient concise folder.
- File Size: If you feel that your files are too big to simply send over the internet, call us first, you may be surprised – OR use these tools to help you; www.stuffit.com (Mac Compression Software) or www.winzip.com (PC Compression Software). These programs will shrink or compress your files and make them smaller without compromising the integrity, quality or stability of your files included in the compressed, stuffed or zipped folder. Our file upload form can safely upload files up to 100mb. If you have a file bigger than 100 mb, please call us and we can walk you through uploading the exceedingly large file to our ftp server.
- Illustration or Vector Art/Type: When you create vector art for your graphics and type you are ensured of good crisp printing. Vector art is the sharpest type of graphic format there is, there is no bitmapping or rasterizing that happens, in other words there is no fuzziness when you zoom in on your artwork, the integrity of the art or type is flexible and will scale to whatever size you choose, especially when printing large posters, banners, photo C prints or giclee prints.
Filed under: File Preparation on June 11th, 2005
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Goals and Design
When preparing your files for output, you need to determine the goals of the project and then choose a medium and create a design that will best meet your goals.
For example, if you are a Marketing Manager given the task of producing a giant banner for a product launch, you need to make sure your design will translate well when printed very large and viewed from a distance. If you’re preparing for a trade show, you need to consider both distance and the fact that people will be darting by your booth, requiring your visual content be potent enough to catch wandering eyes.
The best solution when designing for large-format printing is to keep it simple and direct. Subtlety and complexity are difficult if not impossible to see at a distance and when competing for viewers’ attention.
The bottom line is to create a message that the medium can support.
File Preparation Tips
When blowing up images to large sizes from computer-generated image files, it is important to make sure the files were created in formats and resolutions that will assure quality results when printed.
There are three main issues to be aware of and if you’re careful, you’ll be amazed when you unfurl your product from the carton.
Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: File Preparation on June 11th, 2005