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So...Who Needs Proofs and Press Checks?
"The craft of printing has a language all its own. The process
demands reading images diligently, and learning to communicate so
that others can see the same things."
The importance of "Partnering" with your printer... Talk, Listen, See
This issue of Autumn In the Rockies is devoted to helping bring
more control, and better communication to the process of printing
images on paper. We have quoted heavily from THE WARREN STANDARD,
Vol. Five, No. One, 1998, "How to Read a Press Sheet".
For a copy of the publication, contact Trace Coccimiglio at xpedx.
TALK
The best first step in printing any job is to establish communication
with your printer early on in the process. Take the time to talk
about the obvious issues, like your specs for the job, budgets,
and deadlines. But also make sure you talk about some of the more
interpretive issues, like your vision for the piece---what kind
of impact you want, and what you want the tactile finished product
to feel like in someone’s hand.
Have a discussion about your images. How can you best achieve the
effect you want, and what are realistic expectations. There are
many factors that can affect the images in your finished piece.
The following section provides a brief overview of the most common
ones. However, since every job is different, don’t skip the
important step of sitting down with your printer to talk about the
unique opportunities and challenges that your job presents.
THE ORIGINAL
Clearly, what you provide the printer to start with has the greatest
impact on what you’ll get back. The variables in originals
include color balance, exposure, grain, sharpness, detail, the size
of both the original and the finished image; and, based on the type
of film emulsion used, the level of color saturation.
COLOR SEPARATIONS
Color separation is a highly complex, technical process that
requires significant technological skill and craftsmanship, and
volumes of material have already been written on it. The variations
in scanning that impact the final result are resolution, tone compression,
color balance, contrast, and screening methods. (For additional
information on color in printing see RMP’s issue of SUMMERTIME
IN THE ROCKIES, Summer 1998)
THE DESIGN
In addition to the characteristics of your images and the way
you scan or separate them, where you place them in the piece and
what other design elements you include will also have a significant
effect on the printed results. Because offset printing involves
physically putting ink on paper, where that ink goes can have an
impact on the things around it. Images that cross over both pages
in a spread, those that follow behind each other on the press sheet,
and the delicate neutral photos in combination with bright, saturated,
or dark ones can, if not planned for, change the way your images
look on press.
Decisions that you make between special flat colors and screen
tints for backgrounds or type also need to be made with your color
images in mind. Design elements or background colors that must be
consistent from page to page can create problems if it means compromising
on the color images that appear with them. Virtually all of these
issues can be avoided with advance planning, and are further confirmation
of the need to communicate early in the process.
THE PAPER
Paper has an enormous impact on the final printed results of
your images---not only on their color, but on their sharpness, print
contrast, level of gloss, and detail. (For additional information
on paper, see RMP’s issue of SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES, Spring
1998)
LISTEN
It is frequently a source of frustration for designers and printers
alike when there is an assumption that a transparency can be matched
exactly in a proof or on paper. More than any other aspect of the
printing process, the translation of an image from transparency
to paper is fraught with misun-derstanding.
Knowing the physical differences between trans-parencies, various
types of proofs, and paper and ink is critical to achieving the
effect you want. Each of these mediums creates images in different
ways, and therefore each varies in its ability to record color.
PROOF TYPES
Listed below are the most commonly used proofing systems, with
a brief description of each:
- SINGLE-COLOR PAPER PROOFS i.e.,blue-prints or bluelines, are
used to check copy, type, size and position of all images, artwork,
pagina-tion, etc.
- PRESS PROOFS use paper and ink as a medium, and are literally
printed on an offset press. Press proofs also allow viewing of
the images on the paper stock on which they will ultimately appear.
Because they are more expensive and time-consuming to produce,
they are generally used only when the effect cannot be simulated
off-press.
- ANALOG PROOFS (matchprints) are generally laminates, which are
made by exposing light-sensitive material through film. Rocky
Mountain Printing can provide matchprints for the customer.
- DIGITAL PROOFS (IRIS) are created using a variety of technologies.
The images you are printing should influence the way you press
check. Subtle differences can enhance either jewels or skintones.
Color saturation and tone are also influenced by several factors.
Discuss the overall effect you desire with the pressman to achieve
the best match.
SEE
You’ve approved the color proofs, signed off on a blueline,
and you’re in the pressroom ready to roll. By this time, if
you and your print sales-person have covered all the bases and made
the necessary changes and corrections, the press OK should be fast,
fun and uneventful.
Start by establishing rapport with the pressman. He is there because
of his expertise in understanding the capabilities of the press
he’s running, and how to get what you want on paper. More than
likely, he knows more than you do about how to run color and make
changes, so don’t be afraid to ask his advice rather than telling
him how to do things.
STEP BY STEP TO APPROVAL
Make sure you have all the materials you’ll need on hand,
such as bluelines, final color proofs, and any additional
back-up materials.
- THE READER SHEET — First, make sure you have a "reader
sheet." This is a makeready sheet that is not for final color,
but can be used for proofing. On the reader sheet, look for copy
changes that were made on the blueline, design elements, and the
position of art and type. Also, check paper weight and finish
to make sure they are correct.
- SHEET TWO — This is your opportunity to check print quality.
Is the color right? Are the flesh tones realistic? Is it in register?
Does the type have crisp edges with clean knockouts? Check for
hot spots, broken type, scratches, and dirt. Take your time on
this sheet. Don’t try to do everything at once. Take stock
of your overall impression, and then study each element. Use a
printers’ loupe to check traps and registration. Compare
the sheet to your color proofs and, understanding that they will
probably not match perfectly, make sure that the effect is the
one you want. Speak to the pressman or your salesperson about
your concerns and make adjustments together. Take a moment and
try to look at the proof as if you’ve never seen the original.
That’s the way your audience will see it.
As a rule, it’s always better to tell
the printer what you want, or what you want to change, rather
than telling him how to do it. Let the printer use his expertise
to solve problems. And keep in mind that it’s always better
to make a series of small shifts rather than big ones.
- SUBSEQUENT SHEETS — Always number the sheets as soon as
you get them. Check for the improvements that you’ve discussed
with the printer, and compare the newest sheet with the previous
one. Double-check any tints or neutral areas for shifts in color,
or unevenness in color, within a tint area or within the same
image, especially for a crossover. Don’t be afraid to fold
or cut the sheet so you can lay the images next to each other
from sheet to sheet. Check crossovers for color and alignment
— check for hickies.
Take another fresh look at the whole sheet.
Make sure the changes you’ve been making on one critical
area haven’t impacted other parts of the sheet. Look at it
from an angle; you may catch something you hadn’t seen before.
Take additional densitometer readings: magenta
and cyan should be about equal. Yellow should be weaker. Black
should be the heaviest.
- SIGNING OFF — When you like it, sign it. Keep an ok'd sheet
to bring back to your office. On a multi-form job, you’ll
want to have all your OK sheets available at press to compare
with the current press form.
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