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i = ARCTIC PAPER RECOMMENDS
Before we start breaking the process down, as you have to do for every production, a few words about different production flows.
There is of course no right or wrong approach in print production. Rather there are several alternative paths to choose from – and all of them, as long as they are followed in the right way, lead to a good end result.
The wide range of procedures is mainly due to developments in technology. There are all kinds of abbreviations to think about, such as RGB, CMYK, ICC profiles and so on. Here are some of the common flows:
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In a traditional CMYK flow (where CMYK stands for the colours Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key-colour, i.e. Black) each image is manually adjusted in a software program, such as PhotoShop for instance. The image is simply scanned in CMYK, and processing is done directly on the computer. This ensures that each image is adjusted to suit a specific paper and printing press. Extreme adjustments are therefore possible. The downside being that the images can then only be used for that particular production. If they are needed for another purpose later on, you have no choice but to scan in the image again and start from square one. In the long run this is unnecessarily costly. |
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One of the more revolutionary technical advances in recent years is the development of ‘colour management systems’. The most popular of these answers to the name of ICC profiles (International Colour Consortium) which is recognised as a common standard for colour processing. In some-what simplified terms, the system allows automatic repro and film adaptation for the paper and printing machine. Once the images have been processed, you simply add the profile that matches the paper and printing press being used to each image. These profiles can be added at one of the various stages, directly on an image or in the ripping process, for example. This means you can use the same image several times for different types of paper and press, simply by changing profile, which ensures correct repro and films. However, each printer must have profiles compatible with their presses and the paper grades being used. |
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This approach is much like the one above, the difference being that you work in an RGB (Red, Green, Blue) flow and instead create high-resolution PDF (Portable Document Format) files of the entire document. The printer is therefore given a complete original in PDF, and can add its own profiles to the entire document, rather than each individual image.
The RGB / PDF approach makes for very simple, efficient distribution. You can basically e-mail the original file to a printshop anywhere in the world – from the tiniest digital press to gigantic offset printers – provided they have the right ICC profile settings.
Another increasingly common distribution method is media data-bases, whereby a printed product is stored and kept updated, while being made accessible to the selected printers.
Another advantage of RGB and ICC is the ability to publish in other ways, such as on a website or in a presentation program. This is called parallel publication, and much of what is printed these days is also published on media other than paper, as we know.
i Well, there you have some common procedures. In the end, the method selected depends on the technology available to your business partners, and to some extent on the aim of the printed matter. Also, regardless of production process, some final adjustments to the paper and press have to be made at some point. |
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