11
Books
Commercial Printing
When you create a multi-color publication, you want
the colors in the nal printed piece to match your expec-
tations as closely as possib
tations as closely as possib
le
. To accomplish this, you
need three things: a clear understanding of color and
how itís displayed and printed on different devices,
knowledge of the commercial printing process, and
close communication with your commercial printer.
This chapter presents fundamental color and printing
concepts, de nes printing terminology, and introduces
new technologies. We also recommend browsing in your
local library, bookstore, or graphic arts supply store for
books on graphic arts and commercial printing. The
more you know about printing color, the better you can
prepare your publication.
The properties of color
Objects appear to be certain colors because of their
ability to re ect, absorb, or transmit light, which we per-
ceive as color. Our eyes are sensitive enough to per-
ceive thousands of different colors in the spectrum of
visible lightóincluding many colors that cannot be di
played on a color monitor or printed on a commer
printing press.
ii
Introduction
This book explores the processes and issues involved
in preparing color publications for reproduction on a
commercial printing pressóa set of tasks known as the
prepress process.
Until recently, most prepress tasksósuch as scan-
ning color photographs, trapping, imposition, color cor-
rection, and generating color separationsówere
performed exclusively by skilled specialists working
manually or on expensive proprietary systems. Now,
many prepress tasks can be accomplished on the desk-
top.
The exibility and direct control offered by this new
technology have blurred the traditional roles of designer
and prepress professional. Designers who have the
knowledge and equipment can do their own prepress
work. The prepress industry has changed to support the
new requirements of the desktop publisher. Commercial
print shops have imagesetters to produce lm separa-
tions and offer high- delity color and direct digital print-
ing to distinguish themselves from other service
providers. Service bureaus offering high-resolution
scanning and electronic prepress now offer one-stop
shopping for less complex printing.
Managing these changing relationships requires a
knowledge of the printing process and the decision
that must be made to produce output of professio
quality. This book discusses the processes and is
involved in preparing electronic les for com
i
Table of Contents
Introduction
olor and Commercial Printing
operties of color..................................................1
minology ......................................................5
ics........................................................9
blems.........................................10
resolution ...........................11
............................12
............................14
............17
.....20
Yo u can group separate FrameMaker 7.0
documents into one book. This grouping
lets you generate a single table of contents
or index for the documents, and it greatly
simplifies printing, numbering, cross-
referencing, and formatting.
L11.fm Page 261 Sunday, July 7, 2002 10:27 PM
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