Printing: in which format to work?

Latest update on February 28, 2018 at 06:19 AM by Jean-François Pillou .

Your are a graphic designer, it is often required to do publishing.

There are some rules to follow to avoid any surprises when the job is printed.

From the outset, it should work in CMYK mode. Many complain of not having the same record when the job is printed. Indeed, using the RGB (color video) allows for pétantes colors, but only for the web. For printing, therefore, apply directly to the CMYK mode.

Tip: Select the library in color, nuances Focoltone. You have direct equivalence CMYK and especially no unpleasant surprises. The choice of resolution will depend on the purpose desired for your work.

For a web: the resolution is 72 PPI (Apple) or 96 PPI (Microsoft).

For printing on paper: a resolution of 300 dpi or 300 DPI (PPP: points per inch - in English DPI: Dots Per Inch) for a high-resolution quality. It considers that high resolution ranges from 250 to 300 DPI. You can descend at 200 DPI for an image in grayscale. For against, anything below this value may not be suitable for quality printing. - Tiff (Tagged Image File Format) for printing high resolution, it should work in. Tiff.

You can make all the changes on your image without affecting quality.

If you work in conjunction with Xpress or In Design, this format is more appropriate.

- EPS (Encapsulated PostScript): This format is primarily used when there are trimming or tracks. This format is also used for vector and bitmap. In this regard: to fit your nearest clipping: "white" around the image you do not weigh very heavily on the registration of that file.

- Jpeg (Joint Photographic Experts Group): If your image is destined for printing, you must know that every time you save it, you lose quality.

It is better to make all your changes in format. Tif, and record at the end. Jpeg format, so as not to affect the quality. Unify your work when you work on various programs. Avoid import files in Xpress or In Design images of different formats (tiff and jpeg mixed). To avoid the bug when printing, it is advisable to import image formats. Pdf in In Design (although some do).

Feel free to request a Cromalin before printing. And if by chance you can attend the setting at the printer, not only can guide you according to your needs, but the win also report time / production.