Hi,
I am a graphic designer (with relatively little experience). When printing books and catalogs, sometimes the images turn out quite unsatisfactory. Now I am trying to learn about "prepairing images for press" because I think it is very important part of the design that I didn't really give much attention before. Even a nice photo can turn ugly without the proper preparation. But it seems like a hit and miss chance when I think about why sometimes the printing turns out fine but sometimes quite opposite.
I was reading Photoshop help menu about prepairing images for press. It says, "If you know the characteristics of the press, you can specify the highlight and shadow output to preserve certain details." But if I go talk with the printer I don't know what I need to ask to find out their printing characteristics. I know that most pinters require 300 dpi CMYK. But other than that what do I need to know to prepaire my images for optimum result?
I have seen many great publications and ugly publications supposedly printed on similar technology. It is certain that there is a lot of skill required for a good color separation. Can you tell me what I need to find out from each printers before I send my file?
