Offset printing of watercolor art

I am a young designer with little experience in book publishing. Currently I am working on a catalog of an artist. It consists of oil paintings and water colors. But preparing the CMYK images for watercolors is a bit tricky for me. There are many watercolors with very subtle tints of color wash, and from my previous experience these light watercolors tend to lose their luminosity after printed. So, I wanted to get a little extra advice on how to prepare the best images for printing watercolors in book.
There are several different adjustment tools in Photoshop such as Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Curves, Exposure, and Vibrance etc. But I don’t know which one is more suitable to make the punch the colors a little more and add a little more contrast.
If you know any other links in this topic, I will be happy to read more.

I wonder if you've ever heard of hexogram printing? You will never be able to replicate a painter's palette using CMYK alone. Printing presses are limited to the amount of ink they can lay down, but I tend to think you are trying to match some pastel type variants in press. There are also certain types of paper you might consider. Paper that will absorb the ink and have some tooth to it. You do not mention how the images are captured. Are they digital pics or scans? I've read your post and I think you need to look beyond Photoshop, a little outside the box, if you will. There are specialty printers, book printers who specialize in archival type work and do a phenominal job reproducing fine art. Of course, there are tools in Photoshop that can enhance an image. You should get Dan Margulis' "Photoshop LAB Color" and "Professional Photoshop". Very, very good references to optimizing images and they have several different approaches to some common problems.

Similar Messages

Offset Printing Question

Hello,
I need an advise on how to print a very deep blue color on offset printing. I am doing a catalog for an artist who uses very nice deep blue color. His technique of applying the color is very special, so when seen with human eye it is very illuminating. Professional photo can capture the effect decently, but numerous trials on different publications show that offset printing can't get anywhere close to the original color by the artist. Sometimes it gets muddy grayish blue, but sometimes it gets more to the purple side with a lot of magenta in it.
If you are curious what kind of art I am talking about, you may visit www.chimeddorj.com
The reason is that cyan, magenta and a bit of black can't really create a pure Cobalt Blue. So I was thinking if there was a way to add an additional printing separation for a pure blue color from Pantone. That way the Spot Pantone blue that is closest to the artist's color will act as a base and CMYK color will add necessary shades depending on the situation.
Does it sound reasonable? Does any one think it will work? I need your opinions or expertises.
Also, do you know any other web sites with forums specifically dedicated to commercial print topics?

Dear John Danek,
I hope everything is well with you. I know that you are one of the most active participants of the adobe forums. I would like to ask your help on a pretty complicated Photoshop problem. I thought you may have some experience printing in Solid colors and separating them into channels.
I am trying to print a book using two solid colors in addition to the 4 process colors. But the solid colors will not be applied just plainly. The photographic images will have certain areas printed in solid colors that will diffuse smoothly with other 4 colors. If you would like to get a better understanding of my problem, you could visit my previous post on adobe forums under these links. You have added your entry on the second link almost a year ago.
http://forums.adobe.com/message/5929818#5929818
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/953122
I found a printer who made me a test print with my channel separated files. Although the saturation and overall color quality has improved a lot, the test came out quite bad because I didn’t separate the channels right. I want the solid color to diffuse smoothly with other 4 colors. So I need to learn to make the separations in a right way.
If you are willing to take a look at my sample print and the color separated PS files, I can send them to you in a link. I have a high expectancy that this is going to work eventually. For now it is just a matter of separating the colors in a right way.

Offset printing settings for PDF/X-3:2002

Can anybody advice me the best settings of PDF/X for offset printing?
Thanks in advance

The PDF/X-1a:2001 and PDF/X-3:2002 standards are based on PDF 1.3 .... settings, to print the PDF/X directly.
minikperi
yuju
glitter

How can I export to PDF for Offset printing including color and grayscale photo's?

After reading dozens of forum, I still don’t found the answer.
I made a photobook with full-colur and B/W photos for Offset printing. I want the B/W to be in grayscale to avoid color possible color shades. It seems InDesign doesn’t support grayscale, the images become way to dark. Even with exporting without any colour conversion or destination and/or including original colour profiles, the grayscale pictures are being exported to dark to PDF.
How can I export to PDF for Offset printing including color and grayscale photo’s?

Yes, the Photoshop & ID CMYK working spaces are the same
This can get difficult because the 3 programs handle soft proofing differently.
The working spaces don't matter, it's the document profile(s) that manage the preview. So here is the same grayscale image placed in ID on top and PS on the bottom. I've set my Photoshop info to show the doc profile in the lower left corner. I can see my InDesign's Document CMYK profile in my Proof Setup (the Working CMYK is different and isn't being used). Both profiles are effectively the same Coated FOGRA39 (Black Ink FOGRA in the case of PS).
But the previews don't match because I have Overprint turned off, so the InDesign preview is Gamma 2.2 or a "screen" media preview.
If I turn on Overprint preview I get a match because I'm soft proofing for print:

How to get black text in Aperture for offset printing?

I have a lot of text in my Aperture Books.
60 pages is like 300USD plus from Apple store!
Offset printing for 1000 copies is 3 USD each (and I am happy with that lower quality).
This is what my printer says:
The files for offset print generally should be prepared slightly different
then for digital printing.
I'm talking about the text.
Each black text (on the cover, inside pages, numbers of pages) should be
prepared in one black colour. Now is separated on 4 colours. Of course we can print it as it is but I'm sure that the final effect will
be not good. The black letters will be "fuzzy".
Is it possible to change some settings? (I get the same in Pages when I create PDF:s)
Help!!!
Stefan
Do I have to learn Indesign?

StefanGson wrote:
I tried to save as PDF-X and then I opened the generated PDF and if I use Acrobat
Advanced->Print Production and Output Preview and hold the cross over my black text I still get values for CMYK
I guess thats how you check it?
Hi, Stefan
I would suggest talking directly with the person you're going to deliver to and ask them exactly how they want it delivered, for example, fonts, pdf type... they usually have a spec sheet you deliver to and then pick the PDF from the print options in Aperture.
victor

Using Photoshop for offset printing projects (packaging) - simple or complex?

Hi,
I'm about to start a new project. It's a product package (box).
Normally, I would do this in Illustrator. However, I was wondering if I could do it all in Photoshop by saving the final output as a PDF.
I've only ever used Photoshop in 4-color process scenarios and numeric printing. In other words, "sky's the limit" scenarios, where all I need to care about is how it looks on the screen. I'm not sure how to attack this from the perspective of offset printing.
I've checked with the printer, and he says a CMYK PDF is fine. But that the basic rules of offset still apply.
First, is it realistic of me to envision doing this box in Photoshop? It would really save me a lot of time not having to switch back and forth from PS to AI the way I usually do in projects like these.
How would I go about telling a text layer to use a specific offset pantone, or pure black, for instance?
Am I making too big a deal out of something simple, or am I being unreasonably simplistic regarding something more complex?

...or am I being unreasonably simplistic regarding something more complex?
Probably yes (no offense). Just a few random thoughts:
- you can't do die, glue and fold lines in PS as you can't do specific other custom print marks required for stamping, foil coating, varnishing or whatever
- process colors in PS are limited to multichannel/ duotones/ tritones and since they will be raster, they will never print sharp, especially when printing on something like uncoated C or G flute
- similarly, barcodes and other required markings may not print correctly
So no, there is possibly no way you can do this in just PS. In particular the cutting part will require a complementary EPS/ PDF based on genuine vector data and it really doesn't hurt to have proper alignement crosshairs, either.
Mylenium

Resolution of Pages PDF for offset printing

I'm making a brochure for my wife's company. I've already made it in Photoshop (on my PC). I've duplicated it in Pages (tri-fold template). The pdf made in PS is about 25MB. The pdf made by pages is about 1.3MB. The printer wants files that are 350ppi. And now that I think of it, they also want them in the CMYK color space. Pretty sure Pages won't do that. Anyway, anyone made a document that was printed by a service (offset press)?
Dave
in Maine

I'd agree with what Peter says but for a possible few points.
1. As you have calibrated monitors, you presumably have a spectrophotometer and a monitor calibration / monitor characterisation package. The package should autoinstall the ICC profile for the state of the display and set the ColorSync Utility and the Display control panel correctly. However, take care that you don't override these settings manually. The typical mistake is to use the display profile as the profile for colour correction. The reason this is a mistake is that your display typically has a smaller colour space than your offset printing condition, except if you are printing on lowend gray newsprint or lowend gray magazine paper as in US SWOP. For any half-decent printing gamut, use a larger colour correction space such as ECI-RGB or AdobeRGB or if you are digital then PhotoGamutRGB by the pro photographers in Germany. If you can't define a colour in the colour correction space you can't define the colour in the output space - you have to have the colour to be able to print the colour.
2. In using the PDF/X-3 workflow, check with your printer for the bleed box and trim box. If you don't have to have transparency, try staying away from it in your design. The idea is that PDF is output to a determinate imaging area for the page itself, which you define in Page Setup, but printing processes have different needs of additional space and this additional space is customisable. If you do have transparency, set the transparency flattening appropriately in the PDF/X-3 dialogue. Finally, talk to your printer about the printing condition and determine if there is a house printing condition for which an ICC printing profile is available or if the shop supports ISO 12647 in which case you can get prebuilt ICC profiles at www.eci.org and the measurement data itself to build your own gamut mapping and black generation at www.color.org which is the home of the International Color Consortium.
Probably a bit rambling, sorry about that.
hh

Printing on watercolor paper - HP Deskjet 2050A (J510g)

I have failed to determine the best weight of paper for my printer. I want to print on watercolor paper 300grams in weight or less hence if this is capable of being done?

I realize that your post is older, but this may help others with similar issues and questions.
HP printers can use a variety of weights and types of paper. Refer to your user manual for helpful tips, but the easy answer is that that you should always use the highest quality paper available. Also, denser paper will give you a better result. I am concerned that watercolor paper is too porous to give you good prints and loose fibers might easily separate from the sheet and build up inside the printer—this can lead to paper jams.
Here is a short video that discusses picking and using the correct paper in your printer. Although it doesn't address watercolor paper, or your specific pritner model, it has some good general information.
Be sure to check out all the helpful videos at: hp.com/supportvideos and on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/hpprintersupport
I work for HP.

Pdf Import; Offset Printing

Hi Everyone....I have my files in Pdf format and I want to do "OFFSET PRINTING"...I have Corel Draw Graphics Suite X5 and Adobe Illustrator CS5 for OFFSET PRINTING....but when I Import my files in these softwares... Dimensions of Pdf Files get disturbed and the image (Imported Pdf File) which opens in these softwares have text misplaced from their original position (Note: Dimensions, Font, Format & Style are important for my work)
So is there any other way to do "OFFSET PRINTING" or any other way to import Pdf files to these softwares without losing its dimensions....
Please reply ASAP.....

Why don't you do the "OFFSET PRINTING" from your "PDF FILE"? This can "ACTUALLY BE DONE."

Offset printing- should I be concerned

I'm printing a magazine and exporting it as press quality. When I do so, it says I have overset text on so and so pages. Now does this mean the printer from the place I am printing it on will not print the text that lies outside of the margins? Or what?
Is there a way around this. For example, could I convert it to a jpeg and bring it in to indesign and place it in it's position. I guess I'm thinking a printer does graphics on the page and then it goes back over it and applies the text parts. I don't understand how it is capable of printing the graphics but not the text that lies outside of the margin, if in fact that is how it works. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

For offset printing, you should be very concerned about fixing overset text.
What you see on the page with Preview mode is how it will print. If you don't see the text (and you won't see the hidden overset text), and it will not be part of your publication!
Use the Preflight panel to find and fix your overset text. If it's just a line not showing up, expand the text frame. Otherwise, you may have to change the size of the text or change your layout.

Problem with embedded font on offset printing

Hello,
I generated a leaflet with InDesign CS5. I exported it as PDF/x-3:2002. In the document, I used quote signs (American Typewriter Light font). When I export the PDF, everything goes well, and when I check in Acrobat, the font seems correctly embedded. However, when I picked up the leaflets at the printing house today (it's an offset printing), all the quotation marks were not printed (squares instead). Where does the problem come from?? Did the printing people did a mistake and what mistake? Or is it me?
Thanks for your help!!

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to respond to this thread up until now, but having reviewed this full thread, I have a few comments to offer:
It is irrelevant whether the original text was copied and pasted or whether the font was Type 1, TrueType, a TrueType collection, OpenType CFF, etc. The real issue is whether the PDF/X-3:2002 file exported from InDesign is indeed valid. This can very easily be verified by running the appropriate preflight profile for PDF/X-3:2002 in Acrobat Pro 10 or 11. There is no need for any third party plug-ins or any other software for this.
Assuming that preflight pronounces the file to be 100% kosher with no exceptions and that the file displays properly in Acrobat Pro, you should then try printing the file (or even just the pages that exhibited the problem) from Acrobat Pro to a printer that supports Adobe PostScript 3.
If the printed output from the PostScript printer is correct as well, the problem lies totally with your print service provider and their workflow.
In our extensive experience, problems can occur in any number of ways. One of most frequent sources of problems are printers who routinely open PDF files in Adobe Illustrator to view and “fix” them, somehow thinking that Adobe Illustrator is a general purpose PDF editor. For the record, Adobe Illustrator is not, repeat not, repeat yet again not a general purpose PDF file editor. Adobe Illustrator can only successfully edit PDF files saved from Adobe Illustrator itself when the “save editability” option is specified. Even then, Illustrator requires you to have all fonts referenced by the PDF file actually installed on your system; it does not use any fonts embedded in the PDF file. For other PDF files (such as those produced by Distiller, export from InDesign, etc.), character substitutions (especially for non-ASCII characters such as typographical quotes), font substitutions, color space changes, etc. are common issues.
If the printer is not abusing Illustrator on your InDesign-exported files, it could be any number of third party products that many printers use, some of which are of dubious value and some of which may be either defective in terms of compliance with the PDF specification or simply grossly out-of-date. (It is amazing how many print service providers put their customers' submitted PDF files through all sorts of “fixup” processes, regardless of whether the files need such fixups or not. Many of these “fixups” are more likely to cause problems than they are to fix anything!)
Under no conditions should you need to fully embed fonts in your PDF files. Certainly no Adobe software, including applications, Acrobat, and our PostScript and PDF RIP technologies licensed to OEMs is any way sensitive to whether fonts are subsetted or not! If a third party workflow component is so-sensitive, it is by definitiion defective.
In terms of imposition, there should likewise be no sensitivity to whether fonts are subsetted or not. By the way, the most reliable imposition is actually done at the RIP itself, not by programs that either place PDF files into other documents and regenerate PDF or by utilities that rearrange PDF files or create new PDF files representing the printed flats.
This thread also discussed the issue of whether the OP received a “proof.” Unless you receive a hard copy proof in which the content was put through the exact same workflow as the final product, including RIP and all prepress steps, it is very possible that the defect noted would not show up on the proof. Nonetheless, obtaining a hard copy proof is an excellent idea, especially if the issue comes up about liability for the cost of reprinting the job or even whether the original job should be paid for if the print service provider can't “fix” their workflow problems!
- Dov

Test color for offset printing cs4

I often have to create black and white publication which are then sent to a professional offset printer. However, the images (mainly photos) are often much darker after printing. I lighten the images in photoshop via curves but it's a guess as to how each image will print. I'd like to be able to find a set formula so multiple people can edit and place images with consistent results.
Has anyone had this problem? Is there a way to preview how a publication will look after offset printing?

i agree with both of the above posts. there's no "magic bullet" which will get every picture correct in every circumstance, it depends on:
the quality of the press being used; (is it a rusting POS with spent rollers and blankets, or is it a new machine with not many "miles" on it)
the resolution of the platesetter (assuming the artwork is being commercially printed using CTP);
the screen ruling that the printer is making the halftone dots, or if the printer is using FM/stochastic screening;
the finish of the stock (coated, uncoated, laser-paper, newsprint, matt, silk)
the brightness of the stock
there is a calculation to work out the shades of gray given the DPI of the platesetter (not the photoshop file!) and the desired LPI of the press. it is:
((DPI/LPI) squared) + 1 = shades of gray.
so for example, 2400 DPI @ 150 LPI = 257 shades of gray.
however, 2400 DPI @ 200 LPI = 145 shades of gray. so while the dots are finer, there are less shades of gray as a result.
ALSO, while a platesetter can generate fine dots at the correct screen ruling, it also depends how well the ink absorbs paper. if the paper absorbs ink too well (such as newsprint) the dot shape will grow (spread) and this gives "dot gain". this happens on coated stock too but to a lesser degree.
so ultimately the printer will be the go-to person in the OP's situation. i hope the mechanics behind it explain why asking the printer is the key here.

Interactive PDF - Offset Printing

Hi all,
I'm hoping someone can advise me on the best way to set up an Interactive PDF for offset printing? The underlying PDF is a high res PDF with bleed and trims. However, I'm not sure what happens with the form fields. Any thoughts?
Mac 10.6.7
InDesign CS5
Acrobat Pro 9.4.4
Cheers,
Tricia

Form fields are a tricky one, as it depends on where you're ripping the separations. If you print to separations from Acrobat, the data in printable form fields will appear on the plates as part of the page content. However most hardware RIPs will either throw an error, or ignore form fields, buttons, etc. and just print the page content. in the PDF specification form fields, buttons and annotations are always RGB, so you can't for example have a text field with "cyan" text, it'll be the multi-plate equivalent shade of "blue". As a special case, in Acrobat the default black text fields are separated to a single plate (K) even though on screen they're RGB 0,0,0.
It's also important to make sure your underlying PDF is in the correct color space. Exporting to "PDF (Interactive)" from InDesign means you'll convert everything to DeviceRGB, but for offset you want to keep everything in (or convert to) CMYK, with or without spots, and presumably want to embed profile information too. You only have access to the "output" controls when you export to "PDF (Print)" - using that route you can still export your form fields and multimedia, but they'll remain in RGB no matter what you do.

JPEGs in offset printing?

I'm working on a book in InDesign CS4 that has ~200 images in it. Will print offset. Most images have been supplied as jpeg scans (of printed matter, like posters and letters), and digital photos provided as jpegs as well. Historically I would convert all jpegs into a cmyk tiff file, resave, and replace individually into ID before delivering art to the printer. I know it depends on the printer and their RIP/workflow, but don't want to wish I had done it "my old way" if there is a quality trade off.
Question: do I need to convert all jpegs to cmyk tiffs and replace each image in ID, or can most current RIPS handle that process (the RGB to CMYK conversion)?
I'm going to supply my native files to the printer for their PDF workflow.
Thanks

Your specific questions cannot be answered by any of us here. You've got to work this out with your printer; you need a “meeting of the minds” in terms of what the printer wants and what you deliver even if such a workflow is not up to modern standards.
In the general case, though, we (at Adobe) would recommend a workflow in which content is kept at the highest level of abstraction as late as possible in the workflow, possibly all the way to the RIP. Assuming a reasonably modern native PDF RIP (such as one powered by the Adobe PDF Print Engine technology), you should leave your RGB JPEG images as-is and place them directly in your InDesign document - no color conversions, no resampling! Given that they are already in JPEG format, it buys you nothing to convert them to TIFF and changing to some CMYK color space (which one?) only ties the hands of your printer in terms of which target device is used and the flexibility to change the device. And even if the printer wants (doesn't really “need” CMYK), such conversions can be requested to occur when either printing or exporting PDF; that conversion capability in InDesign is no worse that what you would do manually in Photoshop. Same issue is true with transparency flattening.
- Dov

Printing to Fine Art "Museum Etching" Error

Having an issue with printing Fine Art "Museum Etching" paper on my Canon Pixma9000 printer. This wasn't an issue until switching to a Mac, using Adobe Illustrator CS4. I recently purchased Canon's Fine Art Museum Etching paper and when selecting that media type within Illustrator CS4, and printing, I get this error message.
"Error Number : 88 The media type and paper size are not set correctly. Cancel printing, correct the settings, and print again. If you selected Fine Art "Museum Etching" as the media type, you need to set the paper size appropriate to the art paper."
I have tried every different type of A3+ (13x19) paper sizes from the dropdown in the Illustrator CS4 print dialog panel, and get the same error every time. Any help in figuring out the cause would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Josh

I was under the impression that adobe color printing utility is a completely different application from PS. I am limited by the facilities ACPU provides. I cannot change the feed from the current "sheet feeder" to "manual rear feed." Fine art paper only works with the matte black ink which my printer is currently set to. I should point out that the greyed out issue does not happen in the PS print set-up. I should also mention that all other choices of media are available in ACPU. It is just the "fine art" section that is not, which does suggest it is something to do with the photo/matte black inks. However, as mentioned, my 3880 is set to matte black.
I think this is a bit of a curly one! I noticed that Epson were very quick to pass the problem on. I gather there is another way to print colour targets, used before the advent of ACPU. Image Science, the Australia Company doing my custom profiles will no doubt steer me in the right direction.

Offset printing of watercolor art

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