Technical Terminology

The following information is intended as a 'glossary' of some of the technical terminology used in the industry. Although every effort has been made to ensure that this information is correct, Mastercolour can accept no responsibilty for any problems caused by following it's guidence.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact Mr. Mark Lewis (01892 536 655), or click here to e-mail direct.

Media.Macintosh

3.5 inch floppies IOMEGA ZIP 100MB IOMEGA ZIP 250MB CD-ROM IOMEGA JAZZ 2GB

PC

3.5 inch floppies IOMEGA ZIP 100MB IOMEGA ZIP 250MB CD-ROM

File Formats.Macintosh

Quark XPress 4.04 or lower Adobe/Aldus PageMaker 6.5 or lower Adobe Indesign 1.0 Adobe Photoshop 5.5 or lower Adobe Illustrator 8.01 or lower Adobe/Aldus Freehand 8.01 or lower TIFF EPS PDF Please note that pages set up entirely in Freehand or Illustrator need to be converted and positioned in Quark or PageMaker and saved as an EPS.

PC

Pagemaker 6 Quark 4 N.B. We cannot accept word processor/DTP files such as Word for windows, Corel Ventura, Microsoft Publisher etc.

Fonts.

All fonts used in your files should be supplied wherever possible, including those used in EPS files. There is always the possibility that any fonts substituted by us could cause hard-to-spot errors. Please ensure both screen and printer fonts are supplied where appropriate.

Hyphenation.

If you are supplying a job split across several files it is important that H&Js are consistent. If they are not there may be type re-flow and unwanted hyphenation.

Default Tabs.

When using Quark tabs, ensure that tab points are set up using Tabs in the Style menu, and not default settings. Default tab settings are unreliable and may cause type re-flow when the job is imposed.

ISDN

We are running Hermstedt/Leonardo Grand Central Pro with a transmission rate of approximately 1MB per minute. You may wish to compress large files before sending. ISDN Number:

Output Size

All documents will be output to 100% unless otherwise marked.

Film Size

We can output one piece films to our maximum image size of 500mm x 700mm (or longer for display boards etc.)

Proofs

Where possible disks or ISDN documents should be accompanied by proofs, preferably at 100% of printed size. This will help to identify anomalies such as type re-flow.

Imposition

We have our own software to impose your work for our presses*, therefore it is not necessary to supply pages either in imposed, or running pairs. *This is limited to Quark Documents with pages of equal size.

Crop Marks

In Quark XPress and PageMaker crop marks can be added to the page as an output option in the print dialogue. Therefore there is no need to set up your document oversize with manually created crop marks.

Bleed

Please allow 3mm beyond the crop marks for any area where the image runs to the edge of the page.

Images

General

All imported images (except position onlys) must be supplied. Four colour images should be supplied in CMYK format and should not be compressed. Avoid embedding images in PageMaker. Keep them as separate linked images and supply them as well as the PageMaker document. If you are working in PC format, avoid the use of Windows Metafiles. (WMF)

Resolution

The general rule of resolution for grey scale and CMYK pixel images is to aim for double the required output screen ruling. Therefore if your job is being output at 175 or 200 screen you should aim for a resolution of 400dpi.A screen ruling of 150 requires a resolution of 300dpi. Bitmap images require a minimum resolution of 900dpi, and preferably 1200dpi. When scanning original pictures it pays to scan to a larger size than may be needed thus allowing flexibility in future.

Colour EPS files

Please remember that Quark EPS files cannot be altered by us unless you supply the original file. Remember to supply fonts.

DCS files

Do not embed DCS files in Illustrator, Freehand or Quark EPS files. DCS files consist of a low resolution master file and separated high resolution files (C,M,Y,K). When embedded, only the low resolution file is used, leading to incorrect output.

Layered image files

Layered Photoshop files should be supplied both in layered and flattened formats. Layered formats cannot be output by most applications, so flattened versions should be placed in the document in a standard format such as EPS or TIFF. Layered versions are useful if we are required to make changes.

Cut-outs

Hard edge cut-outs should be created in Photoshop using the path tool. Save your path and make it a clipping path using a flatness of 1 device pixel. The file must then be saved in EPS format. Using the magic wand tool and 'make path' feature creates poor quality cut-outs and may be difficult to output.

Soft edged cut-outs must be done using the airbrush or feather edge selections. Do not layer these cut-outs over background images or colours using a transparent picture box in Quark. If your cut-out is over a colour background you must incorporate this into the Photoshop file when you do the soft edging and also make a hard edged cut-out near the edge of the image.

Where soft edged cut-outs are required to overlap other images you will need to montage them together in Photoshop.

Duotones

Duotones should be set up in Photoshop to the correct specification using the duotone mode. Ensure that 'Screens' under 'Page Setup' in Photoshop is set to 'Printers Defaults' otherwise the two colours will output on the same screen angle. Photoshop duotones must be saved as EPS files. Please note that the default black for Photoshop duotones is Pantone Process Black CV. This will conflict with the default black in every other application. It should be re-named as Black.

Ghostbacks

These should be done in Photoshop using levels or curves. Avoid using menu effects in Quark or other applications. They are not compatible with high resolution image-setters.

Picture box backgrounds (Quark XPress)

If a grayscale or colour pixel image is placed in a transparent picture box (i.e. one set to a background of 'none') and there are other elements behind and overlapping the box, Quark will attempt to generate a cut-out of the pixel image, at a resolution of only 72dpi, creating a 'bitmap' effect around the picture. ,

Exceptions to this are Bitmap TIFFs, EPS illustrations and EPS cutouts. Therefore, where possible picture boxes should be set to white background.

Trapping

Trapping is probably the most common cause of problems when outputting film. There are four basic categories of trapping outlined below and care needs to be taken in selecting the correct option on a per-job basis. Each job will be different to the last and default settings cannot be relied on to produce the best result. If in doubt Mark Lewis will be pleased to advise on 01892 536 655.

  • Knockout - Type fits exactly into reversed out background. Main applications are white out type, and sometimes dark colours into light tinted background.
  • Overprint - Type prints directly on top of background image. Main application is black type on coloured background but BEWARE. Larger type sizes will show colours through the black and can give the black a different hue compared with black on white background.
  • Spread - Type is spread slightly to overlap white-out background. Main application is lighter coloured type on a darker coloured background.
  • Choke - (or negative spread) - Type stays as set but white out background closes down slightly to provide slight overlap. Main application is darker coloured type on lighter coloured background.

Default Trapping in Quark

Unless manually overridden or adjusted in Preferences, Quark will apply default trapping to type. This will set black type to overprint and white-out type to knock-out regardless of the background. With coloured type Quark sets trapping to overprint if the background is white, knockout if the background is a lighter colour and spread if the background is a darker colour or an image.

Default Spread on Type

A common problem occurs when coloured headings are used within text boxes and the text box overlaps a picture box. If the text box has a transparent background ('none') the coloured type will then be subject to default spread settings and may appear thicker than on similar headings on a white background. This will not be visible on screen or on laser proofs.

Default overprint on EPS Quark files

For images saved as EPS files Quark will often set default trapping to overprint on elements within the source files. This assumes they will appear on a white background. Where the file is placed in the document over a coloured background this will produce undesirable trapping effects.

Checking Trapping settings in Quark

Trapping in Quark can be checked by calling up the Trap Information window from the View menu. Highlight the text in question and refer to the settings in the Trap window. To eliminate default spread entirely, go into Edit > Preferences > Trapping and set auto amount and indeterminate to zero. Trapping values for individual colours can also be set in the edit colours dialogue.