ATTN Eric Gill

Hey,

I've gotta send a hi rez pdf of an ad i did in Quark, to a magazine.

Didnt you once tell me, set the resolution output of Distiller, to
2400, for that situation?


thanks

 

Coo'. Do it all the time.

Yep. Though the setting is usually not needed (or used) it's a safety net
in case you miss checking things like "Full Resolution Tiff Output".

BTW - if you are transmitting the file, you can use the mildest JPEG
compression to save time (Automatic Zip/JPEG Low). If your images are at
the needed resolution, this won't make a real difference on the output end.

Yell if you need some more direction on settings.

 

um, i get that in my postscript print driver, however, i dont use that
when in rip pdfs...... just go to utilities in Quark and select
"export to pdf". However in the ensuing "preferences" box, i can
choose print drivers, and the default is Distiller 3.0 (yeah we;'re
waaaaaay behind the times here)... I could select my postscript
printer if i wanted to.

I have in fact, printed a Quark job to file via the postscript print
dirver, selected full resolution tiff output, and then opened the .ps
file with distiller, to rip a pdf..... seems to be the same.... am i
missing something?

 

Ouch. Very buggy version. Good luck.

It's a good idea. In your print setup, your driver is a high-end PS
device, but the PPD is Distiller.

Not really, that's the way to operate. However, "Export to PDF" is just
automating the process. It prints a PS file to disk, passes it to
Distiller with the options you selected, then deletes the .ps file after
distilling. Very handy.

This is why you need to set your print options up correctly. I had a
magazine go to press with "Full Resolution Tiff Output" *not* clicked.
Everything in Tiff format came out about 100 dpi.

 

um, well if i use the automated export to pdf thing, how do i know
which PS device is printing the PS file to disk? If I only have one
high-end PS driver, doesnt it have to be that one? Or is it using some
built in, automated driver i'm unaware of?

i see. well, i could just do it manually then, to make sure i dont run
into any problems. Quark, select high end postscript print dirver,
Full resolution tiff files, print to file, then open up the PS file in
Distiller....

is that what you'd recommend? Its only a one page document.

 

Print->Printer dropdown.

You also need to set the correct printer description (Distiller) in the
"Setup" tab in the same menu.

No, no no. I'm saying that "Export to PDF" does exactly that without you
having to go through all the steps. Just set the options correctly.

 

ok, you mean in Quark? I got two correct possibles.... my high end
postscript rip driver, and, Distiller Asst.

theres also Acrobat PDF writer, but i always have problems with that.

I'm assuming i select the high end postscript printer here, and then
set up the options for it properly.

ok, this gets confusing....... in the set up tab, i have the following
options.... Acrobat Distiller, default postscript driver, and the high
end postscript rip driver.

appreciate your help on this. its kinda confusing but i hope once i
figure it out, it will help me a lot in the future, especially being
on PC Quark and having to send files to Mac only print vendors....

 

That's the one.

Everyone does. Don't use it.

Distiller.

I shoulda done this earlier:

http://www.nightskycreative.com/pdf/about.htm

That's where I'm at, and Acrobat has helped immensely.

It's even worse for PC InDesign. Many printers wet themselves at the mere
mention. I just send them Acrobat stuff. Any mention of "native files" and
I'll go elsewhere.

 

very good. very helpful. thank you.

so, then, does it matter what resolution the Distiller job option is
set to? 2400? or, using this scenario, does it not matter?

this is weird, perhaps i am missing something, however, if i do not
downsample the images via Distiller options, i wind up with a file
over 12 mb. (Coupla hi rez photos involved)

If i downsample, auto-zip-lo, 72dpi, i get a file size of 144k.

is this normal? Yer saying I can send the 144k one to the printer and
get god results? how can that be? Is it just the preview that gets
"downsampled"?

right, i'm getting tired of having to send ads made in Illustrator,
tons of text, then outline it all for them.

 

You bet.

This really only matters (I think) if you accidentally miss the "Full Rez
Tiff" option. This way it will not downsample as it prints.

Okay. Are these pictures shrunk in Quark?

I wouldn't, but read on.

That's compression.

No. Notice the "keep resolution" setting at the above link.

Good Lord, no.

Downsampling only works well for offset print if you have graphics that
have been shrunk in Quark and you don't bother to re-size them yourself
in Photoshop before distilling.

For example, a picture that is the correct resolution to start with
shrunk to 50% in Quark is four times larger than it needs to be. If you
select Resolution->Downsample to:->300 dpi, Acrobat will re-size the
picture to what it needs to be.

I usually do this by hand in Photoshop, as a downsampled pic often needs
more sharpening and slight color correction. As a side benefit, a Quark
document with all of it's pictures at 100% is going to be smaller and
will print faster.

Not to mention potential translation and prepress problems.

 

OK thanks

more questions below but i think i'm beginning to get the hang of
this.

yes they are.

if think i got it.... select lo compression, but on the next
pull-down, either select, Keep resolution, if files are placed at
100%, or if files are shrunk in Quark, select Downsample to 300dpi. Is
this right? Makes sense....

I didnt see that pull-down menu item before.

 

Cool. Takes repetition, like most things.

Yep.

300 is a good compromise. Really, it should be 2x the linescreen rate, but
that assumes you know what they're printing at.

Want to send me the pdf file to glance at? I'll forward you an email
address that isn't infested with spam if so.

Layout lives and dies by missed options and strategies and workarounds.
Check comp.publish prepress for my latest learning experience in Acrobat.

 

OK, I'm good. I re-ripped the same file, downsample to 300dpi and it
came in much smaller, then i even printed that and it looked
marvelous. So you have been very helpful, your advice has saved the
day. thanks a lot.

 

---
If sending to prepress for print ...
-
don't compress or sample anything.
Turn it all off.

If you are doing something else
compress and sample all you want.

MSD

 

----
Why is everyone converting everything to curves

JUST SUPPLY THE DAMN FONT.

MSD

 

---
You know
the way people are creating entire pages as raster images ...
300 dpi sucks
-
You really like type at 300dpi?
-
If someone "gives a shit"
they should design at the resolution of the imagesetter.

MSD

 

We're not talking about creating entire pages as raster images.

<snip>

 

Been in the (un)Happy Juice this fine evening?

 

right. Do your work in live type, on a PC, and send the PC fonts to a
Mac imagesetter. Good luck. Get back to us withyour experiences. To
make it even MORE fun, dont use Illustrator, use Quark.