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Designing on a computer screen has dramatically changed the
way we work. Tissue overlays and colored pens are a thing of
the past. Color can be changed on the screen in seconds and
a designer can view several color combinations before finalizing
color breaks and printing color proofs to a desktop printer.
If only it were as simple as it sounds!
Before a job is entered into production,
the components of the electronic "mechanical" are
checked. Our operators have a checklist: How is the size of
the document defined in the page setup? What fonts are used?
Have they been included on the disk? How many colors? How have
the colors been defined? Have the linked graphics been included?
The most common problem we find is that color
has not been defined properly or consistenly throughout the
job. Before film is output, we need to go back into the files
and fix the color breaks. Sometimes all it takes is clicking
on "process separation" in Quark. But sometimes it
means redefining color in the original Illustrator or FreeHand
files. If you work in color, here are some general guidelines.
The Cardinal Rules
Never believe what you see on your
monitor. To demonstrate: add one of the
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Pantone colors to your palette. Draw a box and color it with
that color. Now, get out your swatch book and compare the colors.
Pantone 485 which is a real red is closer to pink on my screen.
Rely on the traditional tools for specifying color. If you don't
have a PMS swatch book or the Pantone Process Color Imaging
Guide, buy them.
Never, ever, believe what you see on your
color printer. There are some color management applications
available, such as the EfiColor Xtension, which ships with QuarkXPress,
that will give you more predictable color. EfiColor
comes with several predefined profiles including SWOP standards
and the QMS Color Script 100. If your output device is not included,
you can buy profiles directly from Electronics for Imaging.
(If you want to use EfiColor, it's important to know that it
does not calibrate color in EPS files.)
Learn how the color palettes work in the
applications you use. Specifying color seems easy enough, but
the rules vary from application to application - and the rules
change with software upgrades. Know how the page-layout program
handles colors specified in imported EPS files.
The commonly used page-layout and draw programs
support several color models. There are variants of the Pantone
matching system, Trumatch, Focoltone, Toyo,
(continued on page 2)
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Specifying
color
seems
easy enough,
but
the rules vary
from
application
to
application.
In This Issue
A Quick Lesson ............3
From the Desktop of ....3
Application Tips ............5
Questions & Answers ...6
Resources .....................6
For Your Information ...7
On a Lighter Note .........8
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