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Here are a few common errors that h ave been encountered with files submitted to Gannett Offset/Minneapolis for output. If you have questions about your files, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to assist in solving your problem.
QuarkXPress
Grayscale tiff file placed in a box with a "none" fill.
Tips
Some Basic XTensions
QuarkXPress Files
Visit the QuarkXPress Site
Grayscale tiff file placed in a box with a "none" fill.
- Probably the most common error has been the placement of tiff files into picture boxes that have "none" set as a background color.
The problem lies with grayscale tiff images, specifically the edges. What happens is that you will see through the image on the screen and will assume that it will print the same. You might not even notice the problem when output to a 300 dpi laser printer. However, when output to an imagesetter with resolutions of 1270 dpi, you will see a jagged edge where the image goes to white. In an effort to decide when to drop the image and let the background show through, Quark drops the image somewhere in the 2% to 3% dot. The smooth gradation that happens around all grayscale images when they approach white is lost and a jagged edge is produced. On a colored background, you will see a white edge all around your tiff image just before it turns to the background color. It looks good on the screen, though.
This is not a problem for one-bit or bitmap tiff files: files whose pixels are only black or white. In this case, the background of none is fine and can be appropriate for colorizing the bitmap through Quark's Modify command. Where the image is white the background will show through when printed.
Tip: Color your image one process color and the background another. As long as the colors share some of the process colors the image will print as seen on the screen. Watch out for trapping issues since no trapping programs can deal with this problem. (Example: a magenta image on a cyan background)
Photoshop Grayscale EPS file placed in a box with a "none" fill.
- Another common mistake is to place grayscale EPS images from Photoshop or other raster files in an EPS format and set the background box to "none". The background will show through on the screen giving the impression that the white areas of the image are transparent. Type will even run around the image. When printed out, however, the white areas of the file do not print or are opaque, blocking out any type or background that is behind the image. It looks good on the screen but prints badly.
Banding occurs
- A longer blend will show more banding than a short blend
- Fewer steps will show more than many
- Higher resolution will reduce the banding
- 256 is the maximum number of steps for Postscript, so there's no need to use more
Grays=(Resolution/Screen ruling)squared
Steps available=(Grays x Percent Change)
The Blend Factor is the approximate length of each gray step.
Steps in the range of 1/32 (.03125) to 1/64 (.0625) will not be visible.
The Blend Factor=(Length/Steps available)
Example: 150 line per inch blend at 2540 resolution with a blend from 0% to 100% over 7 inches:
Grays=(2540/150)squared=286.7 which is more than 256 so use 256 for Grays.
Steps available=256 x 100%=256
The Blend Factor=7inches/256 grays = .027inches/gray
A Factor of .027 means that it probably won't be visible.
Example: 150 line per inch blend at 1270 resolution with a blend from 0% to 100% over 7 inches:
Grays=(1270/150)squared=71.68
Steps available=72 x 100%=72
The Blend Factor=7inches/72 grays = .097inches/gray
A Factor of .097 means that it probably will be visible.
Tips
Avoid using an EPS of a Quark XPress page
- Unless you save the Quark XPress page as a DCS 2 EPS any trapping that Quark would normally apply will be lost. This is not an issue if the page is sent out to a trapping program.
Do not use the Automatic Picture Import Feature in the XPress' preferences or the Publish & Subscribe
- With these features active, we cannot always tell if a piece of art or a photo has moved from its original position, or if it is linking to the correct version of the art file.
If you are creating your own crop marks on a file that is more than one color, use the "Registration Color".
Do not use XPress' predefined red, blue and green colors.
- These are RGB spot colors and generally are OK to use but since they are in RGB format, what you see on the monitor is not what you will get when you print it.
If you have chosen colors through Pantone or other Color System charts, but are running the file as 4-color process make sure to mark "Process Separation" in the Edit Color Box.
Avoid automatic trapping, set trap manually or turn it off.
Avoid using facing pages whenever possible.
- This will usually leave you with a single blank page at the beginning if you want to set the document up into printer spreads.
Delete blank pages from your document. If you do not need linking pages, turn off the "Automatic Page Insertion" in the General Preferences. If you already have extra pages, you may have to unlink them before you can delete the pages.
Do not leave any unused text boxes in your document.
Do not use text boxes without text for a tint fill; use picture box instead.
If you are using photos, make sure the original files were saved without screen functions (Photoshop) or any line screen information. These can be set in Photoshop and FreeHand.
Some Basic Extensions
Visit the QuarkXPress Xchange Web Site
Create Process Colors (media one GmbH)
- One click changes all spot colors to process. Great when you've imported a file with many spot colors from Illustrator.
Lepton BoxSwitch (Lepton Technologies)
- Switches between Text and Picture boxes.
PictAttributes XT (Markzware)
- Remembers the position of previously placed files in picture boxes. If a picture has been modified or the bounding box of an EPS file changes in the least (for example: adding a stroke to an outside edge of an illustration file changes the EPS "bounding box"), then Quark will place the updated file in at position 0,0. PictAttributes XT is the solution.
Graphics
Office
Utilities
Web Editors/Converters
- Extensis - XPress-to-HTML plug-in Cyberpress 1.0
- BeyondPress - XPress-to-HTML QuarkXTension BeyondPress
- HexMac - XPress-to-HTML QuarkXTension HexWeb
- HTML Editor - Macworld "Editors' Choice"
Links
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