File Preparation for Specialty Inkjet Printing Wide Format Series Kerry Moloney Field & Channel Marketing Manager Fiery Wide Format John Nate WW Technical Product Training Manager Fiery Wide Format
Session overview Specialty printing can be anything beyond regular-gamut CMYK output... Specialty printing achieves superior, more versatile, more vibrant or more impressive printed results Key aspects file preparation; file types, working with spot colors, paths, layers and specialty inks and more Take a poll... 2
Today s topics Software, file, and resolution options Spot colors Specialty inks Silver/White/Clear Wide-gamut printing Cutting Preflighting and repairs 3
But first. What is Specialty Printing? 4
Specialty printing examples Building wraps Billboards Ceramic tiles 5
Specialty printing examples Day/Night backlit Vehicle graphics 6
Specialty printing examples Window graphics Floor graphics 7
Specialty printing examples Spot colors Metallic ink White ink 8
Specialty printing examples Membrane panels Shrink-wrap Braille printing 9
Software, file, and resolution options Which software, which file type, and how big? 10
Vector vs. raster Vector quality is device dependent 11
Vector vs. raster Vector quality is device dependent Raster quality is file dependent 12
Vector vs. raster Vector quality is device dependent 13
Vector vs. raster Vector quality is device dependent Raster quality is file dependent 14
Software options Images raster files Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop Elements Adobe Lightroom Corel PaintShop Pro 15
Software options Vector and images Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign CorelDRAW 16
Production example Produce raster elements in Photoshop Output as TIFF files Create complex vector elements in Illustrator Output as EPS or PDF files Assemble final artwork in InDesign Generate final output as composite PDF Do not downsampled images 17
File format options Raster - images Tiff PSD (for layers) 18
JPG artifacts 19
JPG artifacts 20
TIFF files RGB, CMYK, L*a*b* Embed ICC Profile Lossless Compression 21
Lossless Compression LZW or Zip 22
PSD files RGB, CMYK, L*a*b* Embed ICC Profile Layers 23
File format options Raster - images Tiff PSD (for layers) Vector and/or vector and raster EPS PDF 24
PDF recommendations 25
PDF recommendations PDF/X-1a Least flexible CMYK only No ICC Profiles No transparency or layers Least likely to cause reproduction problems 26
PDF recommendations PDF/X-4 Most flexible CMYK, RGB, Gray, Spot colors ICC Profiles allowed Transparency and layers allowed Most likely to cause reproduction problems 27
PDF selection in InDesign File > Adobe PDF Presets > Define 28
PDF selection in Illustrator File > Save as > Adobe PDF (pdf) 29
File preparation checklist Proper file format 30
File resolution Proofing 8.5 x 11 @300 dpi 32 Mb CMYK 31
File resolution Proofing 8.5 x 11 @300 dpi 32 Mb CMYK Production 12 x 40 @300 dpi 23 Gb CMYK 32
File resolution Determine standard viewing distance 1.5 x diagonal Measure or math (sorry!) 12 x 40 33
File resolution Width times width (width squared) 40 x 40 = 1600 Height times height (height squared) 12 x 12 = 144 Add the two values 1600 + 144 = 1744 12 x 40 34
File resolution Width times width (width squared) 40 x 40 = 1600 Height times height (height squared) 12 x 12 = 144 Add the two values 1600 + 144 = 1744 12 x 40 35
File resolution Width times width (width squared) 40 x 40 = 1600 Height times height (height squared) 12 x 12 = 144 Add the two values 1600 + 144 = 1744 12 x 40 36
File resolution Hit the square root key = 42 - The diagonal Multiply by 1.5 42 x 1.5 = 63 12 x 40 37
File resolution Hit the square root key = 42 - The diagonal Multiply by 1.5 42 x 1.5 = 63 12 x 40 38
File resolution Standard viewing distance 63 feet = 756 inches File resolution 3438 Std. Viewing Distance 3438 756 = 5 ppi 12 x 40 39
File Resolution 5 ppi??? 40
File Resolution 5 ppi??? 41
File Resolution 5 ppi??? 42
File Resolution 8.5 x 8.5 = 72 11 x 11 = 121 72 + 121 = 192 SVD = 14 3438 14 = 245 ppi 133 x 1.5 or 2 = 200 to 266 ppi 43
Large-format file resolution Check with your printer 9 ppi typical 8 to 25 ppi common 12 x 40 44
File resolution spreadsheet 12 x 40 45
Document size limitations Adobe Illustrator 227.54 x 227.54 (18 feet) Adobe InDesign 216 x 216 CorelDRAW 150 x 150 (yes, feet!) 46
Document size limitations Adobe Acrobat 4 = 45 x 45 5 = 200 x 200 7 = 15,000,000 x 15,000,000 Distiller limitation 200 x 200 47
Solution Work at ½, ¼, 0r ⅛ size Document size at ¼ size 144 x 480 = 36 x 120 Raster graphic = x 4 5 dpi x 4 = 20 dpi 12 x 40 48
Real world example Supercolor 45 x 200 graphic Original file = 3-4 dpi Resed up to 10 dpi 49
File preparation checklist Proper file format Proper image resolution 50
File Preparation for Specialty Printing Questions? Please use the Q & A Window 51
Spot Colors What s in a name? 52
Spot colors vs. process colors Spot colors can often be modified in a RIP Spot colors defined as L*a*b* self-correct RIP generates new recipe per media 53
Spot colors vs. process colors 54
Spot colors vs. process colors 55
RGB vs. L*a*b* spot colors 56
L*a*b* spot colors 57
File preparation checklist Proper file format Proper image resolution Special colors defined as Spot and not Process Colors 58
Specialty inks Silver/white/clear it s all in the name 59
White ink 60
White ink 61
White ink 62
White ink 63
White ink 64
White ink 65
Metallic ink 66
Metallic ink 67
Metallic ink 68
File preparation checklist Proper file format Proper image resolution Special colors defined as Spot and not Process Colors Special inks named correctly as Spot Colors 69
Full-gamut printing (Not wide-gamut) DON T match the press 70
Full gamut printing Production Traditional Expanded Gamut 71
Full gamut printing WHY? Traditional (GRACoL ISO Coated) 100% red = 97% magenta + 89% yellow Expanded gamut 100% red = 100% magenta + 100% yellow 72
Full gamut printing Keep images in RGB color space Vector elements can be CMYK or RGB Save as PDF/X4 Configure RIP properly Gray balanced Will NOT conform to standards 73
File preparation checklist Proper file format Proper image resolution Special colors defined as Spot and not Process Colors Special inks named correctly as Spot Colors Files prepared and RIP configured for full-gamut printing 74
Cut paths The color, not the name 75
Cut paths 76
Cut paths 77
Cut paths 78
Cut paths 79
Cut paths 80
Cut paths 81
Cut paths 82
Cut paths 83
File preparation checklist Proper file format Proper image resolution Special colors defined as Spot and not Process Colors Special inks named correctly as Spot Colors Files prepared and RIP configured for full-gamut printing Cut paths assigned correctly named Spot Color 84
Preflighting Is it right or is is wrong? 85
Preflighting in Acrobat 86
Preflighting in Acrobat 87
Preflighting in Acrobat 88
Preflighting in Pitstop 89
File preparation checklist Proper file format Proper image resolution Special colors defined as Spot and not Process Colors Special inks named correctly as Spot Colors Files prepared and RIP configured for full-gamut printing Cut paths assigned correctly named Spot Color Preflight files 90
Ooops! What can we fix in the RIP? 91
Cut path name 92
Cut path name 93
Spot Colors 94
Spot Colors 95
Spot Colors 96
Spot Colors 97
Color adjustments 98
System testing Ghent Output Suite 99
System testing Ghent Output Suite 100
File preparation checklist Proper file format Proper image resolution Special colors defined as Spot and not Process Colors Special inks named correctly as Spot Colors Files prepared and RIP configured for full-gamut printing Cut paths assigned correctly named Spot Color Preflight files Test RIP 101
Session summary We learned Knowing where and how your printed output will be used, should dictate the file preparation stage if you want the very best results Preparing files correctly gives you more choices and flexibility downstream when working on jobs within your RIP and workflow software That there are tools to check PDF/X compatibility of output solutions How to spot file issues, and how to correct them To learn more, we have some resources for you 102
Additional resources Ghent Output Suite For PDF/X compatibility checking of your output systems Ghent Output Suite with Fiery XF Using the suite with Fiery XF or Fiery proserver Resolution calculator spreadsheet White ink in Photoshop Tips and tricks for white ink use EFI knowledge base More detailed documents on cut contour handling a spot color use 103
Additional World of Fiery sessions Production Series September 30 File Preparation for Specialty Inkjet Printing October 21 - Job Layout & Cutting Options in Fiery XF November 11 - Fiery XF's Layout Option Color Series Color Management Fundamentals Color Standards & Specifications Color Management Inside Fiery XF & Fiery proserver 104
File Preparation for Specialty Inkjet Printing Questions? 105
File Preparation for Specialty Inkjet Printing Thank you! 106