The role of a CSR, or Customer Service Representative is to help you print your project. When you go to a print shop or converse with any person about ordering prints from them, the CSR should be an experienced print professional who can give you some insight into your job's special needs. When you talk with the printer, you should make sure all the specifics and special instructions the job may need are addressed so that there won't be any confusion once the printing begins. Specific colors, paper types, size and many other things should be addressed when you talk with the printer. When you plan for a print, you should make sure that anything that requires special attention or something that could possibly create problems during the print should be planned for. Things such as unusual stock, special mixed inks, varnishes or other coatings, custom finishing, or unusual content should all be addressed so appropriate planning can be made.
When you check a raster or vector image for a print you should focus on resolution, color spacing, retouching, rotations and scaling and file names. The correct color, images, fonts, text and bleeds should also be addressed so that nothing is missing or destroyed when the file reaches the printers.
When you send proofs to the printers, generally you will be asked to provide multi page documents in readers spreads which allows the printer to view the entire document. A PDF file can also be provide for the printer to view the proof because PDF's can usually be opened on computers that house Adobe software. Once your file is excepted, a proof will be sent to the consumer so that they can check the file one final time before the work is produced in bulk.
Scaling and rotating images in PS should be kept to a minimum. If you scan in an image to work on in PS, you should take care to place the image correctly so that it won't be necessary to flip the image. By flipping and rotating the image you are risking destroying the resolution and details of the image. When considering image resolution, you always want to begin with as much information in the image as you can because you can always take information out.
When you change the color spacing in PS and AI, you should make sure it ends in RGB as you preform color correction, retouching and composting. Because RGB has wider color gamut you have more to work with as you make corrections. Once an image is converted into CMYK, some of the ability to make changes disappears. Layers are very handy to work with when you are in any design program. By using layers, you can lock certain things you want to keep in the same space, work on certain areas at different times and even make a background image so you can build something like it on the top layer. When you change the transparency on an image, you are making it less noticeable. You make the layers lighter so that it can be placed in the background and other text or images can be placed on top of it.
When you create a path in the design world, you would be using Illustrator programs or Photoshop. When you make a clipping path in Photoshop you are basically removing the main part of the photo, or the part you want to use in your design, and making the background or unwanted part of the photo disappear. Duotones are a great design technique when you have a limited amount of color you can use in a design. When you use a duotone, you are changing the colors of a photo to only two tones so that when the photo is printed in a design it only requires two different colors of ink. AI Artboards are very covenant. You can change an artboard to match the size of whatever area you need to cover so that when you transfer your design into inDesign it would be at a size of 100%. Bleed settings in a document are established so that you have designs or colors that go to the edges of the page instead of just stopping with white lines in between them. A bleed setting should generally be set to .25 inch so that it allows all the colors to travel across the edge of the page. When you use a clipping mask in AI, you are allowing the part of an image or photo you want to be in your design to show through while keeping the part you don't want to see invisible. Transparency is a great tool to use in the design process. By making an image less transparent, you can use the image in the background as a compliment to your design without making the layout to busy. Linked and embedded images can be transferred into any design program. They are linked into the file so that the folder can be opened on any computer and the images are still available even if they don't have the original on their computer. When complex art is placed in any design it is important simplify it. Complex art creates large file sizes and they are harder to manipulate in the programs. Generally, if complex art is required in a design, it is initiated into the design last so the file is easier to handle throughout the design process. Cleaning up a AI file means that you let the program tell you of any stray points in the design you may have meant to delete but forgot throughout the design process. By cleaning up the file you ensure that no parts of the file that weren't intended show up when you print the file.
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