[paper_box]

i wonder if theres anyone here who deals with submitting advertising artworks to magazines?

on most occasions, the submission requires you to send in a colour proof together with the artwork in a cd. say the advertisement is simply a photograph and a logo, how do i ensure the colours come out right? especially for a specific coloured logo?

how do i print out a hardcopy for the printer to use as a guide?

anyone can shed some light on doing this?

[Mandy Moo]

Originally Posted by paper_box

on most occasions, the submission requires you to send in a colour proof together with the artwork in a cd. say the advertisement is simply a photograph and a logo, how do i ensure the colours come out right? especially for a specific coloured logo?

Erm... you can't. The only way to get colour precise is by using spot colours which isn't any good for you as magazines are printed in CMYK. Most magazines are printed off-site, if it's a newspaper and they print on site, you could ask for a proof that is press printed on the newspaper they use. However, whether they will do it or not depends on who you are. In my previous job, we only do it for the customers that runs huge advertising campaigns with us. I guess you just have to get it as close to possible on your own printer and hope for the best.

Originally Posted by paper_box

how do i print out a hardcopy for the printer to use as a guide?

This is still for magazine printing, right? Forget it, it'll just end up in the bin if it's for colour purposes. Supplying a hard copy is useful when they are only printing your design on ONLY THAT RUN where they can run print trials.

[paper_box]

i see. thanks, i thought it was something like a special printing setting that i havent heard of.

but still the agency insists that i supply a colour proof, probably to use it as evidence or something.

[Herr Kurm]

You can order a colour proof from the printers. They will either show the colours to you either on a perfectly calibrated whoppingly expensive monitor or a testprint (is it called wet-proof in English?), usually local printers here ask a shitload of money for it. Just calibrate your monitor first with adobe gamma and then pay attention to your PDF file - do not include ICC profiles unless you are totally sure you know what they do!

[steveb]

Wow - are Estonians printers that advanced and that sensible?
Here printers always insist on some ICC profile, usually some utter crap which turns red to grey and yellow to red before they accept work. Sometimes photographers also supply their very own profile, carefully worked out to look right on their 1987 Sony Profile monitor. Then you're fucked. And guess who gets the blame?
Yes, the pre-press dogsbody, who could correct all the faults and mishaps before they happen, but who only ever gets to correct the damage after it happens.

[Herr Kurm]

Well, most Estonian printers have had so many problems with idiots including some crazy ICC profiles that they demand PDF-s without attached colour profiles. It is abit annoying sometimes when I know that I reallyreallyreally want to have it with ICC profile printed and I get turned down

[steveb]

Oh well, win some, lose some. It's probably better than consistently getting stuff back which looks like it was taken under water on infra-red film with a night-vision camera.

[Herr Kurm]

I just cant imagine how people in prepress can handle the shit they face every day. I have plenty of friends in prepress and have had a few peeks in their everyday life - I would shoot myself in my mouth with a double-barrel shotgun by lunchtime!

[steveb]

I did it for 4 years and 9 months and 27 days. Then I left. I can't deny it was seriously affecting my personality.
After starting my own company and then seeing it going down the drain, I feel much better! (My business idea was reviewed by two official expert authorities and approved for a EU grant, so don't blame me!)

[paper_box]

you both sound bonkers over such technicalities!

haha, had a wide smile on my face reading all of it.


i feel happy.