Spire Express » PrePress Production

Stephen Beals discusses large format proofing

Mike — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:01:17 +0000

The problem with standards is they are intentionally designed to allow print providers to closely match color on a wide variety of media, printed on any device, no matter what technology is being used. That’s great if you want the poster printed on your 12-color inkjet device to match the same image coming off a web press. But often, that’s not the best way to sell wide-format output. If you are covering the side of a building with an image, you want the colors to pop…
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Very cool printing apps for the i-phone

Mike — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:48:39 +0000

$10 seems like a fair price not to have to carry a pantone book around with you. Of course, there’s no substitute for the real thing when you really need to know how a color will print. But this app is really neat. Allows you to assemble suites of different colors and even lay them on top of a reference color (something that you have photographed, for instance.) I can’t wait to try out the photoshop app as well.

See a review here

See a youtube tutorial here

Frank Roman Timeline

Mike — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:03:15 +0000

A11 things have a lifespan, whether they are living things, inanimate things, or even the universe (the ultimate collection of things). They start out as nothing, become something, and ultimately become nothing again. This pseudo-philosophical statement begins a discussion about technological change, a subject dear to everyone’s heart. • The handset typesetting (and letterpress printing) era began in 1439 and ended in 1970 (500+ years). • The offset era began in earnest in 1936…

Cool VDP Example

Mike — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:02:19 +0000

Here’s a very cool example of variable data printing that we received in the mail. I particularly like the coffee stain.

LINK

File-prep and color management

Mike — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:45:37 +0000

To achieve great prints from your files, you can wait for the planets to align, and say a few of your favorite magic words. Or, you can prepare your files in a logical way using a structured workflow and set up a color-management system that works to better control the color and consistency of your output.

The Ever-Changing PDF PICTURE

Mike — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:54:55 +0000

What’s new in PDF workflow, and how XPS might change all that. PDF has become such a ubiquitous standard in the graphic-arts arena that most folks don’t even remember what the letters stand for. (It’s Portable Document Format.)

CertifiedPDF

Mike — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:10:21 +0000

Structured and, ideally, automated methods of communication, and the interaction between industry organizations, are key to successfully addressing the problems publishers face in reliably delivering printable PDF files.

Production Agencies: How we trim fat.

Mike — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:46:48 +0000

The last five years have seen an increased emphasis on marketing accountability. Public companies especially must show shareholders a straight line between marketing expenditures and revenue growth, and have put increasing pressure on their marketing departments to deliver with high-ROI programs. The current economic meltdown has increased the emphasis on measurable results, while driving down marketing budgets.

Digital asset management

Mike — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:23:20 +0000

Digital asset management [DAM] is beginning to be looked at in a whole new way as companies involved in all aspects of print production rethink their entire workflow. Many print shops, however, have yet to take the step of developing any kind of formal DAM system, let alone a full-blown, browser-based, and customer-accessible system. Often, shops simply don’t know…

Finding ‘Perfect’ Color

Mike — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:54:00 +0000

The idea that today’s color-management technology is capable of giving you “perfect” color is a myth. There’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to color; too many variables are involved that affect how we see color-including viewing conditions, temperature, humidity, paper and ink properties, and so on. Also entering into the mix is the fact that no two individuals see color in exactly the same way; each person’s brain processes and then interprets the various wavelengths of light (“color”) differently.