Summary of chapters 4 and 5

Chapter 4:

 As I read through my book, I come across what a JPEG and RAW file means. A JPEG is a compressed format which photos from digital cameras are captured in. A RAW file means that the image is subjected to a minimal compression from the camera. The difference? RAW cannot be uploaded into Illustrator or InDesign. They must only be opened in Photoshop. As for JPEG's, it compresses the file into a smaller file to fit.
There are some files you should print and should not print. The most widely supported image file format is TIFF (tagged image file format). The file can be uploaded into almost every application. It supports RGB and CMYK colors. Photoshop EPS, Photoshop native PSD, and Potoshop PDF are other image formats appropiate for print.
The files not appropriate for image formats are portable network graphics, BMP, graphics interchange format, and JPEG. Bitmap images contain only black and white pixels. The images are also known as "line art images." These images provide a sharp, clean image at a high resolution. This is where ppi's (pixels per inch) come in.
The higher the resolution the better the ppi will be. When you are cropping images, do not be afraid to free crop instead of using crop on the software. Also rotating should only be rotated to 90 degree increments because if not, then the picture will soften.

Here is a great transparency tip:
Illustrator and InDesign opacity files can be place in Photoshop native, but the do not handle blending. Drop shadow is the most common example. The shadow will take away the image in the other two software. You do not want a gray shadow. If you want to make it as easy as can be, simply drop the shadow in Photoshop and create in Illustrator.

Chapter 5:

Vector graphics are pixel free. They do not have scaling restrictions  and a smooth shape that has no inherent resolution, so the image can be reduced with no problem. Embedding fonts The most common file format for artwork is EPS (Encapsulated PostScript). EPS contains information for drawing and also font information. Another format would be native file formats. The last would be Adobe PDF which is the creative vector for placement of artwork in another application. Your image is saved as a PDF.
What formats NOT appropriate for print would be Microsoft Windows Metafile Format (WMF), Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF0, and raster formats. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint are for the placement of WMF's. Like the WMF files, EMF does the same except the shapes are more concentric.

Handling text:
Embedding means to fix. Font information should be available for display, but not for editing. Not all applications can embed fonts. Some applications cannot export embedded fonts. Outlining text is where fonts contain, hinting, which means the display and printing of text. You do not want to outline if it will be printed on a digital press. The 600-1200 dpi resolution can result in thickening of small text.

One last tip I have is do not go the harder way of drawing paths. Simply use the tools in Illustrator to help you draw a smoother and simplified path. 



Source: "Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Application" by Claudia McClure
copyright 2009. January 31, 2012.