Mac Print Guide 2009
- 1. W14Labs Print Guide >>Mac Version 2009 - Guidelines - Pricing - Soft Proofing - Plotter - Photoshop - Illustrator - Indesign - Acrobat - Releasing Prints
- 2. Guidelines The only form of payment that is accepted is the PrattCard. You must activate your PrattCard before printing and have enough funds available on it to pay for your jobs. See further instructions at the Lab Monitor’s stations and manage your PrattCard account at www.prattcard.com. Do not store your files to the desktop of any of the computers in the lab, they will be erased when you log out. Instead save to the folder on the desktop labeled “Workspace”. Be sure to back up your work on your own media, since this folder is not protected from other users. Format your files as indicated in this guide. Once a job is sent from a computer in the lab, you must proceed to the release station in order to send your file to the printer. You will be required to swipe your valid Pratt ID Card and log in using your One Key account. You will then see a list of all jobs that you have sent to the color print queues. Highlight one of your jobs and click Print to release it or Delete to erase it from the queue. Once you have released the job you will be charged for it. Jobs remain in the queue until the end of the day. Keep in mind that large prints sent to the color plotter may take some time to print. Please plan accordingly.
- 3. Guidelines Common Problems Avoid the most common printing problems! Make sure your files are using the CMYK Colorspace. Make sure all embedded files in Illustrator or InDesign are 300ppi, flattened, uncompressed TIFF or PSD files in the CMYK Colorspace. Make sure ALL type in a file is outlined, whether it appears in the printed area or not. Make sure that all image files, printed from Photoshop or embedded in another file have a resolution/ppi of at least 300. Make sure to select the same printer in both the Page Setup and Print dialog boxes. Always double-check your paper size and orientation. Make sure that your file looks how you want it to be sized and situated on the paper in the visual preview in the Print dialog box. Do not print directly from removable media or drives. Always copy your file to the computer you are working on before you open it. If a computer is acting up, try restarting it before seeking outside help.
- 4. Prices Color Print Center Color Matte - Xerox 7760 Enhanced Matte – Epson 4800/4480 8.5 x 11” (letter) 50¢ 12 x 18” (tabloid extra) $1.00 Matte 13 x 19” (Super “B”) $3.75 80 lb. Matte Paper 216 g/m² Matte 17 x 22” (C) $5.75 Epson Enhanced Matte Paper Color Glossy – Xerox 7600 8.5 x 11” (letter) 50¢ Color Plotter – HP 5500ps 12 x 18” (tabloid extra) $1.00 100 lb. Glossy Paper 140 g/m² 42” wide x 240” height maximum $.65 per inch (you are charged based on the longest dimension) Semigloss quick-dry paper with Black & White (located in Open Lab) Xerox 5400 8.5 x 11” (letter) FREE* 11 x 17” (tabloid) FREE* 20 lb. paper *Limited to 15 pages per job. 705 and 309 Plotters Epson 7800 24” wide x 240” height maximum $.35 per inch (you are charged based on the longest dimension) Semigloss quick-dry paper with UV inks.
- 5. Soft Proofing Soft Proofing allows you to view your file through the profile that will be used when you print your image. This should be your first step in the printing process because it gives you a more accurate preview of what your print will look like and allows you to edit the colors, levels, and saturation of your file before you print. This is most useful when dealing with image files in Photoshop, as Photoshop has the most extensive Soft Proof and Color Adjustment controls. You should definitely use this feature whenever you need to convert an RGB file to CMYK for printing. It is especially helpful to have two different copies of your file visible on the screen, apply the Soft Proof to only one of them and use the original as a visual reference when editing the colors, levels, saturation, etc or you can toggle the Soft Proof on and off by clicking View > Proof Colors. Photoshop: View > Proof Setup > Custom > {Select Printer} Illustrator: View > Proof Setup > Customize {Select Printer}
- 6. Soft Proofing InDesign: View > Proof Setup > Custom > {Select Printer} Acrobat: Advanced > Print Production > Output Preview > {Select Printer}
- 7. Plotter When printing to the Plotter you must create a custom paper size. Ideally, it will be the same exact size as your file since that is what you will be charged for. If you would like a border around your image make sure to factor that into your sizing. To create a custom page size: In Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign: Go to File > Print and then click on Page Setup In Acrobat: Go to File > Page Setup The dialogue box shown below will pop up. Recreate the settings as shown.
- 8. Plotter Plotter Then click on “Manage Custom Sizes” and the dialog box shown below will open. Click on the + to add a new Page Size. Name the Page Size (most people name the page size using the dimensions, as shown). Define the Width and Height of the Page Size on the right. Select ‘colorplotter’ from the Printer Margins drop- down menu and make sure that all of the Margins change to 0.00 in. Click OK. This will bring you back to the Page Setup dialog box where you will now need to select the Custom Page Size that you just created from the Paper Size drop- down menu. Set the Orientation. Click OK and proceed with printing as usual.
- 9. Photoshop 1. With your image file open, select Image > Mode > CMYK Color 2. If your image contains layers, you will be asked what to do with them. Select Flatten. 3. If you continue to work on your image and add layers you will need to flatten your file again before printing. Select Layer > Flatten Image. 4. Save your File. Select File > Save As. Name your file (you will want to re-name it so that you retain the original file that contains your layers) and select PSD or TIFF from the drop-down menu for file type and click save. 5. Make sure that Embed Color Profile is checked.
- 10. Photoshop 6. If saving as a TIFF, select NO compression. 7. Select File > Print. 8.Select the correct printer from the drop-down Printer menu.
- 11. Photoshop 9. Click Page Setup, here you will again select the same correct print- er, and also the page size and orientation. Click OK to return to the Print 10. In Color Management Options, make sure that Printer Manages Colors is selected. 11. Make sure that your image, in the preview to the left, is appearing how you would like it to look in the print (laid out on the paper correctly, the proper size and proper orientation). 12. Click Print. 13. Double check that the proper printer is selected once again and hit Print again, in the dialog box below.
- 12. Photoshop 14. The Pharos pop up pictured below will appear on your screen, enter your One Key user name and click Print. 15. The final step is to go to the release station and enter your One Key and password and swipe your ID card. A list of your print jobs will come up on the screen. You must select each print job from this list and click Print.
- 13. Illustrator 1. With your image file open select File > Document Color Mode > CMYK Color 2. Then select Select > Object > Text Objects to select all of the type within your file. 3. Select Type > Create Outlines to outline your type. 4. You now need to flatten your file. Select ALL layers and click the small arrow on the top right of the layers palette. Select Flatten Artwork. This will prevent any printing issues arising from transparencies and gradients. 5. Save your file. Select File > Save As. Name your file (you will want to re-name it so that you retain your original file that contains your layers) and click Save. 6. Select File > Print 7. The dialog box shown below will appear.
- 14. Illustrator 8. Select the correct printer from the Print Preset drop-down menu, the correct printer should appear underneath in the Printer drop-down menu as well. 9.Then you will return to the Print dialog box. 10. Again, select the correct printer at the top from the Printer drop-down menu. 11. Make sure that your file looks correct in the preview at the bottom left. If not, you can make fine-tuned adjustments to the page placement by dragging the image around in the preview box 12. When you are satisfied with your preview image. Click Print. 13. The Pharos pop-up pictured below will appear on your screen, enter your OneKey user name and click Print. 14. The final step is to go to one of the two computers hanging on the wall in front of the monitor station and enter your One Key and password and swipe your ID card. A list of your print jobs will come up on the screen. You must select each print job from this list and click Print.
- 15. InDesign 1. With your InDesign file open ensure that all images are flattened CMYK TIFF or PSD files and that they are properly linked to your file. 2. Double check to ensure that the application is using the CMYK colorspace. Go to Edit > Color Settings. 3. Convert all your text to outlines by selecting Edit > Select All. Then select Type > Create Outlines. 4. Save your file and then run it through FlightCheck. 5. Back in InDesign, select File > Print. 6. Select the correct printer from the Print Preset drop-down menu at the top of the below dialog box. This should then also select the correct printer in the second drop-down menu, as shown below.
- 16. InDesign 7. Click Page Setup and Select the same printer again, the proper size and desired orientation of your file. Click OK. 8. Click Print. 9. The Pharos pop-up pictured below will appear on your screen, enter your One Key user name and click Print. 10. The final step is to go to the release station and enter your One Key and password and swipe your ID card. A list of your print jobs will come up on the screen. You must select each print job from this list and click Print.
- 17. InDesign Tips: Use the Info Pallette Window > Info to display color space information and the effective resolution (scanned resolution + scaling) of any embedded images. You want these to be set to CMYK and at least 300 ppi for optimal results. Flattener Preview Window > Output > Flattener Preview highlights in red any text and vector content that may be rasterized during printing. Use this as a guide as you modify stacking order and layering in a file. To ensure that your file prints all the elements in it correctly and as desired, take a look at your file through Preview Mode View > Screen Mode > Preview (to catch things like non-printing objects and objects that are too close to trim) and Overprint Preview View > Overprint Preview (to check for overprinting colors and disappearing white text and objects). If you have any text in embedded images coming from Photoshop, it is better to save your file as a PDF instead of a PSD or a TIFF.
- 18. Acrobat 1. Select File > Page Setup 2. Choose the correct printer, paper size and orientation 3. Select File > Print 4. Again, choose the correct printer. 5. Click on the down arrow next to the printer drop-down menu and it will expand the dialog box. Here you will see a preview of your image and also more options.
- 19. Acrobat 6. In the third drop-down menu select Color Matching and set it to “In Printer”, as shown below. 7. If you are satisfied with the preview image of your file click Print. 8. The Pharos pop-up pictured below will appear on your screen, enter your One Key user name and click Print. 9. The final step is to go to one of the two computers hanging on the wall in front of the monitor station and enter your One Key and password and swipe your ID card. A list of your print jobs will come up on the screen. You must select each print job from this list and click Print.
- 20. Releasing Prints 1. After you have sent your file to the printer you will need to go to one of the release stations (located in front of the lab monitor). You will see this screen. 2. Swipe your Pratt ID card and the screen shown here will come up. 3. Type in your One Key name and password and click Logon. This screen will come up with a list of all of the jobs that you have sent to the printer.
- 21. Releasing Prints 4. Confirmation that your print job went through successfully will show up on the bottom of the screen, as shown above. Click on Logoff and then pickup your print from the Lab Monitor Remember that the larger your file size, the longer it will take for your print to come out, so always be aware of your file size and be patient.