Introduction

A designer in New York creates a beautiful design but when she prints it the colors become muddy. An art director in Seattle sends a file to the print shop, and they call him to say the job won’t print. The editor of a college paper can’t figure out why all the pictures in the paper are jagged. And a freelance designer in Chicago needs to bid on her first print job. Linescreen, DPI, CMYK, RIPs, bleeds, spots, and spreads: Why didn’t they teach this stuff in design school?

Sandee Cohen comes to the rescue, whether you’re producing your first newsletter or you’re an experienced graphic designer who needs to come up to speed on professional-level printing. She’ll tell you how to make your desktop printer behave, and will take the mystery out of dealing with print providers. You’ll learn all the necessary techniques, the terminology, and the rules of printing (and when you can break them). It’s like having your own production manager standing over your shoulder. The copious information in From Design Into Print will have your designs looking as stunning in print as they do on your monitor.

This book will help you:

Choose the right desktop printer for your needs

Finally understand resolution

Get the results you want from page-layout and image-editing applications

Find the best stock images

Know what to expect when RGB colors convert to CMYK

Figure out your fonts

Preflight your work

Sound smart when talking to a print shop