How often do you have published photos printed badly?

[echo]

I suppose I'm grumbling but one mag that I shoot for every month just seems to do something to screw up photos, mostly by way bleaching (best description I could use) images. Sometimes, occasionally they get it right but it's driving me nuts. I know, just take the money but other mags that have used the same images print exactly as expected.

Are there some tricks to providing a print ready image that's less able to be screwed up than jpegs? Ad's etc seem to all be printed right.

Cheers!

Mike

[breal101]

Jpeg is not the best way to submit for 4 color printing, they have to be converted to tiff before converting to CMYK color images for printing. The profile most printers want is s-rgb but it doesn't matter much because most will convert to the profile specific to the press they use. Back in the early days of digital this was a real bone of contention with printers, they complained bitterly about getting a jpeg, now I think they've given up and do the best they can with what they get.

[blackshadow]

Have you raised it with the magazine editor or art director? They should be able to provide specific advice that none of us here can.

[sfaust]

It happens to me often with a few magazines, but in general they go off without a hitch. They are never perfect, but most of the time they are 99% there.

If its the same magazine or publisher, it could be in their process. If you work with them often, it might be worth a phone call and see if you can't track down where the issue is happening, then work on the resolution.

JPEGs are not the best format to send them. TIFF is far better, and you need to make sure you are giving they a format they are used to working with for best results. As blackshadow suggests, call the art director, and/or get in touch with the appropriate person at the publisher to figure out where the disconnect is. Most issues can be resolved just by talking with the right person.