Advice on magazine printing..

[svllee]

Hi everyone,

Just joined this very informative forum. My question is that I use a D60 and will be shooting some cover shots for a fashion magazine. The editor said that their printers in the past had problems with digital files when they are coverted to CMYK for printing, a reddish tinge is the result.

I think the red tinge on fleshtones may be due to incorrect white balance?

I don't know much about magazine printing, and I hope to just give them a CD of my images in highest quality saved to TIFF and RGB. SHould I convert to CMYK in Photoshop then burn to CD first or let the printers do that? Anyone has any experience in this field?

Will the quality be good enough for a cover (standard A4 type womens mags)or should I stick to Medium FOrmat?

Any advice will be greatfully received.

Cheers

Steven

[fredlord]

Welcome to the forum:

Your questions in order:

Printers have trouble with everything. Don't listen to them. They whine, they lie, they sleep on the press, like all of humanity, 95% of them are mediocre at best. They don't want to think about a job, they just want their shift over so they can go home and do something they really enjoy. Don't expect dedication to their craft or even a simulacrum of joy in creation.

YES, DO CONVERT the images to CMYK yourself and make sure you are happy with them and make proofs to the approximate size of the cover that you are happy with. Send one of those proof prints that you feel is correctly done for them to follow when they print. You might even wish to attend the press run if you can. Without a corrected proof, the printers couldn't care less what they print and will, almost always, butcher anything you send them that requires any sort of conversion. The magazine representative at the press run may or may not care what your image looks like. There may not even BE a magazine rep at the press run.

DO NOT send them your TIFF RGB files, ever! You might as well send them your children to raise if you have any. It will not come out as you expect, ever!

If you are happy with the quality of your final proof prints, the quality is good enough. A D60 is most certainly capable of producing a normal cover-size image of excellent quality.

Finally, never trust anyone with your work. They are totally uninvolved and will, at the very least, neglect it to death. YOU are the only one who cares and YOU should do all you can to make sure you are well represented by the final output of all YOUR work. No one else will ever care except perhaps your mom and she can't be there all the time.

Good luck and best regards,
Fred Lord

[svllee]

Thanks Fred

Sorry, I'm a newbie to CMYK proofing. I have an Epson 1290, what do yo mean by proofing in CMYK? Do I convert the RGB file to CMYK in photoshop, then do a straight print to Epson?

Steven Lee

[fredlord]

Well, that's a good question. It may seem circuitous but I would first make an acceptable print with the file as an RGB. Save that file and do not touch it. Make a copy of that file and convert it to CMYK in Photoshop. Print that CMYK file and compare it to the original print made from RGB. If it doesn't look too bad send the CMYK electronic file as is along with, NOW THIS IS THE TRICKY PART, another copy of the best print made with the RGB file. That way your best proof goes with the CMYK electronic file and it's up to them to match it. They have a lot of leeway on the press and can make surprisingly large changes in color balance with the inks.The inkjet printer does its best job with RGB files unless its calibrated to work with CMYK which it is not from the factory.

If you have any spotting or retouching to do, make those changes before you do anything else.

Here's the deal. They are to try and match what you think it should look like and it makes no difference how you make the final proof which is their guide. It's a crap shoot no matter what because unless you're standing there during the press run, you have no control other than what I've told you to do. The main thing is that your final proof is your insurance policy to show the magazine publishers if the printer blows it.In many cases, that's all you can do.

Number one: Correct the print to your satisfaction while keeping it as an RGB file.
Number Two: Print your best proof from the RGB file then save a copy of that file and convert it to CMYK.
Number Three: Print that CMYK file on your Epson and decide if it's okay or not. If it's totally wonky, modify it carefully until you're happy. It you're happy send it.
Number Four: Send as final proof your best print no matter what it was printed from.
Number Five: Pray if you're religious or rub a rabbit's foot or something if you're not.
Number Six: Keep one of your best final prints to show the publisher if the printer does bad.

Good luck and God bless,
Fred Lord

[svllee]

Thanks Fred, you are of great help. Will see how the workflow will work out based on your advise in the next couple of weeks.

You must have had experience doing the same? Incidentally, what is the best way to correct tinging in ps? Colour balance or using curves? I have ps7

CHeers

Steven Lee

[fredlord]

Curves is the best general tool. Color balance has its advantages when there is a cross-curve color problem with the highlights, middle tones and shadows. Most of the time, you would use curves to take care of an ordinary image.Selective color is also very useful to tweak just one color area such as blue sky or green foliage. Without seeing anything that you're working on I would recommend curves as it's very straightforward and intuitive.

Good luck,
Fred Lord