Printing from Corel

[Project Sign]

Need help Printing from corel. I have a Mutoh 1204 and colors look washed out.
I design in rgb and save as pdf and send to the flex rip. I am thinking of getting a new rip, hoping it might help. any suggestions ?

 

[myront]

It's not the RIP. It's all in the profiling. You have to experiment with different scenarios profiling, densities, number of passes, etc.
Out of curiosity why are you designing in RGB? Most print is CMYK. Sometimes we'll export out as RGB tifs and sometimes as CMYK tifs. Never pdf's though. Files are usually too large as pdf's.

Myron

 

[J Hill Designs]

It's not the RIP. It's all in the profiling. You have to experiment with different scenarios profiling, densities, number of passes, etc.
Out of curiosity why are you designing in RGB? Most print is CMYK. Sometimes we'll export out as RGB tifs and sometimes as CMYK tifs. Never pdf's though. Files are usually too large as pdf's.

Myron

.tiff would be much larger in terms of file size than pdf, especially if the pdf is exported as vector.

as far as RGB, it has a wider gamut than CMYK, as do most printers.

 

[De.signs Nanaimo]

I like to save a new file, merge any transparencies and fades into a bitmap (leave old file for editing later) save as a CMYK pdf. I also convert any raster images to CMYK to get an idea of colour etc, it usually goes a bit darker with more contrast, and then you can make adjustment before going to pdf. Leave any vectors you can, except gradients, and check all spot colours for consistency, don't send Pantones!

You can design in RGB but you will save yourself heaps of trouble if you work in CMYK as all large format printers are CMYK. In fact I don't ever work in RGB, except some images which I convert later that way you make less mistakes when printing.

 

[Project Sign]

color setting

I think its how I have my doc setup in corel and how I am saving the pdf, should I save as doc use document color or color proof setting see image I sent

 

[J Hill Designs]

I think its how I have my doc setup in corel and how I am saving the pdf, should I save as doc use document color or color proof setting see image I sent

try a full-size rgb jpg @150-200 dpi. Thats how I get my best color

 

[De.signs Nanaimo]

I think its how I have my doc setup in corel and how I am saving the pdf, should I save as doc use document color or color proof setting see image I sent

Here is how I do mine, I have prepped files for McDonalds restaurant murals, 7-11 and Starbucks. I handle many clients branding across multiple print platforms, STICK TO CMYK!!!

DPI is job dependent, I use between 150 and 200 dpi for trade show and vehicles, 100 dpi is fine for most things large format. 300 dpi for print, 600 dpi if using a jpeg to print text for a business card etc, but only if you have to, vectors are always preferred for regular or large format printing. I tend towards higher res than needed just in case!

 

[Project Sign]

color

Thanks Ill try it

 

[Andy D]

Personally, I don't like exporting to PDF, I have had too many issues going that route.
I almost always export as a TIFF, yes it ends up being a large file but in my experience,
Tiffs are the most stable and reliable format to rip from.

 

[Andy D]

try a full-size rgb jpg @150-200 dpi. Thats how I get my best color

Really? I stay away from Jpeg files because their self compression algorithm adds anomalies to the image.

 

[Andy D]

DPI is job dependent, I use between 150 and 200 dpi for trade show and vehicles, 100 dpi is fine for most things large format. 300 dpi for print, 600 dpi if using a jpeg to print text for a business card etc, but only if you have to, vectors are always preferred for regular or large format printing. I tend towards higher res than needed just in case!

Agreed. I always hate when people want to pin you down to one DPI, it's as you said, job dependent.
I have exported museum signs with small text, that people's noses are going to be a foot away from, at 1000 plus DPI,
and have exported 15' x 40' banners at 50 DPI.

For me, file size is a better indicator, because I export as tiff, my files tend to be 400 - 900 megabytes.

 

[De.signs Nanaimo]

Agreed. I always hate when people want to pin you down to one DPI, it's as you said, job dependent.
I have exported museum signs with small text, that people's noses are going to be a foot away from, at 1000 plus DPI,
and have exported 15' x 40' banners at 50 DPI.

For me, file size is a better indicator, because I export as tiff, my files tend to be 400 - 900 megabytes.

Prepping pdf's can be hard, until you know the ropes. It is the best way to print files, but you have to know how to do it right. I used to have to prep pdf's for all the top designers at a firm I worked for, they were too busy being pretty to learn the nuts and bolts of design!

Tiff's are good, but don't talk to me about rip times!

 

[bob]

try a full-size rgb jpg @150-200 dpi. Thats how I get my best color

What he said.

Create the jpg with no compression and no smoothing. Use a resolution that's no greater than 1/4 of your printer's dpi. I.e. if you're printing at 720 dpi create the file no greater than 180 ppi. That way you get 16 printer pixels per image pixel which yields 5^16 or more possible colors per image pixel.

Always let your RIP convert from RGB to, ultimately, CMYK. It does a far better job that any other software you might have. The nice thing about printing jpg's this way is way you see is pretty much what you get. Assuming your rendering intent for bitmaps is set to 'Perceptual'.

For those who feel that loss of fidelity inherent in a jpg is anything over which to fret, if it's a first generation jpg then you couldn't find a jpg generated image anomaly with a magnifying glass.

 

[player]

JPG files are lossy. I am not sure if creating a JPG with no compression and no smoothing is not lossy, but I don't want to lose any of my file info.

PDF file can create issues that only show up on your print. Been there, won't use PDF.

 

[Andy D]

JPG files are lossy. I am not sure if creating a JPG with no compression and no smoothing is not lossy, but I don't want to lose any of my file info.

PDF file can create issues that only show up on your print. Been there, won't use PDF.

So you export Tiff also?

 

[player]

So you export Tiff also?

Yes. But EPS if there are any vectors and the file is not too large.

 

[bob]

JPG files are lossy. I am not sure if creating a JPG with no compression and no smoothing is not lossy, but I don't want to lose any of my file info.....

'Lossy'? Is that something you read somewhere? It's a bitmap, not a spreadsheet.

Jpg is a compression algorithm, it doesn't discard information, it compresses it. If you keep the compression to a minimum, when the image is reconstituted too exactly the original number of pixels by the way, not one of them is lost, some pixels may or may not be identical with the original image but is will be sufficiently accurate that you couldn't tell the difference without doing a pixel by pixel comparison with the original. More than sufficient for the naked eye at most any resolution.

Now then, if you make a jpg from a jpg them make another jpg from that jpg and keep on doing that, eventually the image will significantly depart from the original. But a first generation low compression jpg? Undetectable merely by looking at it.

Jpg is a format vastly underrated by the ignorancia.

 

[Andy D]

'Lossy'?

Jpg is a format vastly underrated by the ignorancia.

Well for your information Bob, I went to YAHOO ANSWERS and BusterWhole69 said " Tiffs r da bomb & Jpgs r 4 fools"
He seems very informed and may know more about this subject than you do, so I'm going with Mr. Buster W. 69's expert advice.

 

[myront]

Yes. But EPS if there are any vectors and the file is not too large.

Only eps if all vector and no gradients or lens effects. Gradients make for very large eps files.

 

[player]

'Lossy'? Is that something you read somewhere? It's a bitmap, not a spreadsheet.

Jpg is a compression algorithm, it doesn't discard information, it compresses it. If you keep the compression to a minimum, when the image is reconstituted too exactly the original number of pixels by the way, not one of them is lost, some pixels may or may not be identical with the original image but is will be sufficiently accurate that you couldn't tell the difference without doing a pixel by pixel comparison with the original. More than sufficient for the naked eye at most any resolution.

Now then, if you make a jpg from a jpg them make another jpg from that jpg and keep on doing that, eventually the image will significantly depart from the original. But a first generation low compression jpg? Undetectable merely by looking at it.

Jpg is a format vastly underrated by the ignorancia.

Lossy is the term used to describe a file format that when it saves it discards information during the saving process. JPG and MP3 are 2 examples. I did not make this up. Compressed TIFF files are not lossy, as in there is no discarded information. If you were not so busy trying find ways to be rude and belittle others you could actually learn something, but knowing where your head is it is probably hard to remove it and think clearly.