Prepress Problems and Solutions (Online)

Making sure we have the latest graphic applications is no guarantee that our work will come out the way we want it on the printing press, or at least error-free. There are decisions that the applications cannot make for us: how a particular type of press and paper affects shadow and highlight endpoints and dot gain, what color settings or profile to send to the press, when to trap and how much to trap, how to prevent folding and binding errors, situations when antialiasing fails and is discouraged, the proper and improper use of spot colors. And more.

Who will benefit

• Graphic artists, desktop publishers, layout artists, art directors
• Prepress artists and supervisors of printing houses

Method of Teaching

This course provides live instructor-led demonstration and discussions, student engagement and hands on exercises using Zoom, Google Classroom, InDesign and Photoshop. One-third of the class time gives the student a closeup tour of the printing process for a better appreciation of the exercises that are constructed as solutions to specific press problems, from color to page structure.

What will be covered

1. Understanding halftones

• Color gamuts on press
• Setting the highlight and shadow endpoints
• How and when to use GCR and UCR
• Controlling dot gain
• Removing moiré

2. Ink problems

• Types of black
• The problem with tints of a color
• When and how to use spot colors
• Dealing with transparency problems
• Preparing for post-press finishing
• Why color profiles are critical
• Types of proofs

3. A tour of the main printing processes | Getting familiar with the types of paper

4. Preparing images

• Vector vs bitmap
• Resampling vs resizing
• Automatic and manual trapping
• The correct way to use a scanner
• Preparing line art
• Adding color to line art

5. Folding and Binding

• Single-fold and multifold brochures
• Crossovers in perfect binding
• Images on the hinge and across the hinge
• Preparing a gatefold cover
• Page creep in saddle-stitch binding

Prerequisite:

This class requires familiarity with InDesign and Photoshop. For other applications such as Illustrator, Affinity Publisher, Quark Xpress, Affinity Photo, and Corel PaintShop Pro, students on their own time can translate or rework the exercises.

Benefits

1. Includes e-certificate of completion
2. Lifetime Free Refresher  (You may attend again the same course,  free of charge, on a space-available basis.)
3. Alumni discount
4. Enroll in our L2C (Learning to Certification) programs and get a globally recognized certificate. This course is part of:

• Adobe Certified Professional (ACP) Visual Design: Foundations of Design & Print Production certificate program
• Visual Graphic Design NC III certificate program