2-color PDFs cause RIP problems?

[frandesign]

Hi.

I did a 2-color (black + PMS) job on newsprint. When I sent the job to the printers, they called back with all kinds of problems. This printshop, unlike the ones I've worked with before, needs to convert everything to PDF for their platemaker. That's where the problem was. My 2-color job wasn't separating properly. I sent them a PDF file as well as the original Quark doc, but they had the same problem.

The document had Illustrator EPS files, as well as Photoshop spot color files ( I made sure the EPS file as well as the DCS files were included). I also made sure my colors were named identically in all three applications (Quark, Illustrator, Photoshop). I even went in to edit the CMYK composition of the colors, to match in all applications.

At the end, with the printing deadline hovering over our heads, the printers ended up laser-printing color separations from my quark file and shooting negs from the prints the old-fashioned way . The printed job was less sharp and the colors muddier than I was hoping for.

With the next issue of this publication coming up, I have no clue how to avoid this problem. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Fran

 

[Ecaboodle]

I do know that printers can know take files as a full CMYK with the spot colours part of the file.

Set the job up with two colours and print as a four colour job but making sure the spots are still setup in Quark as spot colours. DONT PRINT IT AS SEPERATIONS in other words.

If you can't fix it in 20 minutes call someone who can.

 

[jimoblak]

You should print your own separations to PDF so that you can see what the printer is seeing. Even if you do not give separated PDFs to the printer, they will show you what your printer is wrestling with. This information will help track down what graphics are not separating correctly.

- - picklefish - -