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PRINTING A DCS 2.0 IN QUARK

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ROCA

Technical User
Oct 16, 2001
1
US
HELLO,
DOES ANYONE KNOW A WAY TO PRINT A PHOTOSHOP DCS 2.0 (EPS) FILE PLACED IN QUARK TO A POSTSCRIPT PRINTER. ANY IDEAS ARE GREATLY APPRICIATED. THANKS.
 
You have to print them as seperations if it is a DCS file, other wise it will only print the preview file that is place in the page.

Or convert the DCS file to a tiff or eps and print composit. This should really be done anyway. If you can't fix it in 20 call someone who can.
 
Sorry to disagree with the previous poster. I have successfully printed this format from Quark (version 4.11.) You should be VERY careful not to change the names of any of the files. When you place them into Quark, be sure to place the "master" eps (the composite one). If you are using spot colors, be sure they are spot in Quark as well, as you would for an Illustrator file with spot colors.

I believe that the DCS format is supported in Quark; a properly structured DCS file has one master eps (a composite) with linked CMYK files. In DCS 2.0, it can also include spot color files (available in recent versions of Photoshop).

 
As a Composite when you print or seperations ? George
If you can't fix it in 20 call someone who can.
 
I have printed composite (to an Epson as a proof) and sent the final files to a commercial printer, with plate output for the two spot colors plus CMYK. This was about a year ago, so some details are a bit fuzzy, but I could try to recreate this with new Photoshop files. (I was using PS 5.01 at that time. Haven't tried with 6.0 yet.)

Are you having problems when you try to do this?
 
I have always been told that DCS files can only be printed as Seperations, otherwise when you print the job it will only use the Preview part of EPS if you print composite.

This could be the difference between DCS 1 & DCS 2.0. Will do some tests. Having worked in a repro house for 7 years, that is the way we always worked. If the client sent in a job with DCS files we converted them. If you can't fix it in 20 call someone who can.
 
I Believe MatthewA is correct, printing a composite of
a DCS file will print the preview The reasoning behind
dcs files is that placing images and printing proofs (inkjet or color lazers)
are quicker and images can be moved and adjusted
more easily, printers on the other hand would rejoin
the file or depends on the rip some rips could pick
up the separated files of a dcs I have noticed you
cant open a dcs 2 in a version of Photoshop that
does not support a dcs 2 file
Greg

K & G Design
kgdesign@warwick.net

 
You got me wondering just what I had done, so I made a 300 dpi CMYK + Spot image in Photoshop and saved it as a DCS 2.0 (5 plates plus master) image. Then I imported the master eps file into Quark 4.11, and printed both seps and a composite to my HP Laserjet and as 2 composites to my Epson 1520 (at 720 and 1440 ppi, via Adobe PressReady).

Results: Seps turned out as hi-res as the 1200 ppi laser would allow. The LaserJet did show a 72 dpi bitmapped composite. The Epson prints, using "Printer" screening, were equally pixellated.

I made a new document with the Beta of Quark version 5 and sent a composite to the Epson. Even though the print box is a little more complex (which led me to hope), results were similar to those from Quark 4.11.

So I guess I would have to say you were right; the composite is not as smooth (though it would have been quite useable for presentation purposes, as long as you don't need small type rendering). If you need the smoothness, then possibly you might need to create a composite EPS (maybe 150 dpi with spot colors converted?) and swap in the DCS for the prepress output.
 
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