Let’s talk a little bit about print files.  The basic types of print file are the JPEG, TIFF, EPS (encapsulated postscript) and the PDF aka…Acrobat file.  JPEG’s and TIFF’s are strictly for raster/image/photo file types.  EPS and PDF/Acrobat files can contain raster and vector art.  You may have heard of postscript (PS) files, but it’s used less and less these last few years. Postscript has essentially been replaced by encapsulated postscript (EPS).  For the sake of a more compact post, let’s concentrate on the EPS and PDF file types.

There are several structural differences between the two file types.  But, the main difference is ICC profile support. The EPS file does not support the inclusion of ICC profile data; Acrobat does.  And this is why so many printers and large format service providers use EPS as their preferred print file.  What your output provider wants to avoid is a conversion phenomenon akin to double-dipping.  Most RIPs look for profile data.  When they find it, they will (unless managed by the RIP operator) apply another instance of image compression to the print file to fit the color range of the specified ICC.  In other words, your compressed photo gets re-compressed.

ICC’s are not really a perfect model for vector art.  Think back to the diagram, InkjetVsSWOP.png in a previous post. If you strictly interpret the 3D lab image for offset printing, you would conclude that a perfect green (100% cyan and 100% yellow) can’t be achieved on an offset press.  We’ve all read enough magazines to know you can get bright yellows, reds, greens and rich colors from offset printing.  So, what’s going on here?

You’ve probably guessed it.  At some point, your output provider is discarding the ICC profile information.  And it sounds like heresy after all you’ve heard about the necessity of working with agreed upon profiles for color management.  But don’t let your head explode just yet.  Let’s get back to image management.

Image management is simply making sure all your elements (text and photos) conform to the range of your final output device.  Pick the appropriate workflow and work with the end product in mind.

Here are a few tips for you budding graphic designers:

Consider color conversion a one-way street for your vector art.  Your classic light blue (100% cyan) will appear similar when you switch your file to RGB. But, if you were to switch your file back to CMYK the values are transformed to roughly 70% cyan and 14% magenta.  We always make my vector art in CMYK. That way, if we have to make an RGB graphic from it we don’t have to worry about missing a corrupted value for print.  Also, our web graphics will more closely resemble my print files.

Do NOT convert vector art to an ICC profile. Occasionally, you’ll see this option when “Placing” (linking to an external file) or pasting other art into your current working document.  The color values will shift in an unpredictable manner, just think back to what happens to 100% cyan when you change it to RGB and then change it back to CMYK.

Make sure all your scans, photos and Photoshop art share the same profile and color space before assembling your art.  We know most applications have a “Convert to Profile” export option.  This is not a reliable way to work.  When you employ blind processing, you’re asking for an unpleasant surprise. You’re much better off doing the image work yourself.

Use TIFF’s instead of JPEG’s (and ZIP compression when exporting to PDF). Once upon a time, JPEG compression was the recommended way to save images for print due to limits on memory and processing power. One way JPEG compression controls file size is by consolidating color together within a certain range of values.  You may have heard of JPEG’s as a lossy (or lousy, if you’re as picky as we are about image quality) form of compression.  If you’ve ever wondered where those boxy looking squiggles or blocky halos around text came from in digital art, now you know.  In addition, the default compression for saving as a PDF is JPEG.  When you pile JPEG compression on top of JPEG compression you’re just asking for an unattractive result.  We now have more memory, much more powerful CPU’s, graphics cards and RIP software.

If you want more information on JPEG compression, check out the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPEG

And finally, CYA!  Conserve Your Assets!  Always keep customer supplied originals, unaltered.  The client may ask for them at some point.  You may need to compare appearances or justify edits and output with your client standing over your shoulder. CONSERVE YOUR ASSETS; it bears repeating.

PS: You may have noticed the inclusion of the Light Jet and Durst Lambda under Large Format RGB. Conventional large format inkjet imaging has progressed to the point of photo quality output which can (IMHO) outperform the Durst and Light Jet machines.  Also, new archival, acid-free papers and fade-resistant inks are eliminating the advantages of large-format photo output for lifespan.

The Tameran Jet Stack product is the innovative leader in streamline stacking for your inkjet needs.  As you can read from the product literature the benefits are superior for a device of this nature.

• Improve operator functionality for copying by providing easy offloading of prints without interfering with feeding and handling of original documents
• Enhance online operation from multiple user workstations by providing a rugged place to stack multiple jobs that have been run to an unattended plotter allowing users to retrieve prints at their convenience
• Send multi-page print sets and sets of various-size documents to the plotter and stack without concern that the offloader is unable to handle the load; sequenced print sets remain together and can be printed in multiples without worry
• Run printers continuously or even overnight; copies can be retrieved at the user’s convenience or the next morning
• Roll up to any wide  format ink jet plotter for a very versatile offload solution; Jet Stack automatically matches the speed of any plotter without the need for a mechanical or electronic connection to it

Below is a video of the product in use at one of our clients.

Two new pieces of software will be part of version 7.4.  Those will include KIP Print and KIP Cost Review and Track System.

KIP Print will be network printing software that will have an easy to use design to provide operators with a fast and accurate means of producing high quality print sets from all types of wide format digital files.

The KIP Cost Review Application accurately accounts for use of any number of KIP systems by user, department, project or client and generates customized reports that can be delivered via email or printed on demand.

This software upgrade release is in conjunction the new high production color print system, the C7800.  Below is a quick Slideshow of the new device.

Owner

smueller@bpiinc.com

Steve has been with BPI Inc. on and off since 1980.  Throughout high school Steve would work part-time and then full time during the summer to fill in for vacationing employees.  Steve purchased the company in 1990 from his father Richard Mueller and his father’s partner and childhood friend Tom Brandt.  Since the acquisition, Steve has directed the company through multiple technology changes and transitioned the business from hand drafting, black and white photography by diazo printing to all things digital.  Steve took the single business location and grew the company into four locations along with a healthy web presence thru www.bpiinc.com, LinkedIn, Twitter and a blog that boasts over 300 readers.

Steve attended the University of Wisconsin while in pursuit of an agricultural economy major with a business minor.  He transferred to Lemoyne College, a Jesuit College in Syracuse, New York, to pursue his interest in the Eastern Seaboard and graduated class of 1980 with a BS in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing.   He started his business career in 1980 as a salesman for BPI Inc. and moved into marketing the company in its markets in 1982.

In the fall of 1983 Steve found himself back in New York this time in Manhattan in an intense 18 month financial training program at Chase Manhattan Bank.  Upon graduation from the program, Steve was assigned as a commercial loan officer exclusively to the Paper Brokers and Printing companies located in Manhattan.  He lived in Hoboken New Jersey during this time.  In 1987 he transferred to Chicago with Chase Bank.  From 1987 – 1989 Steve worked on the Chase Lending Team that supported Fortune 1000 companies in the Midwest.  His last assignment at Chase as a second vice-president was selling jumbo mortgages in Chicago finding a great deal of success in Chicago’s Gold Coast along the shores of Lake Michigan

Steve and his wife live in Brookfield with their two children and a hyper active dog named Marquette.  In his spare time Steve loves to go out to his family’s farm of his (late) father’s and attempts to golf, weather permitting.