13

ProductionEssentials

Chapter 13 Objectives• Differentiate between continuous tone and

vector artwork.

• Use the mighty Links panel

• Adjust image resolution for optimal printing

• Find and replace fonts

• Use Separations and Overprint Preview

• Perform document preflight and package operations

Color Review• Why can’t you usually trust the color

you view on your computer monitor?

• What is the difference between process and spot color?

• What is an undefined color?

• What is a mixed ink group?

Continuous tone artHas shades and tones. It’s created with pencil, charcoal, photography, watercolor, etc.

Line artSolid image. No shading. It’s created with ink, technical pen, vector drawing programs such asIllustrator.

Digital photography is composed of pixels (picture elements).

When an image is enlarged, the pixels also increase in size.

These images are called “raster” or “bitmap” images.

They are resolutiondependent, which meansthe image quality changes as the image size changes.

Vector images are created bymathematical formulas.

Vector images are resolutionindependent, which meansthey always look great, no matter what size they are!

Resolution is a term that refers to the number of pixels in asquare inch of an image. More pixels = more detail.Use high resolution images at actual size (100%) in InDesign!

Low resolution image, enlarged High resolution image, 100%

The Links PanelThe Links panel (shown right) has been customized to display a variety of information. Columns from left to right:• Name of link• Status• Page• File Size• Color space• Scale• Actual PPI• Effective PPIThe Link info pane (lower half) displays additional information.

A powerful production tool!The Links paneldisplays a warning in the status column when a link needs attention. The red circle with a question mark means the link is missing.

Package your document!

When a document is packaged, all the fonts and images are organized into tidy folders. If there are problems, you will be alerted with a yellow warning triangle.

Summary• Use high resolution images at their actual size.

• Use Photoshop to resize placed images so that their

scale is 100% in InDesign.• Always package your documents.• Use Find Font to find and replace missing typefaces.

Fonts with the same name, but from different manufacturers,can be quite different, as shown in the samples below. Always send your document’s fonts to the printer!