Digital Prepress Complete [Paperback]

Donnie O'Quinn (Author), Matt Leclair (Author), Steve Kurth (Author), Tim Plumer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1996

This guide to prepress presents all the necessary information required for professional level production. It includes tips and advice on avoiding pitfalls and resolving crises, and colour keys for use and comparison in colour proofing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Never mind all the Web and CD-ROM publishers out there, print publishing is still a thriving industry. And it's no easier than before to learn the ins and outs of digital prepress. This is the book to read if you're fairly new to print publishing and are involved in preparing electronic documents for print. Each chapter starts with a common problem, such as dealing with a bad scan, and goes on to explain how to avoid each worst-case scenario. The authors start off with advice on setting up a production environment with the right hardware and software, and move on to managing fonts and files, using vector and raster based images, scanning, working with color, laying out pages, trapping, and preparing files for output.

From the Publisher

Prepress and production issues can be costly and frustrating for operators and managers. This book provides them with a complete reference and an issues-oriented, troubleshooting, problem-solving approach that concentrates on getting the job done and keeping an eye on the bottom line. - Focuses on saving time and money by doing things right the first time

- Integrates coverage of color, prelighting, and output issues at every step of the process

- Illustrates key information with lively anecdotes and first-hand experience

Product Details

• Paperback: 766 pages
• Publisher: Hayden Books (December 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568303289
• ISBN-13: 978-1568303284
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,468,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful, all things considered..., October 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Digital Prepress Complete (Paperback)

This book would have benefited greatly from better editing (many spelling errors, some pictures seem incorrect), but it does a very good job at what it claims: making sense of the complex business of digital prepress. I'm new to the industry too, but I have learned one thing and that is there is no such thing as prepress for beginners! Even the smallest jobs mean you have to deal with very difficult issues. The best you can hope for is to learn from your mistakes and seek the guidance of worthwhile resources like this one.

I see Mr. OQuinn is planning a new book on prepress--if it is up to date and better edited (see his in a Nutshell book!) I will most certianly make the investment.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will teach you well and save many headaches., April 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Digital Prepress Complete (Paperback)

This book is very clear and very well written. I am not a graphcs professional, but I need to do my own desktop publishing, and this is the only book I really use. It taught me everything I needed to know to work with print shops/service bureaus and to make sure that my final product was a success.

1.0 out of 5 stars Riddled with errors, omissions and just plain wrong information, February 11, 2006

By 

DougA (OR, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Digital Prepress Complete (Paperback)

I started reading this book and, after I realized how many errors were in it, I started marking them all with Post-it notes. I went through about three packs of notes. This book was so horribly edited, I wrote an e-mail to the author complaining about it. He responded with one excuse after another (the publisher rushed him, the editor was an idiot, blah, blah, blah). I told him I thought I had been swindled out of the $55 I had paid for it. He promised to send me a free copy of the revised version. I never heard from him again.

Unfortunately, it appears Mr. O'Quinn has attempted to write a few other books since he wrote this one. It should say something that, although I bought this book 10 years ago, this incident still sticks in my craw. I'll never buy another O'Quinn book.