Getting it Right in Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers [Paperback]

Mark Gatter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2005 | ISBN-10: 081099206X | ISBN-13: 978-0810992061

With this much-needed new book, designers learn precisely what they must do to prepare their brochures, posters, books, magazines, and other materials for trouble-free, high-quality printing. Addressing the single greatest challenge facing the professional designer today, calibrating images and layouts to match press specifications, the author shows how to use common digital-layout and image-management programs to their best advantage. Delays and additional costs previously incurred to fix disappointing proofs can now be eliminated, saving designers both time and money. Supplanting other books on the subject, which focused on predigital practice and are now out of date, "Getting It Right in Print" explains prepress processes in easily understandable terms that will give designers a firm grounding in the fundamentals of this complex subject. Whether they are learning to adjust trapping to appropriate levels, mix colors successfully, or master techniques to make images (even ones downloaded from the Internet) look good in print, designers gain the know-how they need to get the results they want.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081099206X
• ISBN-13: 978-0810992061
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Graphic Designers and Junior Production Artists, June 13, 2005

By 

B. MOOGK "Benjamin Moogk" (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting it Right in Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers (Paperback)

An excellent primer on designing for print. Mark Gatter's writing style and focus is what sets this book apart; the books is well organized and accessibly written. It covers those questions you so often encounter on the job but never get useful answers to. He starts from the most basic level of knowledge such as CMYK versus RGB, but does not avoid such complex issues as colour profiles. He speaks to the most recent developments in document formats including InDesign and PDFs for print. Recently, design has become a dangerous business because of the resposibilties loaded on to the shoulders of designers. With this book, you will be able to make peace with your printer and get him to help you with some of that responsibility.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Out-dated and not-informative, November 11, 2006

By 

Jeffrey Miller "Jeff the Chef" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Getting it Right in Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers (Paperback)

First off, there IS some good information in here for a new designer. If you are not still in school, however, don't bother with this thing.

First off, I found the book to be outdated. For example, the author references "control panels" and the "chooser". Yep, that's right OS9! Additionally, he tells where to find certain commands within Photoshop CS, but then he gives lengthy explanations of where to also find the same commands within Photoshop 5! What?! Photoshop 5!?

One nit-picky problem I have with this book is author's use of the word "calibration" instead of "color-correction". I have NEVER heard any designer say they need to "calibrate" an image. Calibration has very specific association within the graphic-design world and that is with color-output and -input devices. I was utterly confused at chapter 9's title, "Calibrating color images". I understand that "calibrate" is gramatically correct but "color-correction" is the accepted nomenclature. (props to The Dude)

Next, the chapter about Photoshop's Color Managament system is only 8 pages long. The author basically states that Photoshop's defaults are fine and not to mess with CMS. I find this contradictary to my own expererience. A color ad CANNOT be converted to CMYK with the default settings and that same file sent to both a glossy magazine and newspaper. Good luck getting that ad to look good in newsprint! That's what this guys is proposing though. Ugh.

To be fair, his history of the printing process and basic color-correction techniques sections ARE pretty good. I cannot say i didn't pick-up a tip or two along the way. but the bad outweighted the good for me. I was really looking for something more advanced but this wasn't it.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book gets it right., January 15, 2006

By 

Barbara R. LHeureux "newbie designer" (La Crosse, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Getting it Right in Print: Digital Prepress for Graphic Designers (Paperback)

For a newbie in graphic design, this book provides a wealth of useful information for prepariing items for press. Saving money by knowing how to prepare files is worth the cost of the book.