We were put into 3 groups and asked to identify 8 problems within a given InDesign document..
The 8 problems we found were:
1. There is a missing link
Sometimes links between files and images are broken, so you have to relocate the missing link.
If this document was sent to print with a missing link, that image will either print pixelated or not at all.
2. 'bird 5.psd' has been imported at a low resolution (72ppi)
Low resolution images will need to be rescanned or produced, as it will be hard to create a better image than you already have, even in Photoshop!
It is questionable as to whether you can actually salvage that image.
By turning the separations preview on, you can see which spot colours haven't been used. It is best to practice deleting unused spot colours before sending something to be printed!
4. 'bird 3.tif' has been produced in RGB
Possibility that the colours won't print as seen on screen.
You can change the colours by going back into Photoshop and checking the Gamut Warning to see which colours are out of the CMYK Gamut.
You can also check the proof colours to make sure that the image doesn't look that different in CMYK.
You can then convert the colours to CMYK.
5. 'bird 1.tif' hasn't been resized before importing in Photoshop, and was scaled within InDesign
You can edit this image by right clicking on the image and choosing edit with photoshop.. Then when you're in photoshop, you can change the image size to the correct size that you're using!
If you apply the same percentage as how much you've scaled it in InDesign, then it will resize the image to the same size as you had it in InDesign. When you save the photoshop file, it should automatically update in InDesign.
If you work with greyscale .tif files, you can apply spot colours to them in InDesign. This is why this image will come up as greyscale in photoshop, but in a blue colour in InDesign!
6. The blue spot colour isn't CMYK - has been produced in RGB
Because this spot colour has been produced in RGB, it might print a different colour when printed. To change this issue, double click on this colour and change the colour to CMYK using the drop down menu.
Because this swatch is a global swatch, it will update every image that has used this swatch.
7. The background colours haven't been extended to the bleed guide.
8. The text on the very last page of the document has exceeded the ink limit.
In your separations preview you can turn on the ink limit, which tells you how much ink will be applied.
To make sure that this changes with black ink, you need to look at the swatch palette.
This piece of text has been applied as a registration colour instead of black - registration colours will be printed with all four CMYK colours, so this is why the ink limit has exceeded!
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In order to make sure that you gather all the images, fonts and information that the printer needs, you need to package your document before sending it off..
Before you package the document, you get a summary of all the information used. This also tells you the errors in the document.
You can tick 'show problems only', but it doesn't see the low resolution image as a problem..
You also receive a message telling you about the legalities of font files. If you are using adobe fonts, it should be fine for commercial printers to promote your file.
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Another way of submitting your work to the printer will be to save it as a PDF file.
For commercial printing, you want the highest quality print.
'high quality print' works really well on inkjet printers.
'press quality' is the best option for commercial printing.
Your PDF file will show you which images are missing their links..
Saving as a PDF will compress the files and save you disk space.
