However it s also an unavoidable part of the job and the one that separates the amateur from the professional and so, encouraged by your comments, I ve decided to tackle it head-on. To try and make the task slightly more manageable I ve decided to split it into two. In my next publishing article I ll look at the more advanced pre-press issues, particularly concerning the production of colour separations, that can help ensure that your final print comes out as you planned. The first and absolutely crucial point to realise is that commercial print is very different to desktop printing. 300dpi full colour page appears in the out tray.
Many users assume that commercial print is just a scaled up version of the same procedure.
A little thought, however, soon reveals the technology s limitations. Clearly this type of direct printing isn t really an option in terms of speed, quality or cost. This process is built on the principle that oil and water do not mix. A metal or paper plate is produced that attracts ink to the black on the page and attracts water to the white on a page. It is this blanket that carries away a reversed inked image of the page and which finally prints the offset and now positive page onto the paper.