Desktop Publishing
Lesson 6 — Publishing a Document
Objectives







Plan for publication.
Perform prepress checks.
Set properties for desktop printing.
Enable trapping.
Print a composite and color separations.
Save a file for commercial printing.
Deliver files to a commercial printer.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
2
Plan for Publication
 There are factors to consider before beginning a
project, including






The page size of the publication.
The paper stock to be used.
How the document will be bound if applicable.
The number of colors to be used.
The number of copies to print.
The available budget.
 You also need to determine how the document
will be published in the planning stage.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
3
Select a Publication Method
 You can use a desktop printer if
 You only need a few copies.
 The budget is tight.
 Quality will depend on the specific printer being used. You also
need to account for ink and paper costs.
 You might use a copy shop if
 You need to produce many copies.
 The budget is tight.
 You need it in a hurry.
 Quality is determined by the copy equipment being used.
Binding options may be limited.
 You would use a commercial printer if
 You want the absolute highest quality.
 The budget can afford hiring a printer.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
4
Select a Commercial Printer
 Questions to ask your printer include
 What color system will be used?
 In what format does the printer want the project: disk
files or hard copy?
 Does the project need to be in a particular format,




such as PostScript?
Can the printer get the paper that you want to use?
Does the printer have the required binding facilities?
What type of composite proof does the printer
require?
Does the printer require printer’s spreads or reader’s
spreads?
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
5
Perform Prepress Checks –
Check Page Design
 Some programs have a design checker utility that
looks for page layout errors.
 It may find grammar and spelling errors.
 It may find text boxes that contain too much text to
display.
 Design checkers can usually check all pages or
specific pages.
 Although it varies by program, this feature may be
found on the Tools menu in many programs.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
6
A Design Checker Dialog Box
This figure shows a dialog box that may appear when a design checker
utility finds what may be an error. It indicates what the suspected
problem is and recommends some possible solutions. You can ignore
the problem or fix it, and the checker will then look for the next problem.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
7
Perform Prepress Checks –
Print Page Proofs
 You should always print a sample copy of a
publication, called a proof.
 Do this before sending a document to a
commercial printer or copy shop.
 Examine the proof carefully, looking for spelling
and grammar errors that were not caught by the
spell or design checker.
 Look for layout problems such as misaligned
objects, missing objects, missing text, or color
problems that may not show up on screen.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
8
Controlling Proof Printing
Many Print dialog boxes have
options to control how you
print your document proof.
You may want to print at a
lower quality (called draft
quality) to save ink. If you are
looking
for
text-related
errors, you may choose not
to print graphics, only text.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
9
Set Properties for Desktop Printing
 Print properties control how a publication prints on
your printer.
 There are two categories of properties:
 Printer options – These are specific to the printer being
used.
 Print options – These are specific to the program being
used and the document being printed.
 Print properties are set via the Print dialog box.
 Available options may vary by program.
 There is usually a Setup or Properties button that
allows you to access the printer options.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
10
A Print Settings Dialog Box
This dialog box has two tabs.
The current tab, Publication
Options, is used to set print
options. The other tab, Device
Options, is used to set printer
options. The options that you
can set in any Print Settings
dialog box depend on the
program and printer that you are
using.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
11
Commonly Used Print Properties






Printer
Number of Copies
Collate
Print range
Orientation
Reverse






Printer’s marks
Fonts
Page setup
Graphics or Proof
Print Quality
Color
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
12
Enable Trapping
 When adjoining colors are not aligned correctly,
there may be gaps or overlaps.
 Trapping is a method of preventing that problem.
 Most programs have an automatic trapping
feature that you can turn on or off.
 You can adjust the default settings to fine-tune the
trapping process.
 You can change the trapping width, for example.
 Methods for setting trapping settings vary by
program.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
13
Trapping Preferences Dialog Box
This figure shows a typical
Trapping properties dialog box
where you can customize the
settings to be used.
Although it
program, this
like it can
opened from
menu.
varies by
box or one
usually be
the Tools
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
14
Prepare a Composite and Color
Separations
 Most commercial printers will want a
composite copy of the document.
 This is a version printed on a desktop printer that
looks exactly like the final product should look.
 You may also have to provide color
separations.
 A separation is a page for each color for every
page in the publication.
 It shows where each specific process or spot
color prints on each page.
 Separations are usually printed in black.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
15
Set Up a File for Commercial Printing
Some programs require you to set up a
file for commercial printing. If so, you
will see a dialog box similar to this one.
You select the type of printing
process to be used and then click
OK.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
16
Print Separations
Options for printing color separations can usually be found in
the Print or the Print Properties
dialog box.
You can usually choose to print
all colors or to select individual
colors to print.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
17
Save a File for Commercial Printing
 Before delivering your file to a commercial printer, you must
save it in a format that the printer can use.
 Many commercial printers now accept PageMaker and
Publisher native files.
 You must be sure to include all fonts and graphics used in
the publication.
 Many programs have a tool or utility to prepare a file for a
service provider.
 This sometimes packs all required files into one
compressed file.
 Some printers require files to be in PostScript format.
 Most programs can save files in this format.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
18
Pack the Publication Files
 The printer must be able to access all files,
graphics, and fonts to reproduce the document
accurately.
 Many desktop publishing programs have a utility
to pack all files into a common set of folders or a
single file.
 They usually also produce a file list that may be
required by your printer.
 The method for using this feature varies widely by
program.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
19
Save a PostScript File
 Most programs have the ability to convert
native files into PostScript format.
 To do this, they use a PPD that describes
the features of the printer that will be used
to print the document.
 Your printer can tell you what printer and what
PPD to use.
 The method for doing this varies by
program.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
20
Deliver Files to a Commercial Printer
 Files can usually be delivered to the printer in two
ways:
 Removable media – This includes floppy disks, CDROM or CD-RW format, Zip disks, or other storage
devices.
 Electronically – Send files via the Internet or some
other electronic transfer medium.
 Some printers prefer to receive a single
compressed file instead of a whole set of files.
 Use common compression utilities to do this.
 This also saves transfer time if they are being sent
over the Internet or phone line.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
21
Summary
 You can use a desktop printer to publish a
document if you need only a few copies or are
concerned about the cost.
 You can have a copy shop reproduce a publication if you need many copies, are in a hurry, and
are concerned about the cost.
 You should have a commercial printer publish a
document if you want the best quality, need many
copies, have special printing requests, and have
enough money in the budget.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
22
Summary (continued)
 Before printing, you should check the spelling and
design in a publication.
 Some programs have a design checker utility that
can locate problems such as too much text in a
text box or double spaces after punctuation.
 You set print properties to control the way a
document prints, but the properties vary depending on your printer, your desktop publishing
program, and the publication.
 Commercial printers usually require a composite
proof and separations.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
23
Summary (continued)
 Trapping helps eliminate gaps and overlaps
between adjoining colors.
 Many programs have a utility that automatically
prepares a file for commercial printing.
 You may have to save a file in PostScript format
for your commercial printer.
 You can deliver a publication file to a commercial
printer on disk or electronically.
 In some cases, you must deliver font and
graphics files as well.
Lesson 6 – Publishing a Document
24