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May 28, 2003Rant Mode: Getting It PrintedDon't let a service provider dictate your hardware and software choices. Find one who can accommodate your files and learn how to accommodate their short-comings. Until recent years, unless you were using QuarkXPress on a Mac, finding a commercial service to output your files was a tricky business. In online forums it's not uncommon for discussions about "the best hardware and software for desktop publishing" to still include warnings about how it's harder to get Windows files printed and that printers don't like Microsoft Publisher. There are probably still service providers who cling tenaciously to the "old ways" turning up their noses at PCs, scoffing at PDFs, and refusing to take on InDesign because not enough people are using it. That's changing. It's still important to prepare your files properly and according to the specifications required by your service bureau or commerical printer. Don't blame your service provider when it's your own sloppiness that makes your files a nightmare to get printed. However, don't be bullied into believing that your file can't possibly be printed properly or that it will cost a heavy premium just because you aren't using "the right software." • You don't have to work with the only guy in town. Shop around. Drive a little further. Take your work long distance. Find an authorized service provider for your software of choice. • Don't send native format files. Learn how to use PostScript files. • Consider PDF. It's more and more widely accepted for prepress and like PostScript, it doesn't matter what hardware or software was used to create it as long as it's done properly. Those last two points can help you circumvent situations where you are forced to work with a specific service provider due to business contracts or the insistence of clients. OK, I will concede the point that some small shops (and even large ones) simply don't have the resources to handle every possible type of file. Hardware and software upgrades as well as personnel training can be prohibitive. As a designer, I'd want them to be upfront (and friendly) about what they can and cannot handle and why. Perhaps we can still work together if I can present them with the perfect PostScript file, camera-ready copy, or some other arrangement. Where there's a will, there's a way. Rant Mode OFF. Go print something! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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