Prepress is a procedure performed by the staff of the printing house before the layout is sent to print. As a rule, all work is carried out in electronic format, and the final version is given to the printing house in this form.
The importance of the prepress stage of creating a layout is due to the fact that prepress eliminates the risk of incorrect printing of a business card or releasing a catalog in black and white format.
When preparing the layout for printing, such aspects as the design of the font, its size, and even color are taken into account.
The main stages of prepress
Among specialists, the preparation stage before printing is called prepress, and it means the creation of an electronic layout of printed products.
At this stage, many publishing tools and specialized software are used. Several specialists usually take part in prepress at the same time, and each of them is responsible for carrying out a specific area of work:
1. Transferring information from paper media to electronic format.
2. Converting files from one platform to another.
3. Color proofing and color correction.
4. Collecting data which is indispensable for printing.
Quite often, difficulties may arise during the work process, and their elimination requires additional time. It is recommended to use the services of professional specialists who will solve problems of different levels of complexity in a short time.
Prepress involves performing certain actions using various tools. These actions include:
1. Developing the design and advertising concept of the company or a particular brand.
2. Creating the primary layout in electronic format.
3. Making amendments and changes, coordination with the client.
4. Creating a colored sample of the future product.
5. Creating the final version of the layout.
In the course of prepress, it is necessary to pay attention to:
· The format of the color model of the product. The format of the saved file will determine the area of its further use: either for printing or for demonstrating on an electronic medium.
· Resolution. The print quality of the product depends on this indicator. The specialist chooses the optimal ratio when saving the layout.
· Bleeds. Printed sheets are trimmed with knives, although it is not always possible to comply with the crop marks. Bleeds are created to prevent serious deviations when working on the layout. They help to avoid the appearance of white fragments on the edges.
