Welcome

This is a Digital Prepress sixteen week course web supplement. This blog will contain a calendar, assignment postings/descriptions, test reviews, and vital information pertaining to digital prepress and how it relates to graphic designers.

Exam Review

Items to Study for Exams:
  • Study terminology pages 42-48, 72-73, & 122-127 from the Adobe Print Publishing Guide
  • Understand bleeds & bleed allowance
  • Know .125 is standard bleed size
  • File formats; Tiff, eps, photoshop eps, pdf
  • What is a lossy format?
  • Why transparency cause problems.
  • Know what print resolution is and what happens when you scale.
  • Resolution/Dpi
  • Halftones/Lpi
  • Dot gain: Cause & effect.
  • Types of presses & what they print on. (Screen Printing, Offset, Flexo Presses)
  • Imposition, binding types, bindery terminology.
  • Work in turn VS work in tumble.
  • Typography Terminology; Widow, Orphans, Leading.
  • Layout Terminology; baseline grid, gutters, etc.
  • Default paper sizes (letter, legal, ledger/tabloid, tabloid extra, etc)
  • Standard paper orientation. (portrait & landscape)
  • Know the default font for laser printers.
  • Know the differences between Laser printers and Ink Jet printers.
  • Understand how page number works.
Color:
  • Know additive & subtractive colors
  • Acceptable printing color space/modes
  • Proper Spot colors.
  • Know the color modes/spaces that are acceptable for printing.
  • Duotones, Multitone, spot colors, tinting
  • Additive and Subtractive colors
  • Know what registration color is used for.
  • CMYK = Process
  • Color separations: Use & Application.
Terminology:
  • Trim marks, registration, form, signature, Emboss, Deboss, bindery, Collate, dummy,.
  • Paragraph formatting, widow, orphans, baseline, baseline grid, justification, kerning, tracking.
  • 2up, gang run, saddle stitch, perfect binding, flat knife, Print resolution, moire.
  • Halftone, trapping, overprint, reverse type, gripper edge.
  • Binding terminology, saddle stitch, perfect binding, coil, trifold, bifold, scoring & crossover.
  • Photoshop eps, tiff, eps - what are they for which one do you use and for what purpose.
  • Post scripting, separations, crop marks, trim marks, registration marks.
  • Open type font, post script font, & true type font.
  • Know DTP(Direct to plate), platemaker, plate setter, image setter.
  • Short grain, long grain, matte, gloss, uncoated and other paper types.
  • Know what a moire is and when you see them.
 Concepts to know:
  • Know the different types of bindings.
  • Understand what profiling is used for.
  • Resolution and scaling.
  • How types of paper and printing affect quality.
  • Know when to use bleeds and trim marks.
  • Causes of dot gain and dot loss.
  • Understand how trapping works.
  • Know what a densitometer is and what it does.
  • Know about what transparency affects can do to prints.
  • Understand reverse type and overprinting.
  • Know what type of font to by and why.
  • General knowledge about scheduling, communication, and budgets.
  • Understand the difference between laser jet printers and ink jet printers.
  • Understand paper orientation and types of paper.
  • Understand Basic Design, Typography concepts & paragraph formatting.
  • How to build die lines.
  • Know about crossovers.


Calendar