Official Adobe Print Publishing Guide, Second Edition: The Essential Resource for Design, Production, and Prepress

The reality is that lots of graphic designers don't have formal design training, which can result in a problematic lack of production and printing knowledge. This book is easy to read (in a day), thoughtfully illustratrated, and covers the most important productino and printing issues that a designer should be aware of. The book is really good about inustructing the designer on what they should know and then giving the reader a list of questions/issues to discuss with their printer when the matter is outside the domain of the designer. Great stuff!

I know a teeny tiny bit of print. Spot colours - hmm I did know that one, but since I don't do much print (or haven't til this year) I was always at a loss when it came ready for the printer. This book is an essential guide for the non print designer. Terms, project proofing, even what a colour bar is (you know that strip of colour on the prepress and press proofs?) - it's all covered. There is a world of difference between making something for screen and print. If you have ever had someone ask to have a business card made, or a more complex print piece, and you usually export a 300 dpi TIFF and hope for the best this book helps take you further. Every introductory design course, not just a print course, should be covering this book to ensure that designers are well versed in all the verbage, processes and production issues that print demands. A great chapter in this book covers project management which most will not think of to be in a book like this. The added value of having this chapter allows one who is not familiar with print to understand ones responsibilities to the client, the printer and themselves. Do not waste time creating something the client may love and the printer will not deliver - at your quoted budget anyway. It all intertwines and knowing what questions to ask is the key to a better project. And don't forget that File Checkoff List.

This book was better than I had ever expected! I am a recent graduate and working in graphic design, and throughout school they never taught us much about pre-press. Now that I have to send my jobs to a commercial printer I realized that there was a lot that I had to learn. This book is great - it has interesting graphics and is set up in a way that makes it easy to read. It is a great tool for the beginner who needs to learn more about pre-press and printing issues, as well as the experienced designer for whom this would make an excellent resource book. It goes through the printing process and explains all aspects of pre-press, including how you should prepare your graphics before sending them off to a commercial printer and what you should leave for them to do for you. It also explains how to cut costs with your projects. I guarantee that no matter what your skill level, this book will become an important piece in your design library.

Where was this book when I was starting out? This is THE INDISPENSIBLE BOOK for everyone who has bought a copy of Corel Draw or Illustrator or (gad) Publisher and now thinks they are full fledged "desktop publishers." THIS BOOK IS CRAMMED FULL OF KNOWLEDGE that will separate you from the clueless. Buy it. Read it. Memorize it. Then go to your service bureau and learn some more!!

A clear and concise overview focusing on the intoductory knowledge needed to prepare documents for publishing - excellent illustrations - a necessary guide for every new Graphic Designer.