{
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    "title": "Tanya Sokolovskaya's blog: posts tagged Agroinvestor",
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            "name": "Tanya Sokolovskaya",
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            "url": "https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/images-and-offset-printing\/",
            "title": "How I prepare magazine images for offset printing",
            "content_html": "<iframe width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AwOpRX2CxQA?si=M8PK34REL1J0s8gA\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>This video contains updated and more relevant information on preparing images for offset printing. The post itself needs an update, so make sure to check out the video for the latest tips and techniques.<\/p>\n<p>Images in a multi-page publication must be prepared to look good when printed. Typically, print shops have different requirements for offset printing, but the general principle of preparation is pretty much the same for all of them. I’ll give you an example <a href=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/tags\/agroinvestor\/\">of my work for Agroinvestor magazine<\/a> so that the print shop accepts the layout for the first time and the images remain high quality.<\/p>\n<p>There are four essential points in image preparation: the resolution (300 dpi), the colour model (CMYK), the colour profile (for our print shop, this is ISO Coated v2 300 % (ECI)) and the sum of the colours (no more than 300 %). At first glance, nothing complicated: take a picture of a suitable resolution, do colour separation in the right profile, and that’s it. However, apart from these points, there is an essential aspect of offset printing that I want to talk about, but let’s go through it one by one.<\/p>\n<h2>layout stage<\/h2>\n<p>During the layout stage, I use low-resolution photos. Most of them even have the watermarks of photobanks, and it doesn’t matter at this stage. This is what the linked files look like in the document:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/18-3.jpg\" width=\"415\" height=\"565\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">The two right-hand columns show the actual resolution (left) and the effective resolution (right)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As you can see, all the images are in an RGB colour scheme, and most have a resolution of 72 dpi. This resolution is optimal for screens but very low for printing. And the effective resolution, in general, jumps around a lot. Let me explain, the actual resolution is the actual size of the picture, while the effective resolution is the size of the picture in the layout. If the actual resolution is 72 dpi and the effective one is 117, the layout picture is reduced by half. And vice versa, the picture is enlarged if the actual resolution is higher than the effective one. In the finished layout, their values should be the same.<\/p>\n<h2>Exporting images<\/h2>\n<p>I prefer to prepare the images for printing once the layout of the whole issue has been approved. That has its advantages:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Things can change in the process: an article is replaced, strips are removed or added, pictures are sent in differently, ads are unexpectedly up, and so on.<\/li>\n<li>The original images are collected and sent to the photo editor, so it’s more convenient for me to get all the pictures at once rather than after each approved article. Also, if a photo from a photobank is suddenly replaced and has already been bought, then the money is spent for nothing.<\/li>\n<li>At any time, the chief editor can remove or add a piece of text within an article, which means that the size of an image will have to be changed because space on the page is limited. If the images were already ready to be printed, this work would have to be done again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When all the articles are collapsed, I proceed to process the images. As you may remember, the images are of poor quality, and to send them to the photo editor for redemption, I need to gather all the images of the issue into one folder. To do this, I pack the files in print:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-31-at-17.38.10.jpg\" width=\"616\" height=\"559\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Next, check Copy Linked Graphics. No other checkboxes are needed:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-07-31-at-17.39.21-3.jpg\" width=\"841\" height=\"592\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>The result is a Links folder with all the images, which I hand over to the photo editor, who sends me the original high-resolution images.<\/p>\n<p>I also create three additional folders: PSD RGB, TIF Lab, and TIF CMYK.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-11.36.16.png\" width=\"680\" height=\"139\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Links contain all the images in the issue; Photos — the images to be redeemed; Photos Original — their originals. The PSD RGB, TIF Lab and TIF CMYK folders are needed so that I can return to them at each stage of processing the photo and, if necessary, make changes. I’ll go into more detail about these stages next.<\/p>\n<h2>Resolution<\/h2>\n<p>Next, pay attention to the resolution. There are several sources of images: for example, pictures from photobanks are of high quality, but pictures from agro-companies or their websites are often in low resolution, and it’s almost impossible to get the originals.<\/p>\n<p>Let’s say I was sent a photo at 72 dpi, but the picture itself is quite large 67×38 cm:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-12.39.31.png\" width=\"1079\" height=\"606\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>I unchecked Resample and changed the resolution from 72 to 300. The image size is now considerably smaller — 16×9 cm:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-12.43.20.png\" width=\"1080\" height=\"605\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ideally, this picture at 100% should be no larger than 16×9 cm in a layout. But what if I need it in a larger format? In such a situation, I enlarge the image by 15-20%. If an even larger format is required, the photo editor asks for the source, and if it’s not available, we look for a replacement image.<\/p>\n<p>It may also be that an image is sent with a dpi value between 200 and 300. In that case, I increase the dpi value to 300, which will also not appear in the printout. When the dpi is less than 200, it’s not worth enlarging the picture, we will not see pixels in print, but there will be some graininess.<\/p>\n<h2>Colour profile and ink sum<\/h2>\n<p>Our print shop has a requirement to use the ISO Coated v2 300 % (ECI) colour profile. This profile makes my job easier: by running the images through it, the sum of the colours in the overprints automatically becomes less than 300 %. The ink sum is the amount of ink applied to the paper. The image will be pale if the value is less than 300%. If the ink sum exceeds 300%, the sheet risks soaking through and staining the adjacent pages.<\/p>\n<p>You can determine the amount of colour in an image in several ways in Photoshop, but I find it much more convenient to do it through Indesign. Go to Window → Output → Separations Preview:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-14.54.07.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"442\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>And in Ink Limit mode, select the desired percentage:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-14.56.58.jpg\" width=\"1141\" height=\"564\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Red spots in the image indicate that the colour limit has been exceeded in these areas. This way, even at the layout stage, I can quickly check all the images in the article.<\/p>\n<p>I have the required CMYK profile in Photoshop by default. This is done in the settings: Edit → Colour Settings:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-15.02.04.jpg\" width=\"884\" height=\"558\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">I downloaded the profile online beforehand<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>From RGB to CMYK<\/h2>\n<p>All images can be divided into simple and complicated.<\/p>\n<p><b>Simple<\/b>— converts from RGB to CMYK with no problems:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1200\" data-ratio=\"1.5\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/117093432_l-rgb.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/117093432_l-cmyk.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first picture is RGB, and the second one is CMYK. There is practically no difference between them.<\/p>\n<p><b>Complicated<\/b> — includes unprintable colours that are lost in offset printing:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1200\" data-ratio=\"1.5189873417722\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/plant-fruit-food-red-produce-vegetable-1221993-pxhere.com-rgb.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"790\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/plant-fruit-food-red-produce-vegetable-1221993-pxhere.com-cmyk.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"790\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first picture is RGB, and the second is CMYK. As you can see, the bright green and red are “eaten away” in the second one, and the detail and volume in these areas are lost. You can solve this problem by contaminating the colours.<\/p>\n<p>Open our photo in Photoshop and work in the RGB colour model. To quickly see if there are any unprintable colours in the picture, go to View → Proof Setup and select Working CMYK (you already have the right colour profile for it):<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-15.26.19-1.jpg\" width=\"624\" height=\"298\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>And with the Proof Colours command, we can switch between modes:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-15.32.12.jpg\" width=\"1081\" height=\"769\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Reminder: work in RGB. To get rid of the unprintable colour, create a Selective Colour adjustment layer:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-15.46.50.jpg\" width=\"280\" height=\"564\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>We have two unprintable colours — red and green, so it’s these that we will “pollute”. And we do it with opposite colours — for red, we raise Cyan, and in green, we increase Magenta:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-08-at-15.52.31.jpg\" width=\"587\" height=\"308\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Let’s compare the three pictures now:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1200\" data-ratio=\"1.5189873417722\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/plant-fruit-food-red-produce-vegetable-1221993-pxhere.com-rgb.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"790\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/plant-fruit-food-red-produce-vegetable-1221993-pxhere.com-cmyk.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"790\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/plant-fruit-food-red-produce-vegetable-1221993-pxhere.com-cmyk2.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"790\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first picture is RGB.<br \/>\nThe second is direct conversion to CMYK.<br \/>\nThe third one is converted to CMYK with an adjustment layer Selective Colour. Our picture is a bit darker, you can fix it if you want, but the tomatoes are still rich, and the leaves show details.<\/p>\n<p>Let’s look at another example:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1200\" data-ratio=\"1.7777777777778\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/sea-ocean-horizon-light-cloud-sky-795494-pxhere.com.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-12-at-15.54.15.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"676\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/sea-ocean-horizon-light-cloud-sky-795494-pxhere.com_2.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is where I contaminated yellow and red:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-17.38.39.jpg\" width=\"583\" height=\"319\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first picture is the original.<br \/>\nThe second picture is the Proof Colours view. You can see how the brightest areas get soapy, and the smallest details disappear.<br \/>\nThe third picture is corrected. It’s not as colourful and bright now, but printing such colours is impossible. I think it’s more critical to preserve details.<\/p>\n<h2>Feature of offset printing<\/h2>\n<p>The sharpness of offset printing decreases quite dramatically, which means it should be compensated technically. This is done in Photoshop with Unsharp Mask and must be done in several steps — separately in the Lab Lightness and CMYK Black channels.<\/p>\n<p>I’ve taken a rather dark picture with a black object to show the impact of the sharpening more clearly.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/1-14.jpg\" width=\"2539\" height=\"1693\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>So, open the picture in Photoshop and create two duplicate layers:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.32.03.jpg\" width=\"277\" height=\"237\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">I renamed them Lab and CMYK to make it clearer<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Convert the image from RGB to Lab without merging layers. Go to the Lightness channel, apply the Unsharp Mask filter with an impact strength of 100, radius 3 px:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.11.57.jpg\" width=\"683\" height=\"484\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is what we see:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.20.51.jpg\" width=\"1373\" height=\"967\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Next, convert the image from Lab to CMYK without merging the layers again. Go to the Black channel and apply the Unsharp Mask filter with a value of 300% and a radius of 1 px:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.13.21.jpg\" width=\"691\" height=\"492\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>The values for Unsharp Mask in the Lightness and Black channels may differ. I have taken the average as an example.<\/p>\n<p>The picture looks like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.20.58.jpg\" width=\"1370\" height=\"1005\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>A bright white border surrounds the black details, but you don’t have to be afraid to sharpen the black channel. The triad colours will underlie this white border, and the result will be a soft glow that will accentuate the darker objects:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1363\" data-ratio=\"1.4183142559834\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.48.30.jpg\" width=\"1363\" height=\"961\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/1working-sand-sunset-tractor-night-morning-793868-pxhere.com.jpg\" width=\"1363\" height=\"961\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can optionally enable the display for Lab layers in triad only and CMYK in black only:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.28.30.jpg\" width=\"1063\" height=\"482\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">You can add a little transparency to this layer to soften the sharp effect<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-18.28.41.jpg\" width=\"1063\" height=\"484\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>You may think the picture is heavily sharpened, but in offset printing, the sharpness will drop a lot, and this sharpening will make the picture clear. Also, remember that on the screen, we see an image at 300 dpi, in reality, it will be three times smaller. You can move away from the screen by 1.5–2 metres and look at the image. Everything will be okay in print if it looks good from a distance.<\/p>\n<p>I’ll show you an example of a magazine photo that I processed. Here’s a sharpened photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-19.00.12.jpg\" width=\"1031\" height=\"1160\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>And this is the photo in the magazine:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/IMG_3498.JPG\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>As another example, I’ll show you a piece of advertising that was sent in ready to print, and I can’t intrude on it:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-19.16.32.jpg\" width=\"962\" height=\"609\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>On the left is a fragment of advertising layout, and on the right is a photo from a magazine. As you can see, the layout was not sharpened, and the output was blurred.<\/p>\n<p>Do not sharpen an RGB image. Otherwise, you risk having white ghosting around dark objects, which will not disappear when printed because there is no triadic backing:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-19.34.54.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"848\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">So please don’t do it<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another thing I want to point out is the exposure. The printed image will always be darker than what we see on the screen. So if the picture seems dark, you need to lighten it up a bit. Otherwise, it might turn out to be a completely black nothing. For example, I sent the picture above to print like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-09-at-20.09.55.jpg\" width=\"1478\" height=\"1064\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>It’s darker in the magazine, but the grasses are still visible:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/IMG_3498.JPG\" width=\"1000\" height=\"750\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is all about the basics of image preparation. There are nuances in converting monochrome images from RGB to CMYK, but we don’t see those in our magazine, so I’ve written about that <a href=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/black-and-white-printing\/\">separate post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Stages of work and their automation<\/h2>\n<p>Now, point by point, what and in which order I do when I get the original photos from the photo editor, and the layout is approved.<\/p>\n<h3>1. Resolution and processing<\/h3>\n<p>I open my first image in Photoshop, check its resolution, correct it if needed and start processing. Processing can include anything: clipping, cleaning of unnecessary elements, sometimes I make a collage of several photos or changing the background, somewhere you want to pull the black point and correct the ragged horizon — in general, there are all the necessary aesthetics.<\/p>\n<h3>2. Unprintable Colours and Exposure<\/h3>\n<p>I use Proof Colours to check my image for unprintable colours and correct it with Selective Colours if necessary. I lighten the image a little. In my experience with our print shop, I prefer to lighten almost all images. Otherwise, even light images in print come out darker than the screen.<\/p>\n<p>I save the Photoshop file in a PSD RGB folder when I am visually happy with everything. Now I have a finished image in full size that I can return to at any time.<\/p>\n<h3>3. Image size<\/h3>\n<p>In Indesign, I look at the actual size of the previously processed image within the layout:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-12-at-14.30.22.jpg\" width=\"496\" height=\"520\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>I go to Photoshop, crop the image and resize it according to the layout:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-12-at-14.56.11.jpg\" width=\"1000\" height=\"751\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>All the images in the print-ready file must be at 100% scale, and the effective resolution is 300 dpi. Right now, the effective resolution of my picture in Indesign is twice as high:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-12-at-15.06.42.jpg\" width=\"419\" height=\"90\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">It shouldn’t be like this<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you skip that step and leave the images at their original size, the resulting file will weigh a lot. It will be hard to work with, and the print shop will scold you :-)<\/p>\n<p>And here is an important point, when the image size fits the layout, I create a new action in Photoshop and call it Sharp:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/Screen-Shot-2022-09-12-at-15.13.57.jpg\" width=\"398\" height=\"158\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Now all my actions are recorded. I converted the picture from RGB to Lab, merged all the layers, and saved the file in TIF format in the TIF Lab folder.<\/p>\n<h3>4. Sharpness<\/h3>\n<p>I go to the Lab Lightness channel and sharpen the picture. Convert from Lab to CMYK, sharpen the black channel, and save the image in TIF format to the TIF CMYK folder. I closed the file and stopped the action recording. Now I have action, which I apply to all further images after their initial processing.<\/p>\n<p>When all the images are ready, I go to Indesign and replace all the images with those in the TIF CMYK folder. At this stage, I review each image, and if I don’t like something, I can always go back to any stage of its processing and correct it. That’s why I save files separately in additional folders.<\/p>\n<p>And this is what the linked files look like after their preparation for printing:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/19-4.jpg\" width=\"419\" height=\"548\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you have any questions, let me know, I’ll try to help :-)<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2022-09-13T11:26:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2024-09-12T12:10:34+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Advice",
                "Agroinvestor",
                "Layout Design",
                "Magazine",
                "Printing"
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            "image": "https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/18-3.jpg",
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            "url": "https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/prepress-indesign\/",
            "title": "Pre-press in InDesign",
            "content_html": "<p>Preparing a design correctly for printing is a time-consuming task. You need to check fonts, images, colours, and format, consider transparent elements, and adjust exports so that the print shop accepts the file for printing. Let me tell you what I do for the periodical Agroinvestor and how I do it.<\/p>\n<h3>Bleed parameter<\/h3>\n<p>The Bleed parameter must be set when creating a new document. The value can be obtained from the print shop, usually 3–5 mm:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/5-10.jpg\" width=\"417\" height=\"591\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is to control the elements that go under the crop. In the document, Bleed is shown with a red border around the outline of the workspace. In the image below, you can see that the line in the header extends beyond the sheet and reaches the red border:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/6-12.jpg\" width=\"764\" height=\"701\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>This means that in printed form, the page will look like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/7-9.jpg\" width=\"733\" height=\"706\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>If the line is not brought to the red frame but left at the edge of the sheet:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/8-11.jpg\" width=\"796\" height=\"724\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>In print, we run the risk of getting this result:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/9-7.jpg\" width=\"721\" height=\"711\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>The fact is that there is always an error of 2–3 mm when printing undercuts, both in and outside the working area. The Bleed parameter helps to eliminate it.<\/p>\n<h3>Preview mode<\/h3>\n<p>During the layout process, I always switch between Normal and Preview modes. Preview mode helps to ensure that all the trim lines are trimmed and that the relevant elements stay within the printable area. In the images below, you can see that the lines in the header and footer extend beyond the printable area, which means they will be cropped correctly. The Preview shows how the finished spread will look in print:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1441\" data-ratio=\"1.4438877755511\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/1-13.jpg\" width=\"1441\" height=\"998\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/2-12.jpg\" width=\"1441\" height=\"998\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Normal — Preview<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>High-Quality Display mode<\/h3>\n<p>To control the resolution of images, I work in High-Quality Display mode. If an image is blurry or pixelated, you must pay attention to it. I’ll talk about more precise control of images below, but for the layout phase, High-Quality Display mode is sufficient:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"734\" data-ratio=\"0.73620862587763\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/3-6.jpg\" width=\"734\" height=\"997\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/4-9.jpg\" width=\"734\" height=\"997\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">In High-Quality Display mode, you can see that the image is of high quality<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Text and spelling<\/h3>\n<p>During the layout process, I always check the tails of text boxes. The red plus sign in the bottom right corner means that there is hidden text inside the box — this should be corrected:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/12-3.jpg\" width=\"387\" height=\"678\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>To see how much text is hanging by the tail, you can click on the plus sign to create another text box, and you can also turn on the Story Editor:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/13-5.jpg\" width=\"622\" height=\"775\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>A window will open with all the text in the frame. The grey horizontal Overset line and the red vertical line indicate a piece of text that is not displayed:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/14-4.jpg\" width=\"689\" height=\"375\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>To control spelling, I switch on Dynamic Spelling mode:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/15-3.jpg\" width=\"671\" height=\"787\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>It automatically underlines unfamiliar words and words that may contain an error, just like a text editor:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/11-4.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"603\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>A red underline indicates a grammatical error. A green underline indicates that the word is preceded by a full stop, meaning it should start with a capital letter. In my case, it’s not considered a mistake :-)<\/p>\n<p>If you select Check Spelling, you can manually go through all underlined words and replace them if necessary.<\/p>\n<h3>Image check<\/h3>\n<p>The High-Quality Display mode allows you to monitor the quality of images visually. I have a Links panel set up for more accurate monitoring:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/16-4.jpg\" width=\"252\" height=\"490\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>I am comfortable seeing the following values:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/17-4.jpg\" width=\"429\" height=\"474\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is how it appears in the working document:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/18-2.jpg\" width=\"415\" height=\"565\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can see that the colour schemes of the images are RGB, and the quality is poor, so you can’t print them. After preparing the images for printing (there is <a href=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/images-and-offset-printing\/\">a post about it<\/a>), the values look like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/19-2.jpg\" width=\"419\" height=\"548\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>I can now see that all the document’s images are ready to print.<\/p>\n<h3>Checking fonts<\/h3>\n<p>When I work on a periodical, I use text styles. I wrote about them <a href=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/optimizing-magazine-process\/\">in a post about optimizing for a magazine<\/a>, so I always keep my fonts in order. But if the project is new, I always check which fonts are used in the document before sending it to the print shop. This is to avoid accidentally printing any incorrect font without the appropriate license. You can see the fonts in the document itself:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/21-2.jpg\" width=\"326\" height=\"688\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>And if necessary, immediately replace the random font:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/20-2.jpg\" width=\"472\" height=\"364\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can also view all the fonts just before exporting the file to print, which I will explain further.<\/p>\n<p>You should also check whether the fonts are OpenType or TrueType. Some print shops may not accept a layout if it contains TrueType fonts, for example. Such fonts can be converted to curves.<\/p>\n<h3>Checking for errors<\/h3>\n<p>I keep track of errors in the file in the bar at the bottom left:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/22-2.jpg\" width=\"567\" height=\"49\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>If I can’t find an error visually, the Preflight panel rescues me. It’s also handy to use if there are a lot of errors:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/24.jpg\" width=\"434\" height=\"259\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>It’s OK when the indicator light in the bottom panel glows green:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/23-1.jpg\" width=\"576\" height=\"38\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Preflight panel can be adjusted for each new project, but the basic settings are generally sufficient.<\/p>\n<p>Errors can also be tracked right at the stage of packing files for printing, as I will discuss next.<\/p>\n<h3>Black control<\/h3>\n<p>The print shop requires that the ink sum for the black colour in the images should not exceed 300%. You can check this with the Separations Preview panel. I have set the Ink Limit to 300%. This is how I can see parts of the image that exceed the Ink Limit — they are highlighted in red:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/25-2.jpg\" width=\"1047\" height=\"984\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>To fix this, I saved the image in the ISO Coated v2 300 (ECI) colour profile, which our print shop uses. I’ll talk more about colour profiles in a separate post. I refreshed the image and looked again with Separations Preview:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/26-1.jpg\" width=\"1047\" height=\"984\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you have a solid black somewhere, it’s important to remember to make it composite, e. g. 50 50 50 100 (CMYK). If you take black with a composition of 0 0 0 100, i.e. 100% black ink only, you risk getting a poor colour in printing:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/27-1.jpg\" width=\"295\" height=\"124\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Transparency<\/h3>\n<p>Another point is to check the layout for transparent objects. This ensures that all transparent objects and the elements they affect are printed correctly — as the design intends. For example, I added a transparent rectangle to the layout. In Flattener Preview mode, all transparency is highlighted in red:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/28-1.jpg\" width=\"1707\" height=\"989\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>There you can also see all the transparent elements, i.e. those that are touched by the transparent rectangle:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/29-1.jpg\" width=\"1701\" height=\"996\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>It’s crucial to check transparency if the print shop requires a file compatible with Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3), as this version does not support transparent objects. All transparency will be rasterized when exported, and you must set export parameters. This can be done in the Flattener Preview panel:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/30-1.jpg\" width=\"668\" height=\"699\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>This is how to create a preset with the right settings and use it when exporting. I know that “Agroinvestor” magazine has no transparency in its layout, so I don’t bother with the preset but use the built-in High Resolution preset:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/31.jpg\" width=\"672\" height=\"661\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Export<\/h3>\n<p>I use the Book format in InDesign in my periodical work (I’ll talk about it in a separate post), so I use the Package Book For Print command to export the file to print. A window pops up where I can tick all the checkboxes I want to get into the export package — I only want the PDF file, and I also select a pre-saved export preset for Agroinvestor:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/32-1.jpg\" width=\"841\" height=\"592\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>The preset settings are like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"674\" data-ratio=\"1.0181268882175\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/33-1.jpg\" width=\"674\" height=\"662\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/34-1.jpg\" width=\"674\" height=\"662\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/35-1.jpg\" width=\"674\" height=\"662\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/36-1.jpg\" width=\"674\" height=\"662\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Compatible with Acrobat 4 (PDF 1.3) for print shop requirements and ZIP compression for images.<br \/>\nUse the blends installed in the layout.<br \/>\nExport images in the desired colour profile (this setting is just in case, all images <a href=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/images-and-offset-printing\/\">I prepare in advance<\/a>.<br \/>\nUse High Resolution preset for transparent objects.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>And finally, a final check for errors:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"568\" data-ratio=\"1.2511013215859\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/37-1.jpg\" width=\"568\" height=\"454\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/38-1.jpg\" width=\"568\" height=\"454\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/40-1.jpg\" width=\"568\" height=\"454\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/39-1.jpg\" width=\"568\" height=\"454\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Here you can see that there are no errors, the fonts are OK, the images are OK too<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I get the file and send it to the print shop :-)<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2022-08-05T11:30:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-06-02T13:02:15+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Advice",
                "Agroinvestor",
                "Layout Design"
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            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Fri, 05 Aug 2022 11:30:00 +0100",
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            "id": "5",
            "url": "https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/optimizing-magazine-process\/",
            "title": "How to optimise work on a magazine",
            "content_html": "<p>I recently told you <a href=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/agroinvestor-test\/\">how I completed a test assignment and got a job<\/a> at a publishing house, and today I’m going to tell you about preparing my first issue of the magazine.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at the previous designer’s source files and realised this format would be awkward. This is what a folder of one issue looks like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/1-11.jpg\" width=\"256\" height=\"576\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Each magazine article is in a separate folder, and inside each folder are subfolders with images and fonts and a file with some instructions. It so happened that I was not handed the files correctly. I could not communicate with the ex-designer to clarify anything and could only guess at his processes.<\/p>\n<p>So the first thing I did before starting work was to optimise everything as much as possible.<\/p>\n<p>To do this, I created one InDesign file (ai_temp.indd) in which I configured the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>page header templates,<\/li>\n<li>paragraph styles,<\/li>\n<li>GREP styles,<\/li>\n<li>all the necessary graphics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let me explain each of these points in detail.<\/p>\n<h3>Page header templates<\/h3>\n<p>The periodical has two dynamic elements on all pages and needs to be changed in each issue — the issue number and the headings. These elements are located in the header and footer:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/3-5.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"890\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>I saved the header in the A-master template, in which I will change the month and publication number. And based on this A-master, I created templates with a header in which I prescribed the possible headings:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/2-11.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"636\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>So, when starting a new issue, I copy my ai_temp.indd file and change the month and number in the A-Master template. Next, I assign the header template to the pages when starting the new article.<\/p>\n<h3>Paragraph styles<\/h3>\n<p>To make it easy to work with the text and avoid confusing its layout, I have created all the possible styles in the magazine in the file ai_temp.indd. It looks like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/4-8.jpg\" width=\"239\" height=\"523\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Absolutely all styles are based on Basic Paragraph, in which GREP styles are prescribed for correct hyphenation within the text.<\/p>\n<h3>GREP styles<\/h3>\n<p>To remove dangling characters at the end of a line, I created five hyphenation rules:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>for prepositions with a lowercase letter:<\/b> (?<= )((в|во|без|до|из|к|ко|на|по|о|от|перед|при|через|с|у|не|за|над|для|об|под|про|и|а|но|да|или|ли|бы|то|что|как|я|он|мы|они|ни)( |\\. |, ))+<\/li>\n<li><b>for prepositions with a capital letter:<\/b> ((?<= )|(?<=^))((В|Во|Без|До|Из|К|Ко|На|По|О|От|Перед|При|Через|С|У|Нет|За|Над|Для|Об|Под|Про|И|А|Но|Да|Или|Ли|Бы|То|Что|Как|Я|Он|Мы|Они|Ни) )+<\/li>\n<li><b>for numerical values:<\/b> (?<=\\d)(.)<\/li>\n<li><b>for the dash:<\/b> (?<=) (—)<\/li>\n<li><b>for units of measure:<\/b> (?<= )((га|гг.|дм|долл|др.|же|кг|мг|мл|млн|млрд|мм|нм|с.|см|стр.|руб.|тыс.)( |\\. |, ))+<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It looks like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/5-9.jpg\" width=\"917\" height=\"709\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">I add new values as needed<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Graphics<\/h3>\n<p>In CC Libraries, I have kept the colour palette and graphic elements that are most common in articles:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/7-8.jpg\" width=\"245\" height=\"658\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>There are also icons inside some of the headings. I’ve put them in a separate Illustrator file so that I can edit them:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/6-11.jpg\" width=\"732\" height=\"811\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>This way, all the elements are at your fingertips, and you don’t have to search for them every time in old releases and go to the source files to copy them.<\/p>\n<p><hr\/><\/p>\n<p>Next, I created a new book (New Book) in InDesign for the magazine’s new issue and named it AI_June-07.indb. I copy my file ai_temp.indd and give it the name ai_6-13_sobitiya.indd, where “ai” is agroinvestor, “6-13” — page numbers for a particular article, “sobitiya” — rubric. I added this file to the book and gave it the correct page numbering.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/8-10.jpg\" width=\"613\" height=\"509\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/9-6.jpg\" width=\"446\" height=\"467\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Then I assign the pages a template with the required header and proceed with the layout.<\/p>\n<p>The book format is helpful for multi-page publications if they have chapters or headings. I will discuss this in more detail in a separate post.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2021-06-10T14:56:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-06-06T11:30:03+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Advice",
                "Agroinvestor",
                "Magazine"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/1-11.jpg",
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            "id": "6",
            "url": "https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/all\/agroinvestor-test\/",
            "title": "Completed a test assignment for a publisher and got the job",
            "content_html": "<p>I decided that the best way to understand the workings of periodicals was to look at the process from the inside, so since May, I have been working as a layout designer for a business magazine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.agroinvestor.ru\">Agroinvestor<\/a>. This is now my main activity, and the blog posts will focus on it. I will show you how the processes of publishing a magazine are arranged, what is essential in the layout and preparation of the publication for printing, and how to optimise your work from issue to issue.<\/p>\n<h2>How I got into publishing<\/h2>\n<p>I want to give some confidence to newcomers who wish to work on a periodical. At the time of my job search, I had no experience in this field. Orders for multi-page layouts were, of course, but still, periodicals work differently. After two months of searching, I was interviewed by the chief editor, who gave me a test assignment. To my surprise, even just getting a test assignment proved problematic if you didn’t have the necessary experience. So anything is possible, as long as you keep at it :-)<\/p>\n<h3>Test Assignment<\/h3>\n<p>The essence of the test assignment is to repeat the current layout. The chief editor sent me a text to be layout and some magazine pages:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1191\" data-ratio=\"1.5\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/1-10.jpg\" width=\"1191\" height=\"794\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/2-10.jpg\" width=\"1191\" height=\"794\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/3-4.jpg\" width=\"1191\" height=\"794\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Agroinvestor, May 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Before starting work, I “deconstructed” the layout and identified the grid, fonts, styles, and bad points I could already correct.<\/p>\n<p><b>A five-column grid<\/b> in the body of the article, with the speaker box at the bottom of the page taking on a life of its own and defying any logic:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/5-8.jpg\" width=\"597\" height=\"794\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>I recognised the fonts<\/b> in Adobe Acrobat. I was lucky because they sent me a pdf file, but they could have also sent me a jpeg. This is how I identified all the fonts in the document:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/6-10.jpg\" width=\"1114\" height=\"1758\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>The styles<\/b> include a three-line drop cap, colour palette, font size and styles for body text, headings, headers, text within illustrations with tables, and line widths in the design.<\/p>\n<p>The <b>unfortunate points<\/b> caught my eye immediately — the lack of optical alignment and block alignment in general, the holes within the text canvas and, of course, the dangling prepositions. The thinned lowercase also caught my eye, but there’s nothing I can do about them (yet) — they’re design elements:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/7-7.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"1051\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Highlighted some points<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In this post, I won’t describe the layout of the test job itself. I’ll talk about the layout and the nuances at another time. Below are a couple of spreadsheets of my layout:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1191\" data-ratio=\"1.5\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/8-8.jpg\" width=\"1191\" height=\"794\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/tsokolovskaya.com\/blog\/pictures\/9-5.jpg\" width=\"1191\" height=\"794\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I sent the final work to the chief editor and told him about the design improvements. A couple of days later, I received an invitation :-)<\/p>\n<h3>What else do you need to know about working on a periodical<\/h3>\n<p>In addition to being able to layout InDesign, you need to understand the principles of offset printing, prepare images for offset printing, and upload a file for the print shop to meet their requirements. I’ll go on to cover all of this in detail over time.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2021-05-26T13:24:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-06-06T11:23:21+01:00",
            "tags": [
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                "Magazine"
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