Open Prepress Interface (OPI)

Open Prepress Interface (OPI) is a bunch of PostScript language that uses low-resolution placeholders for large images in order to speed layout and proofing and save disk space when working in a page layout like Indesign and Quark Xpress. An OPI workflow takes low or medium resolution TIFF images for page layout and proofing in an application like InDesign, and then uses an OPI server to substitute high resolution images when the final print output is done.

When saving high resolution PDF from Indesign, Quark, Illustrator, etc, make sure to turn the OPI off. This keeps the high resolution image in the file. That way when you send you files to the printing company you don't have to worry about the files searching for a high resolution image when it is being ripped in the printing company's ripping program.

There is a box when you go to export your pdf out of Indesign, Quark, and Illustrator that has OPI, make sure that box is unchecked or grayed out. Sometimes when I receive a pdf that the OPI is turned on, and I try to rip it in Rampage, it will give me an error on the images which are supposed to be included in the pdf. So basicallly it is trying to find the high resolution image somewhere on an OPI server.

Usually small printers do not have an OPI server, so we keep all high resolution images in the files, by turning the OPI off. Hope this helps with learning about what OPI is.

Happy New Year Everyone! Have a safe one!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from all of us at Clinton Press!

Today I am going to explain how to crop a pdf with the cropping tool in Acrobat Professional.

I receive a lot of files with crop marks on them, but I have to take the crop marks off because we have to impose the files for printing. Meaning we set them 2 up on a sheet, etc.

Open up your pdf in Acrobat Professional, next select the crop tool at the top which is the blue square tool. Then draw a box over the area you wish to crop. Next double click and a box will appear, if you have more than one page in the document select ALL Pages and it will automatically crop all pages exactly the same as the one you drew a box around.

Next if you like the way the document cropped, save it out as a pdf and now you have a pdf without crop marks and I also have the bleed, because I cropped it at the bleed edge.

This is a really handy tool if the crop marks are outside the bleed area.

God bless you all and Merry Christmas! We hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Nikki

Fake Bleed on a PDF in Indesign

Hello,

Happy Holidays! Are you ready for Christmas? I just about finished my shopping. Years fly by so quickly these days.

Today I am going to tell you how to Fake Bleed a file in Indesign. Since we have been doing alot of digital printing lately, some people do not understand or even forget to save the PDF document with 1/8th of an inch bleed.

If I receive a PDF of a file that has a solid border or background I set up the Indesign file the same size as the PDF sent in. Then Import the PDF into your Indesign file. Go to the Window Tab: Output: then Separations Palette.

Next hold the arrow over the border or background color after you turn on the separations palette. Now you can read the measurements of color. My document has 40 cyan, 40 magenta, 40 yellow, and 100 black. Next I make the color as cmyk and add to my swatches.

Next draw a box, with bleed added and put the new color you made into it. Send it to the back, make sure it doesn't show through, if so change the linked image background color to paper.

Now you have 1/8th of an inch bleed. Next you can save your PDF out with the bleed and send to the digital press or ripping program.

Happy Holidays!

Nikki

How to change a cmyk color to pms in Rampage

Good Morning all!

If you use Rampage as a ripping program for your prepress department, here is a trick to use if you receive a pdf with cmyk type or photos in it.

First if I am trying to get around the cmyk document: for example the file came in as a pdf and size is 8.5 by 11. I set up a document in Indesign and import the pdf into the document and select paper from the color palette for the background of the pdf.

After that I select the pms color I want to use like 185 red. I draw a box on top of the pdf in Indesign and put pms 185 in the fill color of the box. Then I send it to the back of the pdf. You will not be able to see the 185 color behind the pdf.

Next I save the document out as an eps file and go to rip in Rampage. The pms will show up under the edit colors section, I then map the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black color to PMS 185 Red. WooHoo now I have a PMS 185 document for printing.

Have a great day!