file formats
DESCRIPTION
An examination of how scholastic and collegiate media submit their files, both embedded/linked photo files and page files.TRANSCRIPT
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CMYK vs. RGB, JPEG vs TIFF, PDF vs. IDDBy Bradley [email protected]©2013
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Color modes
• CMYK – cyan, magenta, yellow and black• Used in the printing process• For reflected light• A subtractive process
• RGB – red, green and blue• Used when the output is a monitor (TV, computer screen, etc.)• For transmitted light• An additive process
• Hexadecimal – red, green and blue• Simply a re-numeration of the RGB model• #ffffff = white, #ff0000 = red, #00ff00 = green, etc
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Photo file formats
• JPEG
• TIFF
•EPS
•GIF
•PSD
•Raw
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Photo file formats
• JPEG — Joint Photographic Experts Group
• TIFF — Tagged Image File Format
•EPS — Encapsulated PostScript
•GIF — Graphic Interchange Format
•PSD — Photoshop Document, the native format for Photoshop
•Raw — raw, uncompressed data (not an acronym)
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Other file formats
• IDD — Adobe InDesign native format
•PDF — (Adobe) Portable Document Format
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JPEG vs. Raw
http://www.photo.net/learn/raw/
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JPEG vs. Raw
• JPEG is faster
• JPEG files are smaller
• JPEG is a compression scheme (so is TIFF)
•Raw files require post-exposure processing
•Bob Atkins: “You lose nothing by shooting raw except for time and the number of images you can fit on a memory card.”
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Printing terms and formulas
• LPI — lines per inch; the number of halftone lines in a published photo (LPI=DPI * 10%)
•DPI — dots per inch; the number of dots in an image formed by a laser printer or imagesetter (ex: 600dpi, 1200dpi)
•PPI — pixels per inch; a pixel is the smallest component of a digital image (PPI=LPI*2)
•So, if you’re printing in a newspaper at 85LPI then the PPI = 85LPI * 2 = 170PPI.
•So, if you’re printing in a yearbook at 150LPI then the PPI = 150LPI * 2 = 300PPI.
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So…
•So, if the maximum data your printer can print is, say, 85LPI for the typical newspaper, why capture information at greater than 170PPI?
• 4”x6” photo
•RGB, JPEG=12, 300ppi — 196KB
•RGB, JPEG=12, 150ppi — 92KB
•CMYK, JPEG=12, 300ppi — 788KB
•RGB, TFF, 300ppi — 6.2MB
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Scenario: Do you get it?
• You take a picture with a digital camera. It comes in as a 17”x22” RGB JPEG file right out of the camera at 72PPI. (Incidentally, this about a 5MB file.)
• What is the largest size it can be used in the yearbook?
• Turn OFF resampling in Photoshop and type 300 in the Resolution field.
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Extension
• Can you run that photo as a dominant, 8”x10”? What are the ramifications for doing so? An 8”x10” photo at 300ppi would be about a 21MB file.
• Can you run it as a 2”x3” photo? What should you do? Why?
• Notice that the finished result is a 1.79MB file.
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How do you compare?
•Pick one of your publications.
•What file format do you submit pages to the printer? PDF. InDesign. PageMaker. QuarkXPress. Online only.
•What file format do you save photos for use in that publication? PSD. JPEG. TIFF. EPS.
• In what color mode do you save your color photos? RGB or CMYK.
•At what resolution do you save your photos? 72PPI. 85PPI. 130-170PPI. 266-300PPI. I have no idea. Other.
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Newspapers: file format
81%12%
3%3%
PDF IDDPM6 QXP 86%
5%
9%PDFIDDPM6QXPOnline only
94%
5%1%
PDF is the best answer
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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Yearbooks: file format
43%
47%
8%2%
PDF IDDPM6 QXP
47%
26%1%
25%
PDFIDDPM6QXPOnline
PDF is the best answer
43%
34%
23%
PDF IDDPM6 QXPOnline
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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Newspapers: photo format
9%
36%
48%
6%
PSD JPEGTIFF EPS
1%
66%
30%1%1%
PSDJPEGTIFFEPSPDF
4%
54%
36%
3%2%
PSD JPEGTIFF EPSPDF
JPEG is the best answer
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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Yearbooks: photo format
6%
50%
38%
6%
PSD JPEGTIFF EPS
2%
82%
15% 1%
PSDJPEGTIFFEPS
8%
66%
25% 2%
PSD JPEGTIFF EPSPSD
JPEG is the best answer
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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Newspapers: resolution
4% 6%
42%
48%
72 85130-170 266-300
10%1%
25%
64%
7285130-170266-300
2%
37%61%
72 85130-170 266-300
170ppi is the best answer
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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Yearbooks: resolution
5%
95%
72130-170266-300
1%2%
96%72130-170266-300
2%3%
95%
72130-170266-300
300ppi is the best answer
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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Newspapers: color mode
7%
93%
RGB CMYK 18%
82%
RGBCMYK
21%
79%
RGB CMYK
RGB is the best answer
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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Yearbooks: color mode
21%
79%
RGBCMYK
45%
55%
RGBCMYK
45%
55%
RGBCMYK
RGB is the best answer*
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
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From designer Mike Williams
Most designers think if they are designing FOR print they should use CMYK, or FOR screen use RGB.
Instead, they should be thinking if they are looking at color ON screen use RGB, and if they are checking color ON a print use CMYK. While working on a screen keep the colors RGB and before sending the files to proof and print convert to CMYK.
You just cannot trust CMYK colors on a screen. Period.
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From designer Andrew Kelsall
•RGB files are about 25 percent smaller than CMYK.
•Many filters and functions are only available to use in an RGB color mode in Adobe Photoshop and similar programs.
• The RGB color gamut is larger than CMYK
•Working in RGB means that the images are Web-ready with no color conversion (as opposed to designing for print in CMYK and converting the color to RGB for web-use).
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What do the companies recommend?
JPEGCMYK300ppi
JPEG, TIFF, PSDRGB, CMYK
300 ppi“We will convert files to CMYK so anyone that want to see if there is a slight color shift with their images should convert before supplying
to us.” • Paul Friesen
RGB“Our pre-press admin system manages
them to CMYK” • Mike CobbJPG, TIFF or PNG (no PSD)
300ppi
RGB“The Prinergy process in the plant, the final
step before plates are made, converts to CMYK using our profiles to get the best color
possible.” • Gary LundgrenJPG
300ppi
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Who prints the yearbook?
22%
31%
3%
15%
21% 8%
Herff Jones JostensLifetouch TaylorWalsworth Other
25%
31%
19%
13%12%
1%
Herff JonesJostensLifetouchBalfourWalsworthOtherFriesens
SOURCE: Spring 2006 survey of 124 advisers and spring 2009 survey of 138 advisersand spring 2013 survey of 160 advisers
25%
33%
19%
17% 5%2%
Herff Jones JostensLifetouch TaylorWalsworth OtherFriesens
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Conclusions. Thoughts.
•Always do what your printer tells you.
• For native InDesign files, it seems as though CMYK, JPEG is the preferred format for newspapers but for only about half of yearbooks. Change to JPEG from TIFF is significant. RGB is gaining ground. For PDF files, JPEG, CMYK leads in both media.
•Still have to ship fonts and linked files with native files. Missing links alone result in about a 23 percent error rate.
• Vast majority of newspapers submit their pages as PDF files. Why not yearbooks?
•Move to online submission of yearbook pages (usually a form of PDF) and online-only newspapers is significant.
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Contact me
By Bradley Wilson, [email protected]
bradleywilsononline.net • Twitter: bradleywilson09
©2013