PUB 2000 + Color & Newspaper Printing

[ArcadiaNews]

Hello - any assistance is greatly appreciate.

I manage a monthly, community newspaper that has used MS Publisher 2000 for years (it was started with PUB 98). We are a spot color paper, and have used 2000, not upgrading to newer versions, because our printer could only see perfect Cyan with 2000, using a Publisher template created on a machine running WIN 95 (more on the Cyan later).

The machine that we use to create the 68-page paper has Windows 2K Pro, Adobe Acrobat/Distiller 5.0, and the aforementioned Publisher 2000.

We are now switching printers and after sending test files that were produced straight out of Publisher with Distiller settings provided to me by the printer, we are having some issues that I did not have with the previous printer:

1. Pictures and other art that have been grayscaled with Photoshop, dropped into Publisher, and then PDF'd with Distller, show up as either RGB or Index color with the printer's prepress software (they are using Enfocus' PitStop Pro).

2. We use Cyan and Yellow so the printer can strip those colors out and put them on another plate, which we will use for spot color. Even though we have "Commercial Printing" options checked in Publisher, and I've got Distiller settings that "Leave Color Unchanged" cyan or yellow is showing up as RGB to our new print facility.

Is there a way to generate accurate PDFs with Publisher where it will keep a grayscale picture and art what it is supposed to be (Grayscale) yet still maintain the ability to work with spot color? Why would Pub convert these files? Is it a settings issue?

We only have spot color on 16 pages, so I can probably work around that issue by doing those pages in InDesign 2.0. And believe me, I would do the whole thing in InDesign, but some of the people who create ads and editorial here (myself included) like Publisher for its ease of use, and have become quite accustomed to it, of course.

Thank you for your time.

GAB
Arcadia News

 

[Jeff Daghir]

You didn't state this specifically, but I am assuming that you are printing
separations to Distiller, not a composite. Separations from Publisher 2000
are always RGB gray instead of the more prepress friendly CMYK gray (that it
the gray defined as R=G=B=shade of gray instead of gray that is C=0 M=0 Y=0
K=shade of gray). Some prepress workflows can handle RGB gray separations,
other workflows, upon seeing RGB color, will try to re-separate your
separations which of course completely hoses your job. A couple of possible
solutions:

1. On the Device Settings tab of the properties page for the Distiller
Printers should be two options described as:
"Convert Gray Text to PostScript Gray"
and
"Convert Gray Graphics to PostScript Gray"
Setting both of these to "Yes" will cause the PostScript driver to convert
RGB gray into CMYK gray. This works for text, but unfortunately doesn't
seem to work for all graphics, and I don't know what types of graphics it
works for and what types it doesn't. You may need to update to the most
current version of Adobe's PostScript Driver in order for these options to
appear.

2. Purchase a PDF conversion/editing program such as Colour Chameleon
(www.grafikhuset.net), PitStop Pro (www.enfocus.com) or Quite a Box of
Tricks (www.quite.com) that will allow you to convert the RGB gray
separations into CMYK gray separations.

3. Upgrade to Publisher 2003 which will allow you to create a composite
CMYK or Spot color PDF.


--
Jeff Daghir
MPS Printing, Inc.
The Ink & Paper People!
Madison, IN
www.mpsprinting.com
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Mac]

and if you are printing composite, 2000 can only make RGB.

Upgrade to 2003. It'll save you work and hassle.