on 18 March 2005Mark Gatter has worked in print production in the UK and US for twenty years, so it’s no surprise that he knows what he’s talking about. This slimmish volume, aimed at designers but equally useful to layout subs, provides a concise overview of prepress technologies and techniques. It may not make you an expert, but it should get you from ‘CMY what?’ to having a rough idea how to think about preparing a document for commercial printing, which is not to be sneezed at for under 20 quid.
What’s good about Gatter is that he doesn’t waste your time trying to be overly comprehensive, but nor does he shy away from explaining what you need to know, even if it’s technical. So when you find yourself plunged into an in-depth analysis of grey component replacement or trapping, you know there’s a reason for it and it’s not going to be gobbledygook. Even experienced users should find a few points that they haven’t stumbled on before or, at least, haven’t seen described so straightforwardly.
The main problem with the book is that it could have been written a decade ago. Those of us who went through the transition from cow gum to QuarkXPress have a tendency to flaunt our inky-fingered trickery and brute-force workarounds, but things have changed, and there are different things today’s designer needs to know. PDF, mentioned in the introduction, makes precious few reappearances, and there’s no detailed explanation of job options. Similarly, colour management is only briefly touched on.
Although you’re shown various tricks for manual calibration, ICC calibration hardware isn’t mentioned, and the material on digital and inkjet proofs is vague. A chapter on visually calibrating your monitor mentions where to find Adobe Gamma under Mac OS 9, but ignores OS X, and ends up saying little except ‘fiddle with the screen’. At least you get sensible tips on what options to choose in Photoshop’s Color Settings, and Gatter is right to advise that, if your colour workflow is slightly off, ‘the sky will not fall on your head’.
The coverage of key applications also feels a little behind the times. True, many people are still doing serious work with ancient versions of Photoshop and PageMaker – remember that? – and it’s nice to have them included. But it would also have been nice to see more detailed tips on InDesign and recent versions of QuarkXPress. (Subs will note that capitalising the ‘P’ in ‘QuarkXPress’ more than half the time wouldn’t have hurt, either.)
It’s a mystery why so many prepress writers portray the printer as a sort of cap-doffing local craftsman who’ll cheerfully feed his first-born through a platesetter rather than disappoint the gentleman client. ‘The printer (or repro house) should call immediately if there are any problems,’ declares Squire Gatter. ‘Immediately. I tell [them] that if they fail to contact me as soon as they run into a problem, then unfortunately I will not be able to work with them again.’ It would be nice to imagine the dirty-faced wench on the other end of the phone turning pale at these stern words, but in reality it’s easier to see her holding the receiver at arm’s length while making the international sign for ‘knobhead’.
Omissions and eccentricities aside, this is a very decent primer for anyone working in print. It’s just that we’re already waiting for the second edition. Which, may we politely suggest, could include some screenshots taken on a proper computer, not a bloody PC.
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