Portfolio Printing Guide

PREPARING GRAPHIC FILES 1

Preparing Digital Graphic Files

This guide provides technical information and best practices for preparing files.

Prepared by the UT School of Architecture Technology Desk

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Content Getting Started 4

Setting Up the Adobe Software

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Managing Color Spaces

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Getting Ready to Print

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Working with Scanned Files

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Exporting and Saving

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Printing to PDF from InDesign

Common Questions 14

What if my file is not 8.5” x 11”?

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How can I make my portfolio full bleed?

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Top Tips

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Setting up the Adobe Software Before you start a working file that will need to be moved through several different Adobe platforms, it is important to ensure it and all linked files share the same color space. This will allow the best quality and most reliable results when printing.

The most commonly used color spaces are: CMYK: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 - for printing RGB: Adobe RGB (1998) - for prints and screen display To set default color spaces and tell the software how to handle mismatches: Photoshop:

Edit > Color Settings [1] Illustrator:

Edit > Color Settings [2] InDesign:

Edit > Color Settings [3]

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1 COLOR SETTINGS IN PHOTOSHOP

2 COLOR SETTINGS IN ILLUSTRATOR

3 COLOR SETTINGS IN InDesign

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Managing Color Spaces When your files have different color spaces, it is important to convert the color space in ored to get reliable printing results.

The Technology Lab uses these color spaces: CMYK: U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 - for printing RGB: Adobe RGB (1998) - for prints and screen display There are two ways to adjust an already set color space.

1. Assign Color Space [1]

Edit > Assign Profile > Assign Profile > Specify Adobe RGB 1998 > OK 2. Convert Color Space [2]

Edit > Convert to Profile > Specify the Destination Workspace as CMYK Web Coated SWOPv2 > OK Verify you have converted your RGB profiled file to CMYK by going to

Edit > Assign Profile Note the new working CMYK profile for your file > OK It is recommended that you make color adjustments in source files (Photoshop and Illustrator) so when the files are complied in a layout software (InDesign) the color profiles are already consistent and will result in a better product.

To manage color output in InDesign, make sure to check for the Color Management tab on the print settings dialog box - it should have the same color space for printer profile. [See pg 13. Step 6]

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1 ASSIGN PROFIL E IN PHOTOSHOP

1 ASSIGN PROFIL E IN ILLUSTRATOR

2 CONVERT PROFIL E IN PHOTOSHOP

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Getting Ready to Print If printing in the Technology Lab, have in mind that portfolio paper is only available in letter size. If your file is another size,it is recommended that you first print to a letter-sized PDF before sending the file to the queue.

This minimizes the risk of issues like loss of data on oversized prints, back-to-back pages that are misaligned, and incorrectly placed margins/crop marks for prints smaller than letter size.

Be aware that files containing transparencies or different oppacity levels, might not always print as desired[1], so it is important to do test prints before printing your final document.

Working with Scanned Files When hand sketches or other hand drawings are embeded in the file, it is important they are first scanned correctly in order to ensure proper printing.

1. Save the scan with the appropriate settings: A. For black and white drawings, use the black and white or grayscale setting, NOT full color. When choosing to save the file, select TIFF (best), PSD or PNG file formats instead of JPEG to avoid loss of quality.

B. When scanning in color you should also AVOID saving as a JPEG. C. Make sure that you are scanning at a higher resolution. 300dpi is a good quality scan.

Note: The Technology Lab printer max dpi for portfolio is 1200.

2. Apply the correct color profile After scanning and saving the file, open it in one of the working software applications (Photoshop or Illustrator) and save it with the correct color profile (for details, see the previous section on managing color profiles).

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Going Public Eric Hรถweler Hรถweler + Yoon Architecture, Boston Harvard University

UTSOA Lectures Spring 2016 April 11, 2016 Goldsmith Hall Auditorium

1 THE FILE EXPORTED USINF REDUCED OPACITY - ORIGINAL

Going Public Eric Hรถweler Hรถweler + Yoon n Architecture, Boston Harvard University

UTSOA Lectures Spring 2016 April 11, 2016 Goldsmith Hall Auditorium

1 SAME FILE FROM ABOVE PRINTED TO PDF

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Exporting and Saving When using a layout software, such as InDesing, the color profiles should be already set. (If your color profiles are not set see the sections before on Setting Up your Adobe Software or Managing Color Spaces.)

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To export the file go to A.File > Adobe PDF Presets > [High Quality Print] B. Choose the location and enter the name of your file > Save

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C. Under the General Tab: • Make sure you use the latest version of Acrobat in the Compatibility Section [1] • in the Pages section, verify if you would like to print All or a range of the pages, as well as pages vs. spreads.[2] D. Under the Compression Tab: • Choose ZIP or None for Compression options (Instead of JPEG) [3] E. Under the Marks and Bleeds Tab: • Make sure you have Crop Marks checked [4] • You can also print your Bleed Marks, if desired.

F. Before going forward, there is an option to save these settings as a preset, by clicking on the Save Preset button and giving it a name. [5] Once these settings are saved as a preset, the workflow would be: File > Adobe PDF Presets >[your preset] G. Click Export to save your PDF file. [6]

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5 SAVING A PRESET

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Printing to PDF from InDesign There is a second way to save/export your file from InDesign:

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File > Print A. Under the General Tab: • Make sure that the printer is set to Adobe PDF [1] • You can specify the Pages options as desired [2] B. Under the Setup Tab:

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• Specify the size of your paper. When printing on portfolio paper, only letter size is available. [3] • Verify the Page Position if you want it to be centered on the page. [4]

C. Under the Marks and Bleeds Tab: • Make sure you have Crop Marks checked [5] • You can also print your Bleed Marks, if desired.

D. Under the Color Management Tab: • Verify the Printer Profile. [6] E. Select Print to save the file. [7]

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What if my file is not 8.5” x 11”?

If printing in the Technology Lab, remember that portfolio paper is only available in letter size. If you have made your file in another size, we recommend printing it to a letter sized PDF before sending it to the printer. This way, you minimize the risk of losing data due to oversized prints, or back to back pages that are not overlayed correctly (different positions on the page).

Also when printing in Adobe Acrobat Pro, make sure you have the “choose paper source by PDF page size” unchecked. [1]

How can I make my portfolio full bleed?

Full bleed printing is not available in the Technology Lab. However, you can print smaller than 8.5”x11”and cut the pages with the guillotine trimmer. To get the best results, make sure to plan for binding and gutter space before printing, and understand how to use Crop Marks and Bleed Marks.

Top Tips • Set the same color space for all files BEFORE composing the final document.

• Ensure image compression is set to None or ZIP. • Plan ahead for binding, cropping, etc. Full-bleed is only possible by cropping.

DO A TEST PRINT!

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