PDF proofs for emailing

[scottrsimons]

I'm sure we have all ran into this...we make a PDF small enough to email and customer complains about quality, then you send the high res via a file transfer site and now they complain because of the traps are all gooned when they are open the PDF in some other free PDF viewer other than Acrobat Reader.

Is there such a thing as a happy medium? And now the bosses, want a file size small enough to be able to email and still show trap. Yeah sure...I want a company car with unlimited mileage and gas.

We have Pitstop, and I tired that, which it did a great job, but is there a better way, or some sort of a "standard"?

[David]

nope and nope.
I've spelled it out in emails till I'm blue in the face,
"these are LOW RES PROOFS, the high res file does not contain the low res artifacts."

then I get the phone call, "why is my logo kinda crappy?"....

 

[Ear]

PDF 1.7, into an APPE RIP is a valid soft proof.

Other than that, there are no rendered CTP proofs that accurately show trap, other than looking at rendered flats in the RIP client. They want separated 1-bit platesetter tiffs? Some workflows claim to show rendered soft proofs, but I have yet to see it. They are all just preflighted PDFs in the magic client portal.

[Joe]

PDF 1.7, into an APPE RIP is a valid soft proof.

Other than that, there are no rendered CTP proofs that accurately show trap, other than looking at rendered flats in the RIP client. They want separated 1-bit platesetter tiffs? Some workflows claim to show rendered soft proofs, but I have yet to see it. They are all just preflighted PDFs in the magic client portal.

We have rendered soft proofs (and screened) in Prinergy. Not to send to customers though. No way you could view them online. It would take an hour or two to display with even high speed internet.

[Ear]

Exactly. Sierra has a rendered 3D soft proof, screened and paginated... but it either needs my workflow viewer client or a java applet to view. I have actually sent them to a couple of clients but they have to be nerdy enough to load and use the .jar file I send them. So, it's possible, just not practical... yet

[pspdfppdfxhd]

We run our proofs through the rip with the trapping on.... results in a 1200 dpi raster pdf and you can see the trapping.

Comes out at about 70MB for a 4/4 11x17 inch pdf. I question how long it would take to draw on screen for some older computers, it's pretty slow here on a new and very quick IMac. And yes, you could not email these at all. A 24 page book might be into the GB range.

[Ear]

LOL - don't do it. If you do it once, it will be required FOREVER ever ever...

[David]

send a screen capture of it


 

[Ear]

Or print it out and use your phone to take a picture and text it to the client. 

[abc]

How about this, high res production file, no downloads, standard browser.
https://www.enfocus.com/en/appstore/product/pdf-review-module

[Ear]

Tantalizing, abc. 

Doesn't solve the rendered proof problem, but with the right PDF and preflight, I don't believe looking at the dot proof to be as important as in the past.

[Ear]

That actually looks really cool. Currently, for people who don't want a hard proof, I am running an Enfocus Preflight and sending them a report via email, with my comments and suggestions. The PDF review module looks like it would take care of a lot of my digital legwork with keeping soft proofs moving.

[abc]

We actually have some users who take a rendered PDF out of their workflow and push that for approval.

We actually have a trial version for this if you want to have a play, it uses Switch as a backbone which bumps up the cost a bit, but also adds automation for proofing and a lot more. Linking it to something like an upstream MIS and a downstream prepress workflow really kicks ass.

[Farabomb]

Normally I just run the same PDF as I would print from through the refine process but without trapping. Theory is it should be the same file just without trapping that confuses everyone and has stopped jobs here dead in their tracks. Seriously. I've had to explain multiple times to multiple people, normally higher up the ladder, what trapping is. They have stopped rush jobs because they didn't know how to view a PDF correctly.

These are not small print companies. They have their own prepress departments yet nobody there knows WTF trapping is or didn't bother to ask the burnt out, frazzled, angry motherfucker in the corner that's doing 99% of the work because they are surrounded by blood sausages.

I just run it without trapping, maybe use pitstop to make it smaller and upload it and wait for the email of how there is no attachment right above the big 24 point blue type with the link for the download.

[pspdfppdfxhd]

I have just found, that through the trapping process at the rip, weirdness happens that would not be exposed with the trapping off. Just sayin is all. I feel better running the Epson ( new and improved Epson we have) with the trapping on.