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Stage 5 Printing InDesign Files

Although the PDF format is the de facto standard for submitting files to a commercial printer, you will
still need to output printed proofs at some point in your career — whether to show hard copy to a client
or to simply review a document’s content away from a monitor. Creating those proofs requires a basic
understanding of how the software and hardware translate what you see on the screen to ink on paper.
For a printer to output high-quality pages from Adobe InDesign, some method of defining the
page and its elements is required. These definitions are provided by Page Description Languages
(PDLs), the most widely used of which is Adobe PostScript 3.
When a file is output to a PostScript-enabled device, the raster image processor (RIP) creates a file
that includes mathematical descriptions detailing the construction and placement of the various page
elements; the print file precisely maps the location of each pixel on the page. In the printer, the RIP
then interprets the description of each element into a matrix of ones (black) and zeros (white). The
output device uses this matrix to reconstruct the element as a series of individual dots or spots that
form a high-resolution bitmap image on film or paper.
Not every printer on the market is capable of interpreting PostScript information. Low-cost,
consumer-level inkjet printers, common in the modern graphic design market, are generally not
PostScript compatible. (Some desktop printers can handle PostScript, at least with an additional
purchase; consult the technical documentation that came with your printer to make certain it can
print PostScript information.) If your printer is non-PostScript compatible, some features in the
InDesign Print dialog box will be unavailable and some page elements (particularly EPS files) might
not output as expected.
If you do not have a PostScript output device, you can work around the problem by first exporting
your InDesign files to PDF (see Project 2: Festival Poster) and then opening the PDFs in Acrobat to
print a proof. This is a common workflow solution in the current graphic design industry.

print A sAmple proof
Not too long ago, every job sent to a commercial printer required a hardcopy proof
to accompany the disk as an example of the layout content. As digital file submission
continues to gain ground, however, physical printer proofs are becoming less common.
In general, every job you create will be printed at some point in the workflow —
whether for your own review, as a client comp, or as a final proof that accompanies a
file to the commercial printer. So, whether you need a basic proof or a final job proof,
you should still understand what is possible in the InDesign Print dialog box. Note:
Composite proofs print all colors on the same sheet, which allows you to judge It is also important to
page geometry and the overall positioning of elements. Final composite proofs that are realize that desktop
provided to the printer should include registration marks (special printer’s marks used inkjet and laser
to check the alignment of individual inks when the job is printed), and they should printers typically do not
always be output at 100% size. accurately represent color.

1. With gcm-letterhead.indd open, choose File>Print.
The Print dialog box includes dozens of options in eight different categories.

The most important options you’ll select are the Printer and PPD (PostScript printer
description) at the top of the dialog box. InDesign reads the information in the PPD to
determine which of the specific print options are available for the current output.

2. Choose the printer you want to use in the Printer menu, and choose the
PPD for that printer in the PPD menu (if possible).

72 Project 1: Letterhead Design