Printing documents, About printing – Adobe InDesign CC 2015 User Manual
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Printing
Separate spot colors as process
About halftone screen frequency
Synchronize book documents
Overprinting page items
Keys for using the Separations Preview panel
Separate spot colors as process
Printing documents
About printing
Whether you are providing a multicolored document to an outside service provider, or just sending a quick draft of a
document to an inkjet or laser printer, knowing a few basics about printing will make the print job go more smoothly,
and help to ensure that the finished document appears as intended.
Types of printing
When you print a file, Adobe InDesign sends it to a printing device—either to be printed directly on paper or to a digital
printing press, or to be converted to a positive or negative image on film. In the latter case, the film can then be used
to create a master plate for printing by a commercial press.
Types of images
The simplest types of images, such as text, use only one color in one level of gray. A more complex image is one with
color tones that vary within the image. This type of image is known as a continuous-tone image. A photograph is an
example of a continuous-tone image.
Halftoning
To create the illusion of continuous tone, images are broken down into a series of dots. This process is called
halftoning. Varying the sizes and densities of the dots in a halftone screen creates the optical illusion of variations of
gray or continuous color in the printed image.
Color separation
Artwork that will be commercially reproduced and that contains more than a single color must be printed on separate
master plates, one for each color. This process is called color separation.
Getting detail
Last updated 6/6/2015