Going to Print: Photoshop + Illustrator…

N
Posted By
Nomenclature
Sep 14, 2003
Views
469
Replies
5
Status
Closed
While I’ve been using photoshop & illustrator for years for web & digital media use, I haven’t really done much in the way of have things go to print (besides a few things that were 100% vector work)… This is basically a no0b print question:

I do photo work in photoshop, and I do all text & vector work in illustrator, so what’s the best way to combine the two when setting up for print? Import a psd into illustrator? The other way around? Give them two separate files? Another option?

Any other tips for pro printing as well?

* to clarify, by "going to print", I mean using a printhouse for large runs…
Related Tags
illustrator print

Master Retouching Hair

Learn how to rescue details, remove flyaways, add volume, and enhance the definition of hair in any photo. We break down every tool and technique in Photoshop to get picture-perfect hair, every time.

DM
Don McCahill
Sep 14, 2003
The best way is to talk to the printhouse and find out what they want. Each place has different preferences depending on the expertise and experience of the operators there.

My own preference would be to have the information in an InDesign, PageMaker or Quark file, since the imposition programs work well with those. A lot of places these days love Acrobat files as well.
Y
YrbkMgr
Sep 14, 2003
Follow Don’s advice. Talk to the printer. They will tell you what they can work with and what they need.
N
Nomenclature
Sep 14, 2003
The printers I’ve talked to told me "anything but coreldraw", which doesn’t really help when using multiple programs… InDesign combines both formats well? I may have to look into picking it up then…

Also: Flattening images… Good idea or bad?
DM
Don McCahill
Sep 15, 2003
ID is a good tool.

As for flattening images, definitely do so on production copies, but always make sure you have an unflattened copy in case changes have to be made.

In fact, you really should be saving your PSD files to TIFF format for printed applications. But of course you would keep unflattened PSD versions.

I think ID takes native AI files, or you may need to save those and import them as EPS files.
JG
Jeff GG
Sep 19, 2003
Nomenclature asks, "I do photo work in photoshop, and I do all text & vector work in illustrator, so what’s the best way to combine the two when setting up for print?"

How sad. ACD’s Canvas combines most of the functions of Photoshop and Illustrator, so its files can contain any combination of text, vector and bitmap images. I’ve been doing just that for years, but Deneba (its creator and original owner) never had the wherewithal to promote it. So probably you, and countless other Adobe users, never heard of it. Again, how sad.

<http://www.deneba.com/products/canvas9/default.html>

How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections