Indesign or Photoshop?

[Babalon Jones]

Luckily, I don't need to buy either now, and have access to both Photoshop and Indesign through friends.

But you are right, all this talk of color adjustment is confusing to me, as I'm not sure what exactly needs to be adjusted. If the scan looks fine to my eye, and I like the way it looks on screen, is it then fine, or are there other considerations related to the printing process that I currently have no way of knowing?

For that reason, unless I can get some advice on that part I should hire some one to do the color adjusts (I may be able to have someone enlighten me enough though on what a printer needs, I have two friends who used to work in printing who might know something)

Thanks everyone for your comments so far. One step at a time! I can't wait to show you the images to see what you think!

 

[cirom]

Color correction is essentially about reproducing the desired colors, or in your case presumably the exact colors of your original work. This in fact may even be impossible, for example bright apple greens, deep electric blues and purples that can come out of a paint tube, might not be possible to reproduce via process CMYK printing. Equally so, many bright intense colors that you can produce on a computer scream will be dulled down on the final print. Part of the creative process is to realize what is possible in the first place.
Anyway, once again using your scenario as the reference. Lets assume that your originals are exactly as you want them to be. Unfortunately the process of scanning them will inevitably deteriorate the image to some degree,some detail might be lost, as will contrast, sharpness, color tone. A good analogy is to walk into a electronics store and compare the same image being shown simultaneously on numerous different TV screens. You will no doubt notice difference from screen to screen. Color management is first of all getting the image on the computer to look as close to the original as is technically possible. A theoretical starting point if you will. Secondly its to then inform the program (i.e. Photoshop) that you will be outputting the device to xyz printer, using xwz paper etc etc. This information can be provided by the print shop you end up working with, or also by the manufacturer of your desktop ink jet printer, in the form of a color "profile". This essentially is a description of the print equipment that gives Photoshop a target to simulate the end result. This is refered to as a "soft" proof, serving as a preview on your screen of what you will get. If for whatever reason you don't like what you see, then you can if necessary make further adjustments to your image file.

If that sounds complex and bewildering to you, and I wouldn't be surprised if it does, because it is confusing, even to me and I'm supposed to know what I'm doing. So once again my recommendations is to pay someone for a few hours work, and just enjoy the part of the process that you do feel comfortable with.

On a related note, I will be producing later in the year, an online workshop, under the tentative title "So you want to produce and publish your own Tarot deck". This will cover the pros and cons of working with major publisher, contracts, royalties, self publishing and technical issues such as this. But in as plain English as possible, i.e. with diagrams and screen shots etc. As there are clearly a number of people that would benefit from this.

 

[gregory]

You need to see a printer's proof. Sometimes our screen settings are not what things actually are... We can all adjust our screens to show more or less colour accuracy. I know people who dull things out because they have dodgy eyesight, for instance. At the VERY least print out a copy and see how it looks !

 

[EoMg]

Its a fallacy that text should only be done in vector based programs.

To add to that, the distinction between vector-based and raster-based is now blurred to the point of irrelevancy, e.g. considering that Photoshop does vector-based text and outputs it the same when saving as a PDF.

If the scan looks fine to my eye, and I like the way it looks on screen, is it then fine,

Most likely, no. For starters, the scan can look fine *until you make a needed adjustment* and then, if you step back and forth between the original and just that one change (undo & redo), the difference can be amazing. You'll wonder how you thought it was fine before!

You'll probably want to adjust the levels, possibly the brightness & contrast, possibly the color balance, and probably the sharpness.

or are there other considerations related to the printing process that I currently have no way of knowing?

Yes. Except you do have ways of knowing them, which is part of why you're in this conversation here

A big issue is conversion from RGB to CMYK. RGB is how your scanner will import the image and how your monitor will display it... but CMYK is how the printer will print it. The printer will require you to submit your files in CMYK.

Sounds simple enough, but the conversion from RGB to CMYK can dramatically change the colors (especially in terms of vividness). This can be worked around (obviously, otherwise nothing professionally printed would ever look right) but requires some knowledge of color management.

At a minimum, you'll want color profiles for Photoshop specific to your monitor and scanner so that it can handle the conversion properly. Then, you may have to do more color correction in CMYK.

Not trying to scare or overwhelm you, just wanting you to be aware. Seriously, some time spent in the bookstore reading about this stuff will be time well spent.

 

[aja]

re: color correction

also...you have no way of knowing how accurately your computer monitor displays image color. Plus if the program you are using is accurately rendering the color. The good news (for you) is that you're not having to deal with 'critical color'...but you do want your images to be somewhat close to what the originals are. Most computers have some sort of color adjustment program...it won't be as accurate as doing a professional calibration, but it will help.

EoMg is correct - some sharpening, saturation, and adjusting levels will work wonders on any image! And none of us are trying to scare you...this is all just good info for anyone to have. (and good for CiroM for taking on this topic later!

A suggestion (as it's sounding as though you'll be going to Photoshop route): create a few layers where you'll have your border and the basic mock-up type. Combine them as a group and lock the layer positions (so there's no chance of anything moving around and save that as your "Master Template". Then copy and paste (or drag the layer) onto a layer underneath the border group so that it's underneath the 'frame' Position as necessary, add the correct type, and save as a copy.