Yesterday I got to go on a press check with my supervisor. I've been a couple times at other presses. I had to bring the job packet to the press for my boss and while there I got to watch him check the color and content of a handbook we're running for one of our major clients. So...just to bore you with what I do know about presses...ha...the machine in the blurry pic taken with my cell phone is a huge press machine. Toward the back you'll see different sections. Each of those sections holds one color of ink. Standard printed materials usually run as 4 colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) laid on top of one another to make various colors. So if you look at a color news paper really closely you'll see a dot pattern. That's different colored dots laying on top of one another to make various colors and from a normal reading distance...it looks like a picture of whatever...people...landscapes. So one sheet will run through one color of ink...and then onto the next compartment which will lay down another color of ink...so on so forth till the process is complete. Pretty cool. There are all kinds of things that can go wrong on press. If the plates that print the various inks aren't lined up exactly...you'll get a blurry image and text because it's out of registration. If you have too much of a color...you can get a piece that doesn't match the approved proof. There are other issues that arise so when art directors or prepress people like me and my boss go to do a press check, we check the color, the registration, and the placement. The first time I went to press check a media DVD packaging piece, I was so nervous. It was a huge run and although I had a color accurate proof to compare to what rolled off press...I was responsible to be sure it was correct. MUCHO $$$$ for that project. Anyway, just thought I'd share a little bit of what I do at work. My supervisor handles most of the press checks...and I'm definitely ok with that. :) I do like the experience though.
