Print Gurus: Need you opinion.

Hi, i have a query regarding the preparation of artwork for process printing (newspaper). Hope you guys can offer some opinions.

This is the situation. I've done up a newspaper ad for a client, and was given the go-ahead to prepare to FA. As photos were used, i chose to work entirely in Photoshop (CMYK). All colors that i used, including gradient color stops, are process colors. So now, i flattened the artwork layers and saved as a .tif image. Next, i proceed to add the ad copy (text) in Illustrator. Therefore, i opened up a CMYK doc in AI, placed my saved .tif file, and placed all the necessary copy. After everything's done, i saved as .eps and sent it to my client.

Now, my client feedback to me requesting for the colors that i used for my gradients. she wanted to know " which Pantone colours" did i use. I was quite confused, but i gave her the CMYK values of the colors anyway.

So, what i want to know is; is the way i work on and prepare my artwork for process printing correct? Because all along i had the impression that, as my artwork is already in bitmap, there is no need to define the colors used in AI. I'm primarily a web designer, so i would really appreciate the inputs of the print/ publishing designers out here.

Thanks!

Your method is fine. Use it everyday.

Saving as an .eps generally embeds the placed raster image.
You could have saved it as .ai and included the .tif on the disk.

Sounds to me like someone just didn't know the job was process.

Thanks for your feedback, there have been not much problems from client side since (other than the odd changes, but we already know that, don't we).

Would also like to ask; is it a print-industry standard to output your print files into PDF using Distiller? Thanks

It is print industry "standard" to output pdf's using distiller....
HOWEVER.
9 times out of 10 exporting (or saving natively in AI) is more than acceptable. As long as you know AND USE the correct settings.

You may run into issues with large docs, then you'd want to print to file, then use distiller.

sinned_82, you did right, although using a layout program like Quark or InDesign would be better than using Illustrator, especially if a raster based image is included.

I would just like to add, if I may, that the question about PMS colors in your gradients made no sense. If she were asking about the colors used in the Illustrator file, I would guess she's getting extra separations (plates in addition to the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). But in Photoshop, unless you're working with duotones or using spot color channels (which are problematic for various reasons), any spot colors used in Photoshop would automatically separate to CMYK.

BTW, NEVER ever ever use PMS colors for blends, as it causes ugly muddy results on press. Always use CMYK mixes, and preferably from a printed CMYK swatchbook.

Regarding the PDF issue, be very careful using PDFs made in Illustrator. A proper PDF (clean layout, print to file, distill for output device) is the only PDF truly appropriate for commercial print workflow.

Thanks both for sharing your knowledge with me, really appreciate it. Glad to know the way i prep my print FAs is not way off the "standard".

villainess, you mentioned that we should avoid using PMS colors in blends. What i usually do is pick my process colors using the Pantone Process Coated swatch (in either both AI or PS). Is this wrong? Do you mean i should be defining the CMYK mixes manually instead?