Troubleshoot image quality problems

This chapter explains how to address typical image quality problems.

Ensuring high-quality documents and images

Ensure that all text is converted to outlines (not bitmaps) or the fonts are included with the artwork files.

All line art should be in vector form (not bitmap) for good scalability and reproduction.

Large blocks of solid colors can show banding more obviously than smaller areas of color or photographic images.

Ensure that photographic images are sized appropriately for the final output resolution. For example, don't try to scale a 300x200 pixel image copied from a web site to fit a 1 x 2 m (4 x 8 ft) poster.

Select photographic images with evenly-balanced contrast and color saturation. Subtle shadow areas or “blown-out” highlights are difficult to print well).

In the application program or the RIP, use the ICC color profiles provided by your RIP manufacturer that are tuned for the ink set and media you will be using. Color must be managed in either the application or RIP, never in both.

Wide banding

110 Appendix C Image quality tips

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