[Drandon]

I just got a Typesetter job, but I'm having some trouble optimising my Tif images for the Plate printer. It prints off my Tifs as fuzzy screens. I have my resolution set at 600, and even from Illustrator they don't come out that great.

I need some help fast, as this is serious. My job depends on being able to put these images out properly. Please lend a hand if anyone has any suggestions.

This board came highly recommended from a Graphic Designer friend.

[Sumaleth]

What does "I have my resolution set at 600" mean? There's something missing from that info.

Let's assume it's an image that is 600 pixels wide by 600 pixels high.

Now let's say you print that at 300 dpi (dots per inch). 300 dpi is a reasonably level, though high quality work is printed at much higher dpi. But anyway, that would print the image at 2 inches x 2 inches.

If you printed it at 150 dpi, it would result in a blurry image 4 inches x 4 inches.

So if you're trying to print a low resolution image at a large size, that's one explanation for blurry results.

The only other explanation, apart from some sort of hardware problem, is if the text is already blurry in the computer. Blurry in computer will result in blurry print.
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[B0b]

ok offset lytho info - stuff u should know before u take on any opertaor job

most film is output @ 1700dpi @ 133/150lpi

no ur saying that you've created an image @ 600dpi? is that line art or raster image?

example: if its 600dpi line art and you've blown it up to twice the size it should be you will see some stepping..

example 2: if its 600dpi raster @ 2x2" and you've blown it up over 6" in size you'll show signs of blocking/fussyness

another would be that you've come across the QuarkXPress bug of if you have a box with a fill of none with a TIFF image in it then you'll notice it printing out @ a lower res than it should be (this was XPress 3.31 mind - i don't know about the latest XPress as i switched to InDesign) if this is the case then give it a box fill of white - have you tried saving your TIFF as a JPEG (lv 12 in photoshop)?

if this saves ur butt - i want 1/2 ur salary