Tips On Digital Delivery

If planning to deliver your final image as a digital file, arrange a pre-production call or meeting with the project's print producer, and maybe the prepress and print technicians. Find out the exact specs for formatting the file for prepress and printing. Work with the technicians to run tests and produce proofs in pre-production to ensure compatibility and accuracy of each other's equipment.

Calibrate your digital equipment--monitor, scanners, and printers--to professional color standards. This can be achieved either by contracting a color management service company or using high-end calibration hardware and software from such suppliers as Monaco, Gretag MacBeth and Colorvision. Estimated Investment: $1,500 - $2,000.

Install a dedicated color management station containing a high-quality reference monitor used exclusively for color viewing, set among neutral toned surroundings e.g. with gray walls, and lit by a controlled, consistent light source.

Hire a capable studio digital imaging technician to manage digital workflow, or contract with a local high-end retouching studio with calibrated equipment.

Choose appropriate color profiles in Photoshop based on how the final image will be used/printed.

If the client hasn't provided specifications for choosing color settings, choose industry default Adobe RGB 1998 or ColorMatch RGB. Ensure that color profiles are attached to the file when delivering so anyone who opens them has a color reference.

If you don't know the final use and you want to retouch using sharpening, then also deliver a version of the image without sharpening.

On advertising projects, provide the highest resolution image file possible--the purpose of the image could change in the future and the client could decide to print it larger, or the image could be cropped; either way the client will need a maximum resolution file to work with.

With any final image, include the raw file in case the ad agency needs to reference it or draw elements from it.

Whenever delivering raw files, provide the client with the name of the digital camera or digital back so they have a color reference.

Deliver digital images as TIFF uncompressed or as JPEG with minimal compression.

In cases where the final image will be printed on a four-color press, if the photographer cares about the color of his image, he/she can oversee the conversion of the image to SWOP CMYK and provide a contract-quality proof. This can be done in studio with calibrated equipment or by using a pre-press vendor. Ideally provide a contract quality proof like Kodak Approval or Fuji Final Proof, or else provide a SWOP standard CMYK "softproof" or "guideprint" printed on a calibrated, high-end inkjet printer.

Consider delivering two versions of the image, one in RGB with an RGB proof and another in CMYK with a contract proof. The client will need both versions if the image ends up being printed in overseas markets.

Print your SWOP CMYK proof on paper similar to that which the project will be printed on.

If you don't know how to convert RGB to CMYK, then don't, let the client's prepress vendor manage it.