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CMYK 2.0: A Cooperative Workflow for Photographers, Designers, and Printers

Rick McCleary

Peachpit Press

January 2009

Paperback, 288 pages

ISBN: 0321573463

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Description

Aimed at professional photographers, designers, and printers who desperately need to collaborate on a workflow that reproduces CMYK properly, this book delivers a clearly defined process for creating, preparing, and outputting digital files for optimal results. The design world been clamouring for this type of book for a long time since it‘s often hard to know who has ownership of each small, yet significant, step in the digital design process. This is a book about the conversion process to CMYK and the need for printers, photographers, and designers to stop blaming each other for bad, inconsistent work and to get a process for printing that consistently works. For example, the color that the photographer expects is the color that the printer prints. In CMYK 2.0: A Cooperative Workflow for Photographers, Designers, and Printers McCleary proposes a whole new workflow that could become the industry standard by offering a clear path through the chaotic, sometimes inscrutable world of CMYK reproduction. He redefines the traditional roles of each of the participants (photographer, designer, and printer), demystifies the often–obtuse information about the process, and outlines new standards of practice that will lead to a more integrated and organic workflow that‘s easier on everyone and that results in superior, predictable output.

From the back cover:

Backcover Copy

Twenty years ago, achieving predictable CMYK color on press was a relatively straightforward process. All the partners in the process—photographers, designers, and printers—had clearly defined roles and responsibilities. With the introduction of Adobe Photoshop in 1990, the digital imaging revolution changed all that. Roles suddenly shifted and blurred. Standards disintegrated. The entire process quickly spiraled into a chaotic free–for–all that couldn’t help but leave everyone frustrated as they scratched their heads and wondered, “What’s wrong with my color?”

CMYK 2.0: A Cooperative Workflow for Photographers, Designers, and Printers has one purpose: to get us all back on the same path to creating predictable color in the RGB–to–CMYK workflow. In a field that often features very strong—and very different—opinions, author Rick McCleary emphasizes the need for cooperation, collaboration, and communication. After first establishing a context for how we all got here, McCleary redefines each partner’s role in the process, demystifies the entire RGB–to–CMYK workflow, and offers a clear, step–by–step guide to achieving predictable color on press. Written with exceptional clarity, CMYK 2.0 presents a highly detailed and thoroughly rigorous approach to CMYK color, and it offers a workflow that all photographers, designers, and printers need—one that works.

The book‘s companion website provides a collaborative forum of growing resources and information on all things CMYK.

About the Author:

Author Bios

Rick McCleary has been a leading innovator in applying fine arts sensibilities to commercial projects for the past 20 years, collaborating with clients to create fresh and compelling images. Some of his clients have included American Express, Netcom Soultions, PBS, and the US Army. He received his MFA in 1981 from George Washington University, and is on the adjunct faculty in the graphic design department of Marymount University. He lectures on CMYK at local ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) chapter meetings, and has been interviewed on the topic for the ASMP Bulletin. His work has been seen in numerous gallery shows and is represented in many private collections.

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