French | Spanish | Portuguese | Italian | German | Japanese | Chinese | Korean | Russian | Arabic

PRESS PRODUCTION

Newspapers and magazines require the advertiser to supply the advertisement material. This can be supplied in one of three ways:

1. by providing original artwork from which the publication can print

2. by providing duplicates of the original artwork

3. by inputting the artwork down the line by electronic means directly into the publisher’s printing process, ie via ISDN or ADS.

Where a booking is made in one publication only, the original artwork may be used. This saves the cost of a duplicate, and may produce a slightly better effect. On the other hand, there is the danger that the artwork might get damaged or lost and so it is safer to provide duplicates. Where there are a number of media bookings then it becomes inevitable that duplicates will be required. Duplicates must be supplied on special stock, satisfactory for reproduction purposes.

It is likely that electronic transmission of artwork, particularly colour artwork, will become standard practice. ISDN is expanding and will soon become the norm. This is a digital system that allows fast, simple use of transmission online.

Black and white advertisements

Advertisements consist of two elements:

1. word, or text

2. pictures.

Both need to be produced into artwork form.

Text

The wording must be typeset. This can be done using a specialist typesetter, or by using typesetting equipment operated within a studio. The days of former ‘hot metal‘ typesetting are over, and type is now generally set by computer, with a specialist typesetting software program.

The type is run off as a proof, which must be read and corrected, or it can be printed out as part of a composite text and illustration proof. Where the text is simple and short, the latter probably saves time and money. Where the text is long and complex, the advertiser may be better advised to see a separate proof of the typesetting alone.

The proof will need to be examined closely for accuracy, for the suitability of the typefaces, and for the clarity of type size.

Graphic elements

Most advertisements will contain a variety of graphic elements. These include not only a main illustration or illustrations but other important graphic constituents – such as the company or brand logotype, a corporate symbol or a product illustration.

Ongoing elements such as logotypes may be scanned into the computer and kept on file for future use and reuse. A combined text and graphics proof needs to be seen, and again must be examined closely for:

- the best balance of illustration against text

- the clarity and reproduction quality of the illustration

- the standard of subsidiary graphics such as logotypes, product shots, location diagrams etc.

The final advertisement can then be sent off to the publication. Where duplicates are required, they will be needed in one of two forms:

1. For line illustrations or simple text. Here duplicates can be supplied either as PMTs or as bromides. Many computer printers can produce a satisfactory enough result for reproduction purposes on a cheaper material such as Mellotex.

2. For half-tone illustrations the advertiser or agency may need to supply film. Simple line drawings do not require half-tone, but photographs do. The tonal values are too graduated for line reproduction. The half-tone process can reproduce this gradation by breaking the image down into a fine network of small dots, via a half-tone screen. Here, the publication will require film, which is substantially more expensive than bromides or Mellotex.

Colour advertisements

Magazines (and newspapers too, where they run colour spaces) will require colour artwork.

Here, too, the advertiser or agency may provide original artwork where there is only one booking, or duplicates where there are many.

The original artwork must be clear and unambiguous since the colour process is an expensive one and mistakes must be avoided.

Advertisement colour printing is usually done out of four basic colours – black, magenta, cyan (blue) and yellow. These will combine in printing to form a full colour effect. However, if a special colour is required, then it may be necessary to add that special colour on to the basic four colours: to go to five colours, or perhaps six. Examples here are special logotype colours, company house colours and special product colours. Here it will be necessary to check with the publication to ensure that five or six-colour printing is acceptable.

Original artwork needs to be delivered in the following form:

- a board containing the (black and white) text plus a guide to the illustration

- the illustration in the form of a transparency

- a masking on the outside of the transparency to indicate which areas of the illustration are to be printed

- a written colour guide and instruction.

Where duplicates are required for a range of bookings, colour film must be supplied. This can be extremely expensive, and costs must be kept under control. Colour separations are produced in film form, separating the image out into its basic colours. It is vital to see a colour proof, arising from the colour separations, to check for accuracy and for colour quality. The most common form of proof is that of the cromalin or match print.

Where an amendment is required, a second colour proof should be seen. Time is often a problem and therefore, in colour work, some days should be built in for the production of satisfactory proofs.

Once the material has been sent to the publication it too should submit a colour proof, showing the colour effect within its own printing process. Again, amendments and improvements may be called for and, again, sufficient time must be allowed. The improving prevalence of electronic transmission – ISDN or ADSL – will cut the time involved and possibly the cost, although ISDN costs can be higher than expected. And again, with ISDN delivery, a publication colour proof is a requisite to check on final colour quality.