Real World Print Production by Claudia McCue is Off Press and On Target
July 28th, 2006I have in my hands a copy of Real World Print Production, by Claudia McCue, hot off the press from Peachpit Press. (Well, okay, it’s not in my hands; I’m typing. The book is on my desk, next to some coffee that has gotten cold because I got caught up in reading the book.) The book is exactly what I had hoped it would be: A great combination of Claudia’s wit and wisdom on a topic she knows far-too-well: How to get great print output.
I don’t agree with everything Claudia says (for example, she discounts the value of embedding images, while I think there are times when using the Links palette to embed a small image into InDesign can be extremely useful), but there is so much good material in here that I would encourage anyone involved with preparing files for print to buy this book. For example, her focus on issues such as drop shadows, transparency, and imposition are wonderful. Note, however, that this book does not get into many of the high-end concerns of printers and output providers.
Claudia is an awesome trainer/presenter, one of the best I’ve ever seen. If her book is half as good as she is in person, it’s a winner.
Although Claudia’s book is very useful, you may want to check out Exploring Digital Prepress by Reid Anderson. It goes further into printing and plate separations.