I think I've mentioned that I rarely do print work (largely) because the stress level is, for me at least, much higher than with web work. This morning I had the proofs for one of the two print jobs I have out. I had a nightmare about it this morning just before getting up. I used to have these nightmares routinely when I worked for a graphic design studio. One time I sat up in bed in the middle of the night yelling "The keyline! I forgot the keyline!"
So anyway, I went in to look at the proofs. They gave me color lasers, not bluelines. Unfortunately, there were inevitable problems:
1. The graphic isn't as close to the edge of the envelope as I had expected. I knew they couldn't do a true bleed, but you can ask them to get as close to the edge as possible, and another printer I've worked with can get it so close that it almost looks like a bleed. But these are almost 1/4" away from the edge. I'm not going to complain about this one, it's just a disappointment.
2. The smallest instances of the EPS logo look blocky, not smooth curves. They say this is a product of the type of proof and won't affect the actual printing. I suspected it was something like that, because larger versions of the same graphic look just fine. However, I'll be nervous to see how the finished product looks.
3. On one page I had three rows of text spaced out to line up perfectly on the left and right sides. At the last minute, I changed the size of a couple of square bullets and now one of the lines doesn't quite line up anymore. This nags at me, but I doubt the client will even notice so I'm trying not to obsess over it.
4. There's a graphic in the background behind some text that is a bit too dark. This is the big one. I looked at it on a color inkjet, and onscreen in a PDF, and it looked fine. But on their color proof, it's too dark. Distracting from the text that runs over it. I thought about asking them to change it, but decided against it because it would have to be done on every page, as well as every page of the other print job. It's a 10% screen, obviously it should have been 5%. It's so hard to predict though. I've had instances in the past where I did this -- a screened back logo behind text -- with a 5% screen, and the logo disappeared. You couldn't even tell it was there.
This morning at the printer it seemed like a minor thing, a disappointment like the distance from the edge on the envelope. But now I'm looking at the proof and feeling a bit sick to my stomach. This is probably just because I'm at the end of a long and stressful day. See why I don't do much print work? I'd probably have ulcers if I did.
[Edited to add:] I showed the proofs to Georg and he didn't think that graphic was too dark at all. I think I'm obsessing. I'm going to put the proofs away and not think about it again tonight.
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