Printing

Yesterday my first photobook was printed on the presses of DeckerSnoeck in Antwerp. What a nerve-wracking affair. I was already edgy because of the important errors detected at a very late stage of the book production. We started at 5pm with the dustjacket ...

One of the important models I used for the Capitals concept is a recent book on Irving Penn's Platinum Prints (published by the Washington's National Gallery of Art, I believe). This is an understated but truly luxurious publication, finely printed and bound. I wanted my images to have a similar toning (which is very different, much warmer, than I normally present them). So a few weeks ago, Snoeck produced digital proofs based on the Penn book which I accepted. Separations of the images were made and an appropriate trichrome ink package (black - deepspace black - Pantone 465) was proposed. These settings for were used on the machines when we started to print yesterday evening. 

It soon appeared that things were not so straightforward as I expected. First, the real prints had nothing to do with the digital proofs, not even remotely. So much for digital proofs. Second problem was that none of the three cover images on the dust jacket had a similar density. From top to bottom of the sheet they got progressively cooler. The strange thing was that the colour measurement device showed that there ought to be more PMS colour in the final image than was optically evident. A mystery. So the printer decided to do only two jackets on a single sheet instead of the original three. After 4 or 5 trials we had something which looked pretty consistent across the two covers. 

The printing looked very good. But when I looked very closely with the naked eye I could see the printing screen (I am nearsighted and therefore can see awesomely sharp very close-up; never need a loupe to focus my view camera). When I was told it was a 175 LPI (lines/inch) screen I was startled as I thought we were going to print stochastically. They assured me this was what was planned. But I had a nagging doubt when I went back to their client area after I had OK'd the dust jacket. I called Eddie Ephraums from Envision Books - who designed the book - who told me that 175 LPI was probably the best choice given the characteristics of the Phoenix Motion Xantur paper and the assumedly fairly viscous Deepspace Black ink. This reassured me. After all, the printing looked good too! (Meanwhile I have checked and it appears that there is not a lot of difference between screen printing @ 175 or 200 LPI and stochastic printing). 

After a longish while the first sheet of the book interior was printed. I got less anxious. It looked really good. Pictures really sparkled. They had depth, were very, very sharp (pleasingly so, not agressively) and showed a beautiful tonal range. Never thought this could come out of my negatives! Kudos also to Johan Doumont and myself for making such excellent scans of the negatives. 

The second sheet was a downer. Two images leaned strongly towards those of the first sheet. The other four were decidedly cooler. I didn't know what to do. The chief printer assured me they had adopted identical settings as for the final version of the first sheet. Moreover he admonished me to look at the sheet as a whole, not at individual images. If we started to play with different densities for different areas of the sheet, it would be very difficult to give the people of the night shift a good base to print from. And, finally, he quite rightly pointed out that also in the Penn book there are images that look very different from one another in terms of toning. So I accepted the sheet. 

In between the second and third sheet there was a change of shift (it was 10pm by then). The new team seemed more relaxed and reacted slightly less defensively on my confusion. When the third sheet came out, they started to play with the densities of the Pantone colour to approach the final version of the first sheet as closely as possible. Not easy. Eventually we got there. By then I had the feeling that the guys of the night shift had a good idea of what I wanted and by 11pm I left them and went home. But I also had the feeling that I ought to have been more assertive regarding the second sheet.

It's an interesting experience and there is a lot to learn. One thing is the importance of the separations. They must be responsible for the difference between pictures all things remaining equal. But on what basis are these separations done. I have no idea. Another thing is the people factor. I had a more responsive partner in the night shift and it made a big difference. All this raises questions. What is the value of a wet proof if sheets can differ so much from one another at otherwise identical settings on the press? How can people have high quality art books printed in China if it is already that difficult with your own countrymen. Beats me.

It's nerve-wracking, but addictive too. The addictive thing is to see your own work in such glorious print quality. It's amazing. I already look forward to the next project. Just hope this one gets over the finish without a major accident.