I am trying to combine a 1200ppi monochrome b&w scan with a coloured 300ppi CMYK layer, and output as a PDF that retains the 1200ppi monochrome b&w layer for print.
This is done for comic printing: the top 1200ppi monochrome layer is the scanned line art, and the 300ppi layer beneath it is the colouring layer. When printed, the 1200ppi b&w layer is then overprinted with black at that 1bit resolution.
But when I try to achieve this in Photoline, the PDF export resamples the 1200ppi layer. I suppose this is because PhotoLine merges the layers.
How do I set this up in PhotoLine so that it is pre-press ready?
This is my process:
1) create a new document standard sized American comic page size @ trimmed size 6.75 x 10.25 (1)
2) Add a CMYK layer @ 300ppi (for colouring) document size.
3) add a monochrome 1bit layer with a height and width multiplied by 4 (bug encountered here: see (2) below). I do turn on transparency, so the colouring layer is visible.
4) This new monochrome layer will be too large due to a missing ppi option in the new layer dialog. Next, I change the layer's ppi resolution to 1200 in the layer properties. This scales the layer exactly to the document size. (3)
5) I place the scanned 1200ppi b&w artwork in the monochrome layer.
6) I create the 300ppi CMYK colour work in the CMYK layer below.
7) I group the CMYK layer and name the group "Colours"
I group the monochrome layer, and name the group "line art".
When I am done colouring and working on the line art, I decide to create a PDF to send to the printer.
9) I add the printer's marks. (4)
10) I create a pdf.
I inspect the PDF, and here is the crux of the problem: Photoline re-sampled the 1200ppi monochrome layer down to document ppi resolution.
There is no option to prevent this from happening, it seems. I tried everything. including removing transparency and multiplying the layer.
My question:
how do I export my work with the 1200ppi monochrome line art intact, so it can be over-printed with black at the printer at full resolution?
I can't imagine having to work at full 1200ppi and merge all layers - do I? What is the point of PDF in that case?
Aside from this, I feel the missing bleed options to display a bleed frame in the view options, and the missing new layer property for ppi in document mode makes it more difficult to work with PhotoLine than it needs to be.
Problems encountered:
(1) PhotoLine has no built-in bleed options to display or create bleeds automatically. I run into this problem again and again. This means I must account for the bleeds myself - I achieve that by creating a guide preset that calculates an inside bleed of 1/8 inch. Not that friendly for users who just need a quick bleed setting and bleed view setup.
And it would be so nice if we could create groups of guides with different colours!!!!! Please???
(2) when the New Layer dialog was set to "free" before, the next time it is opened it will be set to "document", but the size values display zeroes.
(3) the new layer dialog does not offer a ppi setting, nor a page size setting, or presets. It would be great if we could decide those things in the new layer settings when working in document mode. Currently EVERYTHING must be calculated manually, and manually adjusted in two places: a) calculate the required resolution in pixels, and b) change the ppi value in the layer properties. At the very least I would love to see a PPI setting in the new layer properties.
(4) In the English language "print markers", or "marker" is incorrect. In print publishing terminology "mark" is the correct term. To be specific: "Printer's Marks". "Crop Marks", "Bleed Marks", Registration Marks". The word "Print" is superfluous, in my opinion.
Other bugs encountered:
1) drawing shapes in the CMYK layer with "in active layer" turned on will not use the fill colour as defined in the tool settings. Instead, it uses the toolbox settings, which is inconsistent with how it works in vector mode.
2) lines cannot be drawn directly in a bitmap layer even with 'in active layer' switch on.