GRTC 3351: Graphic Production Process Control 1
- Prerequisite: None
- Credit: 3 semester hours
Course Description
Graphic communication production control emphasizing job engineering; techniques used to reproduce varying types of original images; tone capture and correction; proofing; platesetting; and final output.
Course Goals
This course is designed to familiarize students with single-color tone reproduction and correction. It is not intended to produce proficient technicians. Rather, students completing the class will have a broad overview of print production operations so that they may effectively supervise or estimate printing jobs, communicate technically with printing vendors or buyers, and/or design graphic products giving full consideration to the limitations inherent in pre-press operations.
Students completing the course will:
- the graphic production workflow including traditional, pure digital, and hybrid models; job engineering; and relevant hardware, software, and file formats;
- methods of reproducing various types of copy, including type, linework, grayscale, process color, and duotones;
- tone reproduction, including densitometry, halftoning, scanning, conversion of color images to grayscale, up- and down-sampling, the Nyquist theorem, choice of LPI, the relationship between LPI, DPI, and PPI, and the effect of incorrect LPI, DPI, or PPI choices;
- tone correction, including the impact of tonal value increase (TVI), maximum and minimum effective dot sizes, tone range compression, substrate, and ink;
- proofing, including the role and limitations of various proofing systems and the analysis of proofs;
- platesetting, including the output of grayscale images and line work to plate;
- image transfer systems, including an introduction to offset lithographic presses, laser printers, and direct digital devices;
- bindery systems, including cutting, chipping, and padding;