Two common separation workflows
Successful commercial printing of a document requires several steps: planning and organizing, design and content development, and prepress tasks, in which your electronic files are prepared to be reproduced with ink on paper. Illustrator supports two common PostScript workflows for these prepress tasks. The main difference between the two is where separations are created--at the host computer (the system using Illustrator and the printer driver), or at the output device's RIP (raster image processor): - Host-based separations. In the traditional host-based, preseparated workflow, Illustrator creates PostScript data for each of the separations required for the document, and sends that information to the output device.
- In-RIP separations. In the newer RIP-based workflow, a new generation of PostScript RIPs perform color separations, trapping, and even color management at the RIP, leaving the host computer free to perform other tasks. This approach takes less time for Illustrator to generate the file, and minimizes the amount of data transmitted for any given print job. For example, instead of sending PostScript information for four or more pages to print host-based color separations, Illustrator sends the PostScript information for a single composite PostScript file for processing in the RIP.
To specify the workflow you want, see Specifying the mode.
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