Color Output Problems

[Howard Rauch]

Windows XP Professional
FrameMaker 7.0
Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Professional
 
For the past 10 years I have been working with a firm that manufactures steel decking for the construction industry. Our major output has been two catalogs plus two updates (4 catalogs total),  ranging from 60 to 150 pages. Approximately 15-20 pages is text with supporting illustrations. The remaining pages are tables that have a header with an illustration of the deck profile and the circumstance for its use. The tables, mostly on facing pages, are typically 12 columns x 48 rows (plus or minus). Some tables also have footnotes. Since our client has requested that each profile is its owwn discrete file, we combine as many as 50 files into a FrameMaker book. Except for the covers, the catalogs have been printed in black + 1 spot color. (The covers are prepared by others using Quark -- no problem.)
 
That one spot color is the problem. Commercial printers seem to dislike FrameMaker output for offset printing because, in the printers' view at least, Frame does a lousy job of handling color output. For the four catalogs, we have used three printers, and each one has had trouble with Frame's color output despite our setting up FrameMaker separations and Distiller to the printers' specifications. They claim that Frame outputs a lot of RGB color or mixes RGB and CMYK color. The printer also wants output to an 11x17 page, but Frame says the output will overlap facing pages because we use right and left master pages with more space on the binding edge.
 
Basically our client is looking for answers two questions: 
 
1. Is FrameMaker still the best software choice? If not, what software or plug-ins would you recommend?
 
2. Assuming we continue with FrameMaker, how can we avoid the color issues we’ve had with commercial printers?
 
I would think that many of you have encountered the same problems, and I am most interested in hearing how you solved them.

Howard Rauch
 
Technology Transfer, Inc.
"Linking Creators and Users of Technology"
933 North 18th Street
Manitowoc WI 54220
Office: 920-682-1528
Cell: 920-629-0080