Finding photos and finding images
Finding photos and finding images for your book design.
Finding photos and finding images to collect for your book design and layout, and what you need to know. Copy and store images and photographs in an art or asset folder that is in a separate folder, preserving originals.
Many of the images used in my book, including the cover, are from Unsplash.com. They are free. Unsplash states in the licensing agreement in place at the time of the writing of this book that the photos may be credited or not, and that they are free for commercial use. If you are interested in using Unsplash, please refer to their licensing agreement at: https://unsplash.com/license
Read licensing agreements for all images and graphics that you use
There are costs for many stock images on stock photo or clip art websites, as well as restrictions on the number impressions that you may publish in different media. Some offer extensions on use agreements at a higher cost.
Photographs that you purchase, acquire for free, or that you shoot yourself need to be converted to CMYK in Adobe ® Photoshop ® to print well on press. They must also be TIFs or JPGs. Do not use PNGs as they are for the web and not for book printing. Star Print Brokers can convert photos or images as part of the book design process, at an additional cost.
When finding photos from several sources, realize that each photograph may have a quite different look. This may be problematic in having a unified look. Start by finding images with a similar look, whenever possible.
Solutions:
- Finding images with the same hue or value from one artist or one photographer.
- Adjust the color in photos so that they are all toned the same way.
- Use a color overlay or ghost the images.
- Buy Photoshop overlays that provide a similar look for each image, like an antique look, bright, light airy photos, or a dark and moody overlay, etc.
Color when finding photos and images
The color viewing on a monitor may look different vs. the same color viewing on a different monitor. Unless you have a color-calibrated monitor and are sitting in a color booth, precise matching proof color might not be possible. This is true of a physical, digitally output proof or a press proof. However, the color is much better on newer computers than it was in years past.
Color houses in the 1990s and before, would use the terms “pleasing color” and “exact match”
PLEASING COLOR
When Star Print Brokers supplies a physical set of full-color proofs, the entire set is output from a digital output device. This is our standard proof, but not necessarily the standard elsewhere. The color is close to what will print on press, but approximates the printing in the book. We still use the term “pleasing color.”
EXACT MATCH COLOR
Press proofs or wet proofs print on press, ink on paper. This option is quite costly. Seldom is there a necessity for exact match proofs. Besides, our digital proofs are most often so close in color that exact match is not required. We try to achieve an “exact match” using press proofs or wet proofs.
Beware – Are they Press proofs or digitally output proofs?
Beware of POD providers that advertise low cost or even free “press proofs” but the proofs are not printing on press. Instead they are output from a digital output devise. These are not press proofs.
More on finding photos and finding images
Occasionally we work with a photographer or an artist who has an exceptionally keen eye for color. While we can please ninety-nine percent of the self-publishers, we cannot guarantee that every page of every individual book will have the exact same match as on the printed press proof.
However, Star Print Brokers reputation since 1999 is that we produce exquisite color reproduction. Printing is an art, not a science.
