We all know that the early bird gets the worm, but when it comes to our prose the ePUB Illustrated authors know that, more importantly, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you are a longtime reader of this e-zine you probably noticed that this issues is a bit late on your virtual newsstand. Suffice to say, our articles this go 'round were on the squeaky side in their early drafts and that since our job is to serve you, our reader and customer, by gosh we liberally applied grease to our squeaks. I think that as you dig into this issue, you'll find that our extra time in the composition stage has been worthwhile.

We have some exciting features again this issue! As always, Q&A will stock your brain with answers to some readers' burning questions. Then, we have some fantastic pieces on color expectation, designing pocket/kit folder files, and digital printing. Our in-depth piece for this issue is on repurposing legacy documents and is guest-authored by GPO's own Dave McCloskey. Dave has served as a CD-ROM Specialist in the Database Retrieval section within GPO Since 1993. Currently, he serves as Chief of the Database Retrieval section and has been a database developer/data publishing expert for over 9 years, advising customer agencies on their database endeavors. He tackles this tricky issue for our readers and I think you will thoroughly enjoy his explanation on the topic and his information on what GPO can do for your legacy documents.

Dave McCloskey

 

What else has been cooking here in the ePUB section of GPO? Work, work, work, work, and work! The turn of the fiscal year always keeps GPO on it's toes with a flood of new work, and this year was no different. We've had a heck of a time learning solutions to new problems, and still having the "oldies but goodies" around for variety.

A big issue cropping up recently is color reproduction. On some jobs, customers have felt that the final product or proof does not meet the color settings of the file. We are currently devising a way to use Delta E, that is the mathematical "distance" between colors, to measure the color difference from file to proof to print. In determining Delta E, two L*a*b* color values are compared and plugged into a mathematic formula. (L*a*b* color values are read from the files, proofs, and products because L*a*b* is independent of other modes like CMYK, RGB, or Spot and can therefore be compared directly.) We have been taking three readings across a page, then calculating Delta E between the file and the proof or print. Finally, these readings are averaged to come up with a Delta E for a single page. Delta E of five to six is considered a "perceptible" shift, with higher readings indicating a bigger shift. In evaluated jobs we have seen Delta E values ranging from 5 to about 30, so color can be all over the map. While our method is yet to be finalized, look for Delta E to be the key in determining color reproduction quality on jobs evaluated by our section. I'll keep you posted on updates to our method.

 

That's the scoop from the Hideaway! Enjoy this belated issue and look for the Winter 2002 issue to come out this December - barring anymore article hijinx!

 

Regards,