Photoshop small print size tip.
It's been the common practice to do photoshop files at 300ppi. This can be challenging for napes, Pockets or left chest prints at 300ppi. At this size, and detail, it us usually not enough resolution to prepare the file for print with best results. These days, many use digital film printers and DTS that make use of higher resolutions for output. It's perfectly fine to send a file to your RIP at 600ppi.
When you create this psd art, Start from an original size and at 600ppi. Do not just re-sample up. That will not benefit you. These small sized files at 600ppi will enable you to...
A, When in Channels, for separations, be sure to adjust levels to burn out any grey tones or soft edges on solid type or solid art, so that you do not end up with halftones on the out edges of your art/type at output due to having your type unit-aliased. This also happens when you take a 100,200 or 300ppi image up to a 600ppi or copy/paste and scale up or down. Some interpolation (blending or filling in of empty pixel space data) has to occur when you do that. Thereby providing you with soft or fuzzy edges on your art that end up with your RIP providing you with halftones edges on your screen. So go to levels or curves, and adjust to take out he fussy edges.
B, This higher rez of 600ppi, enables you to make use of better, more accurate chokes and spreads on bases with cleaner line edges.
C, When you do a choke, it puts something there even in the thinnest areas when it comes to thin lines and serifed type. At 300ppi, at pocket size, the type (when choked 2 pixels) will end up broken up and not benefit the entire area intended to support your top color.
D, For 300ppi files, most of the chokes are done at 2 pixels (typically). For full sized prints Front or back, a 300ppi file is just fine since most everything is much larger and can be held easier. For smaller sized images, Nape, pocket prints, left chest, the 600ppi file should be choked at near 4 pixels. I SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE and use 3 pixel chokes at 600ppi and works well for me and our shop.
