Trapping
Tutorial
Manual and Automatic Trapping
When trapping is called for you need to know
where and how to accomplish it. In this lesson we are simply providing
an overview of the options. If trapping is necessary you have
the option of trapping it yourself or leaving that job to your
service bureau or printer. Talk with your service provider about
their preferences and recommendations for trapping your files.
There are three basics programs available for trapping.
- Illustration Software.
In vector-based drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator
you can create simple manual traps by applying outlines (overprinting
strokes) to objects or use plug-ins that apply the appropriate
trap.
- Page
Layout Software.
High-end tools such as QuarkXPress, Adobe PageMaker, and Adobe
InDesign have built-in trapping.
Each program may have multiple ways in which
trapping is applied.
- Dedicated Trapping Software.
Usually used by service bureaus and printers these programs
are designed to do nothing but trapping. TrapWise and Trapper
are two such programs.
Which
program you use or how you set the trap depends on the number
of overlapping objects, whether you are overlapping imported
images, and the presence of gradient fills. Those are topics
for future lessons in trapping.
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