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This is a general question aimed at being a comprehensive tutorial and/or a Getting started guide.

My intent is to create a workflow that is independent of InDesign/Scribus etc.

Of course, the printers themselves mostly use proprietary software which is beyond my circle of influence.

I couldn't find much information in TeX.SE about preparing the LaTeX output in a way that is required by the printer. Hence I have asked it here.

1. How to create a pre-press PDF file?

2. What are the different packages that are involved that one should know to produce a press-ready PDF file?

3. I need some pointers/resource materials so that I can get familiarised with the terminologies used by the printers.

For example, there are terms like bleeds, crop marks etc. which refer broadly to the extra space and marks required for the printers to be able to cut and bind a book/magazine etc.

Regards.

vrgovinda
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    You might get more help if you describe the extra features you need and then ask which packages would be useful to know about. At the moment, I would need to know about printing and binding to answer your question. – Andrew Stacey Oct 21 '22 at 07:33
  • @AndrewStacey Yes. This question is aimed at those who are familiar with the book production workflow — from layout design and typesetting to getting the book in print. – vrgovinda Oct 22 '22 at 01:04
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    I suggest you google for "bleed(s)" and "crop marks", etc. You might, or might not, find Derek Brown, "Designing a Book" ,Primrose Hill Press, 2003, ISBN 1 901648 33 8 useful. – Peter Wilson Oct 22 '22 at 18:07
  • @PeterWilson Thanks a lot! Having a hard time finding the book, though! – vrgovinda Oct 23 '22 at 01:55
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    Look up The Printing of Mathematics. – Ziggy Oct 23 '22 at 03:27
  • You may also have a look at publishers websites, inviting users submissions, like journals, magazines, books may be. Those usually provide input formats of various kinds. Also self-publishing as print may describe workflows in more detail. – MS-SPO Oct 23 '22 at 08:24
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    pdfx package allows to create a pdf-x file, which should comply with a number of requirements for press. It includes function to manage color profiles (cf. https://ctan.org/pkg/colorprofiles), which is perhaps one of the most tricky aspects... For crop marks, see crop package. On colors, cf. also https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/61217/latex-color-and-icc-color-profiles. – Iacobus1983 Oct 23 '22 at 12:28
  • @lacobus1983 . That was very useful! – vrgovinda Oct 23 '22 at 14:26
  • @PeterWilson Can you help me in getting the book, “Designing a Book” by Derek Brown? – vrgovinda Oct 25 '22 at 00:29
  • I can't help you in getting a book. Another one you might find useful is Ruari McLean "The Thames and Hudson Manual of Typography", Thames and Hudson, 1980, – Peter Wilson Oct 25 '22 at 19:06

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