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weisworld replied on May 06, 2009 23:00 to the question "halftones" in MagCloud:

MagCloud magazines are printed on HP Indigo digital presses, which utilize amplitude-modulated halftone screens, like standard offset presses. Whether it produces moire patterns would depend on the size/frequency of the halftone patterns in your image.

Sounds like a cool project. Give MagCloud a try and see how it turns out.

weisworld replied on January 30, 2009 01:24 to the question "Quark" in MagCloud:

Yes, you can use any software tool to layout your magazine. In fact, we even have a Quark template to help you get started:

http://magcloud.com/blog/post/view/16

Good luck with your magazine!

weisworld replied on January 04, 2009 08:15 to the question "PDF color match/Uploading InDesign file" in MagCloud:

When exporting your PDF from InDesign, if you select "No Color Conversion" and "Include Tagged Source Profiles" from the Output -> Color section of the Export dialog box, it should retain all of the color information in order to print accurately through MagCloud. If the PDF was exported without including tagged source profiles, and it contains images in AdobeRGB98, they will appear muted in the PDF compared to how they look in Photoshop or InDesign. Another possible reason that the PDF does not look good on screen is that Adobe Reader might not be making use of your monitor ICC profile when displaying the PDF on screen.

Hopefully, this will help with your color issues. Go ahead and order a proof of your magazine and see how it turns out.

weisworld replied on January 04, 2009 07:36 to the question "Best CMYK values for solid "rich" black?" in MagCloud:

Solid blacks for text, lines and thin graphical elements should be specified as 100% black (no CMY). This is so the edges will appear crisp and clean, without any color edges due to possible minor misregistration with any printing process.

If you have larger areas that need a darker black, you can specify a CMYK value of 89, 83, 78, 100%, or use RGB=0,0,0 and the RIP will automatically convert it to this same CMYK value.

Happy New Year!

weisworld replied on November 25, 2008 00:51 to the question "Color profile for TIFF images" in MagCloud:

The Indigo presses that are used to print MagCloud magazines are ICC color managed, so you can choose whatever color space you prefer. AdobeRGB 1998 is a good choice. Our PDF preview is not currently color managed, so if you have images in a color space other than sRGB, the colors will not be accurate. The functionality is there mainly for you to preview the layout and trim.

weisworld replied on October 10, 2008 16:38 to the question "magazine expiration date" in MagCloud:

I don't believe your invitations expire, but if you're worried about that, then I would recommend that you create your publisher account now and familiarize yourself with the MagCloud site and publisher interface. This way, when you're ready to publish your magazine, you'll be all set to upload your pdf and make it public.

Currently, we do not support adding a blowout card to the magazine.

weisworld replied on September 11, 2008 23:15 to the question "Adobe InDesign template....missing plug-ins?" in MagCloud:

We originally had our InDesign template available in the .INX format, but we found a bug in InDesign CS3 where it does not read the bleeds correctly (it sets the bleed to be equal on all sides, which is not what was saved in the .INX file).

We haven't tested the same file with CS2, but even if it works, it may make more sense to offer a CS2 format template, rather than the .INX which is broken for CS3. If that's enough demand for this format, we will try to make one available.

weisworld replied on September 05, 2008 04:53 to the question "Is the orientation of the magazine specific? or can we do a magazine in landscape?" in MagCloud:

Sorry if my explanation wasn't clear. No, you cannot publish a landscape magazine in MagCloud today... unless you don't mind the binding on the top edge, like a calendar. We may decide to add such a product in the future, but currently, it does not exist.

weisworld replied on September 05, 2008 04:22 to the question "Is the orientation of the magazine specific? or can we do a magazine in landscape?" in MagCloud:

The MagCloud magazine is oriented like most magazines - it is in portrait orientation with the binding on the left. The PDF you upload has to be 8.5" wide x 11" tall (which includes the bleed).

weisworld replied on September 05, 2008 04:19 to the question "How do i order a proof after publishing?" in MagCloud:

Simple - just go ahead and order the proof and enter your friend's US address as the shipping address. The magazine proof will get sent to that address.

weisworld replied on September 03, 2008 22:09 to the question "Private vs. Public Status" in MagCloud:

We currently don't support this feature, so the only way to get others to see your publication would be to make it public. However, we are working on it, so stay tuned!

weisworld replied on September 02, 2008 04:22 to the question "How long does a proof take to arrive?" in MagCloud:

Proof orders take the same amount of time as regular orders and should arrive within 7-10 days.

weisworld replied on September 02, 2008 04:02 to the question "Is the price of the mag printed on the cover or back? Is it a laser or sticker?" in MagCloud:

No, the price of the magazine is not automatically printed or stuck onto the magazine. If you want the price to show on the magazine, you will have to design it into your cover.

weisworld replied on August 21, 2008 20:58 to the question "Magazine size options" in MagCloud:

Hi Nayt - it's not an impossibility, but it's not as simple as just folding the paper in half. There would be work involved in getting the front end (our website) updated to accept a new PDF format (along with all the proper instructions for our publishers on how to design for that new format), and on the back end, our PSP would have to modify their workflow to allow for 2 different products, including the changes in imposition, trimming, folding and stapling.

That said, we are evaluating the demand for different features (page sizes, paper types, binding options, etc), and will do our best to provide the best products and options to all our customers.

weisworld replied on August 20, 2008 23:09 to the question "Magazine size options" in MagCloud:

We currently only support 1 size (8.25" x 10.75" trimmed), but we are always on the lookout for ideas for the future, and we appreciate your feedback.

weisworld replied on August 20, 2008 23:05 to the question "Please save the PDF to be compatible with Acrobat 5. Help?" in MagCloud:

I see, so you're using Acrobat 9 to create your PDFs directly? In that case, you can open the PDF that you created, select Advanced -> Preflight (or shift-CTRL-X on a PC) and from the "Acrobat/PDF version compatibility" group, select "Compatible with Acrobat 5", then click on Execute. Click the OK button on the next window, and Acrobat will modify your PDF to be compatible with MagCloud.

Give this a try and let us know if it works for you.

weisworld replied on August 19, 2008 21:54 to the question "Please save the PDF to be compatible with Acrobat 5. Help?" in MagCloud:

hi kristin - are you creating a magazine in InDesign? or using some other software? when you export your PDF, there's a bunch of settings to check, such as bleeds, PDF version, compression, etc. if you could list these, it would be very helpful. thanks!

weisworld replied on August 18, 2008 03:08 to the question "Please save the PDF to be compatible with Acrobat 5. Help?" in MagCloud:

Could you please provide us some details on what OS, software, version and PDF settings you're using? That will help us diagnose your problem.

weisworld replied on August 18, 2008 03:06 to the problem "The Bewildering Mystery of the Bleed and Size Error After Uploading PDF" in MagCloud:

Could you double check that you selected the "Use Document Bleed Settings" checkbox on the "Marks and Bleeds" tab of the export PDF options? The InDesign template has all the correct page size and bleed settings, so the PDF should be good to go as long as this box is checked.

weisworld replied on August 09, 2008 15:48 to the question "Soft Proof settings in PS CS3 & CMYK vs. RGB" in MagCloud:

The inks of the HP Indigo digital press are fairly close to standard SWOP inks, so you can use the "U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2" icc profile in PS to do a soft proof of your images. I would not select simulate paper colors or simulate black ink, because the paper used in the Indigo is whiter and the blacks are blacker than the SWOP paper/inks. JPGs can definitely be sent as RGB. In fact, I recommend sending all images as RGB and letting the the MagCloud system do the appropriate color conversion to Indigo CMYK.

Hope this helps!