Digital File Verification Software Faciliates both Pre- and Post- Flighting
Pre-flight? Post-flight? Is there a difference, and if so, who cares? Ask anyone involved in the exchange of digital files for print, and you’ll be quick to learn just how important these two terms are to the overall quality control of the print creation-to-manufacturing workflow.
The term ‘preflight’ is the blanket term that printers have been using for more than a decade now, and it refers specifically to the process of verifying that the contents of a digital file are complete, accurately presented and prepared exactly according to the specifications of the file’s output intention - a printing press versus a Web document, for example. Preflight occurs at the native application stage, during document creation.
As the name may subsequently imply, ‘post-flight’ is a term meaning essentially the same thing — that a file is submitted to a software application that scans its contents and reports on its findings - but differs in where in the workflow this verification happens. While preflight suggests checking a file before it leaves the content creator’s desktop; post-flight can be used to describe what printers and service bureaus do to files that have been converted to prepress formats, such as an accredited standard like PDF/X-1a.
Why is it important to distinguish these two terms? Are we merely complicating matters? Indeed, not. As the print industry’s experience with digital file creation and exchange has matured, the paradigm has begun to shift. While many printers are quite content to continue to accept problematic digital files from their client base (and either charging or not charging for making any repairs), the smart ones have realized that to fully take advantage of the benefits of digital workflows, it’s time to share the responsibility for quality control.
Therefore, it makes sense that printers begin to evangelize two messages to their customers:
1. It’s important to understand our specifications. We have them in place for a reason, and the digital files you submit to us should be prepared according to these specifications if you wish to ensure the best possible reproduction quality; if you want to develop a streamlined and cost effective workflow; and, if you’d like to forego the cost and time it takes to fix your problematic files in favor of using these most valuable resources for other purposes.
2. Pre-and post-flighting is no longer considered to be the sole function of the print supplier. It is a shared responsibility, and content creators should take advantage of some very low-cost and simple-to-use tools that will help them ensure that the digital files they create are accurate and prepared according to spec before they are forwarded to a print partner.
Tags: FlightCheck, Markzware, Markzware News, postflight, preflight, Preflighting News, Prepress News, Workflow