Stop Prepress Worries
We work and live in confusing and complex times. This is especially true for those who are involved in graphic design, photography, illustration and the other dozen or so disciplines that make up the graphics world.
As we prepare digital files steps need to be taken to make sure missing fonts and images are included, fonts are with the files, colors are converted to CMYK, and trapping is correct. Preflighting all aspects of digital files before PDFs are created increases the chance of error-free output.
Preflighting software has existed since the 1980s, and in 1995 Markzware had first introduced FlightCheck. FlightCheck scans a variety of file types including QuarkXPress, InDesign, Multi-Ad Creator, Illustrator, PDF, Microsoft Publisher, to notify users of more than 150 potential prepress problems. Printing pros say the best way to deal with missing fonts, improper trapping and scaling, and other prepress problems is to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
Three easy tips for better preflighting:
1. Speak to your clients and provide information on what they should supply to ensure print ready files. Consider furnishing customized preflight profiles or supplying them with a preflight tool which spots problems before files are imaged to film or plate or converted to PDF format.
2. Allow enough time to review projects properly before outputting them, and give clients enough time to fix problems. Haste indeed makes waste.
3. Discuss issues such as ink density, dot gain and ink spread on the media that will be imprinted. Take these values and program them into your preflight tool to ensure that prepress guidelines are met.
Jobs submitted for print often include at least one error such as a missing font or an RGB image in a CMYK job. That can lead to the time consuming process of sending files back and forth between print buyer and provider, with both parties believing the other is responsible for noticing and fixing errors.
Many print providers and service bureaus say preflighting occurs too late in the workflow. Perhaps the main advantage of preflighting is it enables the process to begin sooner — before files leave designers’ desktops. Designers benefit by correcting files on their own equipment, improving turnaround times and preventing possible charges from printers. Printers benefit by receiving print-ready files that reduce downtime.
Tags: Adobe, InDesign, Markzware, preflighting, prepress, Print, printers, Quark, QuarkXPress, Workflow