Adobe InDesign CS Live Preflight and FlightCheck
In response to a detailed post by Rufus Deuchler, worldwide evangelist for Adobe Creative Solutions:
As the preflight inventors, U.S. Patented holders and with more than 15 years of experience, Markzware is in a unique position with vast resources and experience within the print, publishing and graphic markets.
It is our opinion that Adobe InDesign’s CS4 (and CS5) “Live Preflight” feature, was a necessary inclusion within the InDesign application, mostly for an ‘insurance’ purpose. That is, whenever documents are created within Adobe InDesign CS and have a problem upon output, then Adobe can point to this feature – In other words; could it be this is more for Adobe Indesign’s printing insurance than that of the designers?
Years ago, Markzware developed an in-flight tool, FlightCheck Studio (originally HawkEye) which received rave reviews. However, in our experience we found designers that use InDesign CS, seldom use preflight. The reason being, performing ‘mechanical checks’ is not in a graphic designer’s or creative’s DNA. They design and create the best work they can to market and sell products, then as quick as the designer is finished with one project – they are off to the next! Designers and creatives, on average do not have time to preflight. (Or it is this type of attitude, “As a professional designer, I don’t make mistakes.”)
Now, many are asking the question: ‘Since InDesign CS has Live Preflighting do I still need FlightCheck?’
The short answer: Yes. A longer answer can partially be found at InDesignSecrets.com:
In addition to the reasons cited above, the InDesign CS Live Preflighting has shortcomings which do not include the ability to (From above link):
- Check Four Color Text
- Check Bleed/trim hazard
- Check Profile Error reporting
- Share the Preflight profile with Acrobat
- Check Fonts not allowed
- Download and share Custom profiles
- Check Non-Proportional Scaling
- Quickly provide preflight results
FlightCheck has been specifically engineered, for designers and creatives – as well as print and publishing providers. (See tutorial video demonstrations.) What’s more FlightCheck, a stand-alone application bridges the communication gap between designers and print professionals.
For example, the “Inability to share the Preflight profile with Acrobat,” and “Inability for Custom profiles to be shared and downloaded” issues are solved by the FlightCheck Ground Control sets. FlightCheck Ground Controls (link includes video) may be shared with anyone in the print workflow. Furthermore, FlightCheck is broad-based analyzing a wide range of versions supported in several file formats! These include Adobe InDesign, Acrobat PDF, Illustrator, Photoshop, QuarkXPress and many several others. (Your one-stop-app for preflighting all Adobe and other document types!)
For years, FlightCheck Professional has been second to none for all aspects of the workflow, from design to print. Adobe’s Live Preflight is certainly necessary, as part of a larger Adobe InDesign CS package.
I believe Adobe’s Live Preflighting is important and helps print designers and creatives in several ways, including providing useful education on how to prepare a print job. I’m just wondering though if in fact Adobe InDesign CS users are actually using Live Preflight on that level? And, on the same token ‘Are printers receiving perfect files all of a sudden?’
To expect designers to use Live Preflight and be alerted to numerous, often technical, complicated problems and be expected to fix them after working long and hard on their design is a lot to ask. From my experience, the average designer will, at best, perform a surface check, then hand the digital piece to the production and/or print department for further ‘mechanical’ evaluation and correction, or just send “the print job” to the print-shop.
I expect graphic designers and creatives will explore Live Preflight. Once they become aware of it, then possibly they will be curious about FlightCheck and other preflight/postflight tools that have been in the marketplace for years. Some may be surprised to learn that FlightCheck can preflight Adobe InDesign CS Master Collection files, for instance. The fact remains that, not only do cautious pilots check before take-off, they also check during flight and after landing the plane.
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