Before you make a PDF file, Read: Preflight- a brief history
Preflight, in the graphic arts sense, is the process used to check digital files before they go to plate, print or otherwise output (such as to check PDF files before printing). It traditionally is a way to check print quality before going to the printing press, but can also be used to check print quality for online banners and gifs. Preflight is best done on the source document, such as those created in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, QuarkXPress or Corel!Draw as some examples, before becoming a PDF (Portable Document Format). Similar to a pilot whom walks around and performs a preflight check before takeoff, preflighting to check print quality should be a must for designers and prepress operators.
The term preflight was first used during a presentation in 1990 by Chuck Weger, a well known industry consultant. There were some early on postscript (rips) that interpreted data and provided a preflight report of sorts. However the first true preflight application came from Markzware and was wisely called FlightCheck, another term pilots use. Markzware is the maker of XTensions and FlightCheck preflighting software, which can check digital files and check PDF files during the preflight process to check print quality before postflight. This is a very important step in PDF creation.
The importance of preflighting to check PDF files and more can be seen in the exhibit below:
Even before FlightCheck® was on the market, Markzware applied for and was duly granted a preflight patent on the ‘Device and method for examining, verifying, correcting and approving electronic documents prior to printing, transmission or recording.’
Markzware started with QuarkXPress XTensions and became an independent software development company. A key decision was made for FlightCheck to become a stand-alone application including additional value, such as compatibility with file formats, including formerly Aldus PageMaker, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and others.
FlightCheck was released during the Seybold Conference at San Francisco in the fall of 1995, ‘officially’ shipping in December of that year. During those three days at Seybold, Markzware sold nearly 500 units! Fast-forward to 2008 and, although Markzware develops plug-ins and Xtensions for preflighting and conversion, FlightCheck Professional remains a stand-alone application that can check digital files, including check PDF files. Easy to use via a drag-and-drop interface it can validate file formats for some 50 file types, including Adobe InDesign and PDF, FlightCheck is even more important than ever to tens of thousands of printing, publishing and creative companies, worldwide.
Preflight is a process that you do in PREparation, before you send off to others or hit command-P (print). Postflight is the process that is administered on the resulting PDF file. Many loosely use the term “preflight” to cover both preflight and postflight. Other preflighting tools to check PDF files offer limited preflighting and pale in comparison to Markzware’s FlightCheck.
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