Pre-flighting To Ensure Error-Free Print Output
Markzware invented FlightCheck, the patented pre-flight technology to thoroughly check documents to ensure quality print output. FlightCheck is the standard pre-flight solution for quality control of print documents. With all the various media available to today’s content creator, communicating with large groups has become a complex proposition. You practically have to scream to get people’s attention – especially when preparing print documents.
The printed word is still the most reliable format for reaching potential audiences. Just a few years ago, its layout was created with paper strips of text that were pasted up on art boards, using either wax or rubber cement. This was know as ‘cold type.’ To ensure that documents print properly, preflighting is a must.
It took until the early 1990s for most organizations to come to rely on page layout software. Computer programs now allow designers the freedom to create designs as varied as one’s imagination. This may lead to the use of several file formats, and FlightCheck can preflight several file formats. Once created, the electronic document is subject to individual quirks inherent to its particular software application. For instance, you cannot do four color separation work using Microsoft Word.
The ability to create eye-catching flyers and newsletters has been greatly enhanced in recent years by page layout programs, such as QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign. These programs have helped streamline the design and production process, which encompasses not only acquiring materials and designing the piece, but also checking the integrity of the digital file before final print.
That is where pre-flighting for print output quality comes in. FlightCheck is ideal for preflighting these formats for error-free output. It is designed to analyze desktop publishing files and flag any potential problems before output. FlightCheck can preflight Adobe InDesign, QuarkXPress and many other file formats.
Preflighting is critical on a number of levels. It can help avoid costly mistakes, such as missing or stylized fonts, low-resolution graphics, missing files and type that is not included in graphic items. Improperly prepared files account for the majority of pre-press problems today. Clean files are necessary for both digital printing and computer-to-plate (CTP) printing.
Preflighting utility programs should be used to check designs for print output created within desktop publishing applications. With page layout software, or with print business cards, a systematic check of files before vendor or in-house printing is the best way to ensure error-free output. Remember to use FlightCheck for preflighting to ensure quality print results.
