How to preflight print files with fonts and to package fonts during prepress, using Markzware FlightCheck pre press software:
Although this is the 21st century, it can still be difficult to preflight and package fonts in prepress files for the print workflow. Markzware offers a preflight solution that provides file collection and packaging for fonts.
Markzware aims to provide high quality software for preflighting desktop publishing (DTP) files with various fonts. FlightCheck can collect files, including non-embedded fonts, and package them into a single print job folder.
You can check documents for print quality control and collect fonts for packaging. See how, in this FlightCheck demonstration video:
How to Preflight and Package Fonts in Prepress: Markzware FlightCheck
FlightCheck identifies document items such as missing fonts and collects files to package fonts, images, etc. into one folder.
How to Preflight and Package Fonts, with FlightCheck (overview)
Scroll down for details in “How to Collect Fonts via FlightCheck” section below:
• Install and activate FlightCheck preflight software.
• Click on your preferred checkboxes in FlightCheck’s Preferences and Ground Controls.
• Set Ground Control items to Off, Warning, or Error, per your print workflow needs.
• Drag and drop your file onto the FlightCheck icon, to begin the preflighting process.
• FlightCheck will alert you to the potential printing problems that you specified.
• In the Collect menu, select Collect Job.
• Choose an option, such as to collect or package fonts, required plug-ins, etc.
• You can also compress the job, which is useful for sharingk.
• Click Collect, and FlightCheck will collect files for the entire job into a ZIP file. You’ll get a “FlightCheck approved” icon for the job files. When the collected job file is decompressed, there will be a folder with all used fonts and used images, a preflight report, and the layout file.
FlightCheck checks print documents for common file problems, such as font issues. This standalone application is ideal for ensuring printing quality, for documents with various fonts, colors, images, etc.
Font Preferences Setup in FlightCheck:
If you want FlightCheck to report on embedded objects in the Overview, Results and Collect windows, enable the “Report Embedded Objects” preference.
FlightCheck Benefits
• ensures all required fonts are included.
• streamlines the print workflow, by identifying file problems, such as missing fonts.
• details file errors, including issues with fonts.
• can inspect font size, as well as several other file items.
FlightCheck’s Font Preferences
You can manage font paths, via Preferences->Fonts->Setup. You can prioritize font paths by either:
• highlighting a font path and clicking on the up or down arrowheads on the right of the Font Paths window, or
• highlighting a font path and clicking and dragging the name up or down in the list.
You can manage custom font paths in FlightCheck. You can either:
• select the folder where you store fonts,
• set up a flexible path based on the document you are preflighting, or
• remove a pathname from the Path window and FlightCheck’s search path for Fonts.
You can check to see if all required fonts are included in the original file, by using FlightCheck:
• Go to Preferences->Fonts->Fonts in Document Path and uncheck all but the , then
• Go to the Fonts Ground Control area and uncheck the “Inactive Fonts” and “Inactive Used Fonts” Ground Controls. (FlightCheck can search for fonts in the Fonts folder for the file you are preflighting.
It will tell you if the fonts are present, whether or not the fonts are active.)
• Go to Preferences->Fonts->Active Fonts and uncheck all of the boxes except . (FlightCheck will flag missing fonts if they’re inactive.)
If you’re using 3rd party font management software, you can either:
• go to Preferences->Fonts->3rd Party Font Management Software and uncheck all but under Font Preferences in FlightCheck, or
• set up one or more Absolute paths to where your 3rd party font software stores fonts. (FlightCheck can still collect these fonts if they’re inactive.)
Want to know if you are missing a font from your document’s print job folder? FlightCheck will tell you if font problems or other file problems exist.
Fonts Ground Controls in FlightCheck
You can set FlightCheck’s Ground Controls to trigger for Inactive Fonts, Inactive Used Fonts, Missing Screen Fonts, Missing Used Screen Fonts, Missing Printer Fonts, Missing Used Printer Fonts, Embedded Fonts, and Corporate Fonts, via Fonts->Status. You can also set Ground Controls to trigger for actual font types including TrueType, City/System Fonts, Multiple Masters, Non-Adobe, and OpenType fonts, via Fonts > Type. You can even set Ground Controls to trigger for Menu Styled, Encoding, Small point sizes, and Text Shadow font usage via Fonts > Usage.
The collected job folder provides an up-to-date, workflow-wide view of the files. This allows team members to access the job files, see job status, analyze processes, edit fonts, and more.
Collect Window to Package Fonts in FlightCheck:
How to Collect Fonts via FlightCheck:
• Go to Main Menu > Collect Menu.
• For the current job open in FlightCheck, select the Collect Job… option (or perform a Command-J). The Collect Window will appear, so you can collect and package fonts in the job folder.
• Click the Collect Report… option to create a collection report (inventory of what FlightCheck can collect and flags as missing) for the job named in the Overview window.
• At the top of the Collect Window, select the Collect Destination option to select a destination or path where FlightCheck will save your collected job.
• Click the “Choose” button to choose the destination for your collected job. By default, FlightCheck saves collected jobs to your Desktop.
• The Destination Info option allows you to
compress a job, create a job folder, see the name of the job to be collected, and see the space available on your hard drive.
• The Job Info area displays the Total File Count and the Total Job Size (uncompressed).
• The Collectable File Classes area lists file types to be collected, including:
– Suitcases (screen fonts, the bitmap portion of postscript fonts)
– Type 1 Font Files (printer fonts, the postscript portion of postscript fonts)
– Fonts (OpenType fonts, TrueType fonts and dFonts)
By default, FlightCheck creates a Collect Report (text-based inventory report). If you don’t want this report added to the collected job folder, uncheck Collect Report in the Collectable File Classes list.
Selecting an item in the Collectable File Class window will activate four buttons in the same window and highlight a Class with a blue bar.
• Select a button to apply to the highlighted Class.
1. Click the File Class Options button to bring up the Collect Class Options window. You can:
– create or change the names of Subfolders for collected fonts.
– omit referenced but unused files. (By default, this tells FlightCheck to not collect referenced but unused items. If you change names of folders for Fonts to be collected into, you must have a job with all the types of Fonts present.)
2. Click the “Collect All Files In Class” button to cause FlightCheck to collect everything associated with a job. FlightCheck displays unused fonts in italics in the Files area of the Collect Window. To collect these fonts (which is not what users typically want), you can select Collect All Files In Class.
3. Click the Collect Used Files In Class button to collect only files used in the job, without collecting unused fonts. This is FlightCheck’s default state and what most users want. FlightCheck is set up to collect only “Used Files in Class” for all 46 Classes.
4. Click the Collect None Of The Files In Class button to collect nothing for that Class. If you are sending a job to someone and you don’t want to include images, you can highlight the Image Class and click “Collect None Of The Files In Class”, rather than deselecting each image individually in the Files window.
• Go to Files in the Collect Window, to see files that FlightCheck associates with the job to collect. The Collect column on the left contains checkboxes for items. If a box is checked for an item, FlightCheck will attempt to collect the item. If an item is missing, it cannot be found and will not be collected. The Size column on the right lists the size in bytes of collection items. FlightCheck does not collect embedded fonts.
FlightCheck assembles print files into one folder, including the fonts, images and document file. With a central folder, team members can view and share the most current print job files, including the preflight report. This also helps to avoid work duplication.
For more information on Markzware‘s pre press software to check digital files for print quality control, see the FlightCheck page. For more desktop publishing (DTP) and printing solutions, see the Markzware Products page.
How did this preflight solution help you to preflight and package fonts in prepress? Please comment below to let us know. Also, feel free to subscribe to the Markzware Mailing List, and interact with Markzware on
Twitter,
Facebook,
LinkedIn, and
Google+.
How to Preflight and Package Fonts in Prepress: Markzware FlightCheck
