January 2003 — Applications
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Schools Navigate Preflight Software for Smooth, Accurate Printing
This software is a critical component in the design and production process. After the file is checked, a report is generated telling you or your vendor if there are any problems, then allowing for corrections to be made before costly film or plates are created.The biggest complaint from print vendors is that there are often missing pieces — images that are not linked to a file — or missing fonts. After ensuring that the file has the greatest integrity, meaning that it will print with potentially no graphical errors, the program’s collection feature assembles all of the elements used to create the document into one folder. Then, the folder collects all of the document’s images, as well as its screen and printer fonts, notifying the printer that all of the digital pieces will link together to re-create the digital file at the print facility. For an institution printing its own mailers or flyers, this file is helpful in organizing the content. It also confirms when the piece will be printed, so time is not wasted searching for missing elements. Before digital files and “collect” options existed, a production manager would routinely check to see if all four pieces of film were present and that each appeared correctly.
Avoiding Problems
At The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Media Arts Department Chairman Harris Fogel is a strong believer in teaching preflight. He uses FlightCheck as a tool to help students look at and understand their files, and to make certain they are ready for printing. His class recently printed a 96-page four-color catalog for the senior photography students. The students raised the money themselves and, through a friend of a faculty member, had the job printed in Shanghai, China.
But the time frame was short, and the class didn’t have time for a full set of proofs. So, the students each turned in their QuarkXPress layouts, then integrated those into a master file for the printer. “I’m not exaggerating that it was 100% unprintable when we received the files from the 38 students,” says Fogel. The class used FlightCheck and caught hundreds of errors, none of which showed up in the color-laser proofs. Because of FlightCheck, the catalog was printed on time, on schedule and with only a few minor problems; which, had the class opted for the full set of proofs, they could have corrected. “The best part is that by preflighting the job, we not only saved money, saved on delays and mistakes,” says Fogel, “but we also educated all of the folks involved as to just how complicated a print job can be, as well as how to avoid problems in the future.”
Ken Spears
Publisher, CrossMedia Magazine
Contact Information
Markzware Inc.
Santa Ana, CA
(800) 300-3532
www.markzware.com
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