Pre-Press, In a Nutshell

After two-weeks spent synthesizing all the Pre-Press knowledge I had so-far acquired, I'm back on this blog to compare notes with my fellow Associates. I just completed my month-long Pre-Press rotation, and I've moved into the Bindery, where I've gotten a nice introduction to that department over the past week. I've just turned a page, and discovered a whole new chapter of the LDP at Watermark Press, complete with its own unique set of challenges.

There's definitely a lot I have to touch on after having spent my first week in Bindery, followed by a weekend in Houston for First Year Initiative (FYI) training. I'm eager to discuss my debut in both Bindery, and Texas, the original home of Consolidated Graphics. Stay tuned within the next couple of days. For now, here is my Pre-Press Presentation in bullet-point format:

Department:

• Jim Jordan – Pre-Press Manager
• Chris Tucker – Electronic Pre-Press and Color Specialist
• Tim Lindner – Electronic Pre-Press and Electronic Archiving
• Oscar Canada & Bob Gardner – Proof-Out
  
• Oscar – Digital/Konica Specialist
• Bob – Chemical Usage Reporter, and File Archiving

Previewing: quick check that what's on the files (colors, pages) matches the docket specs

Pre-Flighting: checking to see if a job has all the elements needed to start E-prep

• Blueprint: a clearly defined layout, assigned by the planning department
• Native Files: plus electronic assembly in compatible file formats/programs
• Visual Reference Points: color lasers, B&W with clear labels, folding dummy
• Any job unapproved during pre-flight is put on hold. Sales/Planning to help obtain all missing components, and clarify unclear directions/information.
• Note: PDFs are horrible for proofing because they often make it difficult to isolate changes/edits. A newly acquired program, Pitstop, helps edit PDFs.

Programs:

• File Management: User Fonts Folder, Jobs Volume
• Job Management: Prinergy Workshop, Prinergy
• Design: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator
• Page Layout: Preps, Indesign and Quark Xpress
• Page Layout Scripts (unique to Watermark Press): Take Off Ehh, Marks of the Beast

Pre-Press Work Flow: Kodak Work Flow Model

· Planners (Rob, Maureen, Steve, and Krystine) place a new docket on the E-Prep rack, with priority jobs on the top of the rack.

· E-Prep to pre-flight the docket and check to make sure all specifications are clear and all the files, lasers, and other visuals stated in the docket are present.

· Questions and concerns are addressed to planner overseeing the job.

· Ok-Go! Start job hours by logging into PSI.

· File Management: preservation of originals, and organization are key

· Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, In Design, and Preps are used to edit and otherwise prepare the clients' native files for initial proofing.

· While preparing the job, E-prep is also foreseeing any problems before they emerge on the press, things like color assignment, ink density, creep, etc.

· Save files to Post Script (EPS), and move them into Prinergy Workshop in order to get them organized for proofing, starting with a virtual proof, or VPS.

· Use Prinergy to output PDF versions of the job to our various pre-press proofing devices: the Integris, the Ink Jet, and the Trendsetter (Oscar/Bob).

· A signed checklist is used to review proofs before they proceed to Proof-Out.

· Oscar or Bob to cut/trim proofs and create finished versions of the proofs: saddle-stitched booklets, folded brochures, mock-ups of boxes. Label proof with job number, quantity, and date.

· Jim to review proofs with a 2^nd checklist before sending proofs to clients.

· Proofs come back with corrections or Change-Orders to the E-prep rack for re-proofing. Exclusive color changes are put on the Color Correction rack.

· Plating usually conducted by Oscar.

· Press runs and Make-Ready. Pre-press to Rule-Out/Up press sheets.

Proofing: generally one for content, and one for color is required

· Integris – affordable, content proofs, not accurate for color

· Ink Jet – better quality when compared to Integris, better for color

· Spectrum proofs – high quality, best resembles the press, uses colored film

· Digital jobs – Oscar outputs a digital proof and checks for size, alignment and back-up, and for jobs with a color reference point, color matching. Clients approve or correct the proof, and Oscar adjusts the specifications during re-proofing, and ultimately, the actual digital press run. Sometimes, proofs are re-directed to E-prep for special case change orders.

*All proofs must be labeled with the date, job quantity, and job number.

Trapping: two adjacent colors meet and butt to each other, so there is a slight, accurate overlap. Trapping helps avoid white gaps in the event of misregistration.

Imposition: a culmination of many things, primarily orientation, pagination, content, trims, bleeds, and overall layout/production (work and turn, flat work, work and tumble)

Screen vs. Printer Font:

• Screen fonts are mere pictures of how the font is actually encoded for printing, and can look very different from fonts outputted by printing devices (DPI output is different from, say, an Illustrator file, and even between different machines.)
• Clear directions need to be sent to the printers so that the font imaging doesn’t get lost in translation.
• Clients should provide fonts because we may not have the fonts they used in our system. “User Fonts” is a program/folder which is programmed to work exclusively with the fonts we put there, and we clear the folder and upload fonts with each new job.

Line Screen: lines per inch (LPI), we typically use 175, 200 LPI here at Watermark

DPI: dots per inch

Dot Gain: where the LPI shows overages of specified DPI densities in certain areas. For example, ink density can show a 3% gain on one area of the page, which may not dry in time and bleed onto the next press sheet. Dot gain can be caused by uncoated paper.

Half Tone Dot Angle: colors exist at a particular screen angle to avoid interference and moiré, CYAN 105 deg., MAGENTA 75 deg., YELLOW 90 deg., and BLACK 45 deg.

EPS: encapsulated post-script

· “a language for driving raster-based output devices, producing typefaces as vector-based outlines”, interpreter for computer data, coded for printout device

• Vector graphics
• Generally outputted by Illustrator, and treated in Photoshop or In Design
• Easily edited, colors easily separated

TIFF: tagged image file format

• Reliable, standard graphics format, can’t store object-oriented things

• Bitmapped/Rasterized: non-scalable pixel maps, different for different font sizes, real-world analog to a mosaic made from tiny colored pixels

RIP: raster image processor, organizes font data, and creates the page bit map

RGB and CMYK Color Theory:

• RGB (red, green, and blue) color theory refers to the three bands of additive color recognized by the human eye. They add together to form white light.
• CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) refer to subtractive colors. Cyan occurs when red is subtracted from white light, leaving a composite of green and blue. Magenta is made up of red-blue. Yellow is red-green. Black makes greys. (White is the absence of black/color - binary 0.)

Emulsion: chemicals for plating, the blue coating on a plate, heat/light/pressure sensitive

Suggestions and Other Pre-Prep Issues:

• Proof-Out Dockets are currently flagged when we aren’t sure if the job is for the Heidelberg or the Komori. EMPLOY A SIMILAR PROCESS FOR PRE-PREP DEADLINES. FLAG WITH COLORED CLIPS OR POST-ITS DESIGNATING “hot”, “warm”, “luke-warm”, OR BETTER YET TIMES: 12pm, 2pm, 4pm etc.

• Jim is adamant about getting the Inkjet proofs to be more accurate in color-proofing, in order to cut the very expensive costs of spectrum proofing.
• Streamline work flow and improve communication lines between departments with better information sharing, and clear client specifications via sales. Suggestion: create a better checklist for sales people, so they can double-triple check file completion and special instructions, for example, BEFORE planning and pre-press.