A perfect print with preflight checklist
Many designers who haven't worked closely with printing might think that a print-ready file boils down to just two things. 1) Color Mode: CMYK. 2) Resolution: 300 PPI.
But in reality, printing is much more complex. If it were as simple as that, why do professional printing house employ Prepress Managers and specialists to control, standardize, and troubleshoot files? Why do many companies seek to hire professionals with high salaries specifically to prepare graphic files for printing?
As the person responsible for file control in prepress, when a final file is sent to us, we need to standardize it for final printing. Naturally, to do any job correctly and systematically, we need a detailed roadmap to follow step by step to send a standardized file to the lithography and ultimately to commercial printing. Therefore, we should create a list of tasks to be performed on the file based on the type of printing machine, material such as plastic or paper, and other related items.
At first glance, many of us may think and come up with different questions. Of course, these questions can arise even for a professional person: "This is easy; I have a lot of experience and have sent many different files to print, and having a list is for beginners!"
But the key point here is this: the file we want to troubleshoot is going to be printed in very large quantities, and this process involves specific costs such as the production of printing plates, production materials, ink, and other side items. The implementation of this task also takes a lot of time, and this issue is a kind of cost and should be checked among other things.
Two Important Items for the Producer
The producer, the product owner, or the client is constantly trying to reduce costs while maintaining quality and, at the same time, maintain and expand their customer base in a shorter time. This is where our work shows its value and reveals its attractiveness:
1. If you go shopping, out of all the diverse and numerous products you see and touch up close, which one would you buy?
2. If the product you choose, for example, has illegible nutritional information on the table, would you be encouraged to buy it?
Important Question by the Customer
"Can a producer who doesn't value the packaging of their product and presenting it in the market provide me with good quality with this situation?"
Considering the questions raised from the client's and customer's perspectives, if you, as a designer and prepress control officer, can act correctly and professionally, you can be recognized as a professional in this industry and expand your business. And you've probably realized this by now. Your job is so important that it can influence purchasing decisions, branding, and maintaining production quality, and that's not all...
Prepress Process
A smart employer definitely wants to work with an expert and is willing to pay good money for it. Because the packaging file you prepare is your product's outfit in a market with endless variety and brands. So they definitely value your expertise and professionalism. So now you understand the importance of the matter. This doesn't end here, there are many other important items involved. Even if we have years of experience, we should not overlook any detail.
When you save a file and deliver it to the client, the company agrees with one of the print shops of their choice and the process continues. But what if there's a problem with the file? Then no one will be able to do anything about it, and at best, the produced plates will be wasted, and of course, this is the most optimistic scenario because in some cases, the file may have reached the printing stage and in addition to the plate, the material may have also been wasted.
That's why a high percentage of the effort in the workflow is on the responsibility of the person who can examine and export the appropriate file with specific standards. A file must be examined from various aspects, and the Prepress Manager must examine and modify it based on the type of printing machine, the final material such as plastic and paper, and even its Imposition structure. This is where we need to fully understand the technical concepts of printing, for example:
- What is the appropriate color space for the file?
- What is the meaning of color separation?
- What is the meaning of Minimum Dots and what is its use?
- Which objects need overprinting?
- Which elements should trapping be applied to?
- What is the minimum font size?
- What colors should be used in the channels for fonts?
- And many other important items...
In the near future...
These are just some of the tasks that a Prepress Manager must be proficient in, so you, like me, should start by preparing a list of tasks that can be performed on the file. Think for a few minutes now: what should be included in my list to export the existing file in the best possible way?
Without a doubt, write down the ideas that come to your mind. Each of these items is a very important item for our print file. You and I are going to review many important and key items, some of which I have mentioned as examples, so that we can work as a professional Prepress Manager. These topics will be explained to you over time.
