Got this interesting Linkedin message today about a new resource for QuarkXPress users:

Hey David,
They just launched this QuarkXPress Users/Pros site. Thought you guys might want to have a presence on there too: http://quarkpro.ning.com/

Check it out. It is like a social network site, but only for those into Quark Projects, layouts and XTensions.

Maybe we can get some comments from people that use FlightAlert XT from CompuSense. We read about it via a press release from XChange:

FlightAlert XT combines on-the-fly error checking of QuarkXPress documents with one of the most powerful Collect For Output engines available.

FlightAlert scans QuarkXPress documents for the key problems that regularly waste time, money and film. It is unique among the error-checking products in that there is no need to invoke or apply FlightAlert. It operates in the background as users work making it an ideal solution for integration into busy production and prepress workflows.

Preflight or postflight, PitStop or FlightCheck? That is like asking; brush your teeth or comb your hair? You should (and hopefully you are) doing both! Here was a new thread over on PrintPlanet that my colleague Mark (and Charles) alerted us to:

Pitstop or Flightcheck?
We are a small print shop working with Macs, QuarkXPress & CS4 applications. We get some native files along with PDFs from customers for jobs, but mostly we get PDFs. Can you tell me the pros and cons to each of these software packages as a preflighting tool?
Source: http://printplanet.com/forums/prepress-workflow-discussion/18449-pitstop-flightcheck

Adobe InDesign cannot open the file...

“Cannot open the file “*****.INDD”. Adobe InDesign may not support the file format, a plug-in that supports the file format may be missing, or the file may be open in another application.”

Good news- Solution below!

That was the message a customers file was giving us. They thought their Adobe file is corrupt; and it might still be. But what does this rather broad Adobe InDesign dialog message mean?

Here was a forum question over on the very popular InDesignTalk forum; which I get an email digest for. This had to do with converting paragraph styles from within Quark documents into InDesign Adobe files and of course applying those styles:

Here is a great survey on PDF preflight, that which many also call postflight, which was introduced in this blog post:

Posted by Marco on Jun 23, 2009 in cPDF
In 2008 Enfocus wanted to find out who exactly their clients were. They held a survey. 4.840 users responded. Now who was using what kind of software and on what platform? Where do they live? What’s their primary business? How frequently do they use PDF-files? Do they even check incoming PDF files? And… what were the errors those files contained? See: http://www.digital-engineer.net/archive/entry/preflighters-around-the-world-this-is-you/

The most common preflight problems with PDF print-jobs.

Gary George from tunicca.com wrote this article about preflighting, postflighting and Automation. We invite your comments on whether you need preflighting for such formats as HTML, Flash, Video and 3D…

So there we are early in the morning driving down to the EuroTunnel to attend a partner technical meeting for ADAM software discussing the the process of pre-flight and where it fits into the whole business process flow of our production plants.

Lets first look at the term pre-flight: wikipedia describes it as:

“I see more and more people using lo res images more then ever and they don’t care about the results once the job prints” says “Prepress_Online” via their Twitter account to “Markzware.”

Is a low-resolution image pandemic sweeping the world of printing?

• Are creatives, graphic designers and print-buyers preflighting less than ever?
• Is quality assurance taking a back-seat to price?
• Do you use an electronic method of preflighting on your brochures, color graphics and other posters & cards heading to print?

It is nearly impossible to make a truly standard, yet open (i.e., allowing many and any customers in) design-to-print workflow; but their are standard tools, tips and tactics to make things flow properly. Here was a great post on the PrintPlanet forum asking for preflight, prepress and general workflow help. It reads:

Basic Workflow Standardization
“I am a print shop manager in an in-plant. One of my biggest problems is fonts. Most of the documents I get are from Word or uneducated Publisher users. Some other problems are users creating a two-color jobs in CMYK and black text not being pure black. Currently we handle everything we get on an individual basis, but it is getting completely out of hand. I need to start putting in place some systems to handle some of these problems

Adobe InDesign files and preflighting; an AdobeTV video by Rufus Deuchler:

“In this sixth episode of CSInsider|Design, I show the new Live Preflight feature in Adobe InDesign CS4. The term Preflight originates from the pre-flight checklists used by pilots prior to take off. In a publishing workflow, preflight is the process of checking a document for integrity and completeness, before it can move on in the workflow.” Source: http://graphicstart.com/item.php?f&itemid=1071437

He references a Wikipedia article which mentions this about preflight (postflight):