Preflight, in the graphic arts sense, is the process of checking a digital document before it goes to plate, print or otherwise output (exported – such as to PDF). It traditionally is a way to check quality before going to the printing press, digital or otherwise, but can also be used to check online banners and gifs. Preflight is best done on the source document, such as those created in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, QuarkXPress or Corel!Draw as some examples, before becoming a PDF (Portable Document Format). Similar to a pilot whom walks around and performs a pre take-off pre-flight check, preflighting for designers and prepress operators should be a must.

The term preflight was first used during a presentation in 1990 by Chuck Weger, a well know industry consultant. There were some early on postscript (rips) that interperted data and provided a preflight report of sorts. However the first true preflight application came from Markzware and was wisely called FlightCheck another term pilots also use.

Even before FlightCheck® was out on the market, Markzware applied for and was dully granted a U.S. Patent Number 5,963,641 – ‘Device and method for examining, verifying, correcting and approving electronic documents prior to printing, transmission or recording.’  Read more... (508 words, 1 image, estimated 2:02 mins reading time)

Submit Your video (or photos) and Win!

That is right, simply video yourself (or have someone video tape you) at work and tell us:

*Who you are and what you do(name, title, company, specialty, etc)

*How you use your Markzware product(s)(FlightCheck, Q2ID, ID2Q, PUB2ID, MarkzTools, etc.)

*Be Creative! Show us around your work environment

(The more educational and informative, the better!)

For full details, go to the contest details

Email your entries to sales@markzware.com
If your attachments end up being larger than 2MB, simply email us for our FTP details.

Terms & Conditions for Contest:

* One submission per person of either a video explaining who you are and how (what) you use of Markzware and why it is so awesome, or a paragraph or two of text doing similar along with a photo(s) of yourself or your shop.

* VALID – Contest will run will June 15th. 2008 OR until 100 submissions have been received.

* All valid submissions will get a FREE T-SHIRT from Markzware! (shipped for free to you.)

* Email entries to: sales@markzware.com
NO attachments larger than 2MB please.-Email FIRST for FTP upload details.  Read more... (209 words, estimated 50 secs reading time)

MARKZWARE ANNOUNCES THE UPDATE OF FLIGHTCHECK V6.11

SANTA ANA, California — April 22, 2008 — Markzware, the inventor of preflighting and data-conversion software leader, today announced the release and immediate availability of the FlightCheck upgrade v6.11. FlightCheck is Markzware flagship prepress application that manages quality control of digital files destined for print or electronic distribution.

This FlightCheck v6.11 update is a maintenance release that fixes reported issues and improves several features and other refinements to this award winning preflighting solution. Detailed information on all of the changes and improvements implemented in FlightCheck v6.11 can be found at:

http://www.markzware.com/downloads/documentation/FlightCheck6_Release_Notes.pdf

“We have been committed to providing, fast reliable and accurate upgrades of our preflighting solution, FlightCheck, “Mary Gay Marchese, public relations director of Markzware said. “We are dedicated to serving our customers by meeting their needs while continuing to provide world-class preflighting support.”

The FlightCheck v6.11 update is available free of charge to all registered FlightCheck 6.x users. The MSRP for FlightCheck Professional is $499. For more information, or purchase, visit: http://www.markzware.com/store.

Markzware FlightCheck Professional is a prepress application that is used to manage quality control for print jobs. This solution provides both native file and PDF preflight checking and is covered by a U.S. Patent.  Read more... (272 words, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)