This is a classic (Was all over Twitter last week and in times past), and oh so true, “8 or more ways to drive a graphic designer mad.” Basically, many preflight issues that the newly released FlightCheck Pro v6.5 could help solve… You have to love their first example;
“When you have to send a graphic designer a document, make sure it’s made with a program from Microsoft Office. PC version if possible. If you have to send pictures, you’ll have more success in driving them mad if, instead of just sending a jpeg or a raw camera file, you embed the pictures inside a Microsoft Office document like Word or Powerpoint. Don’t forget to lower the resolution to 72 dpi so that they’ll have to contact you again for a higher quality version. When you send them the ‘higher’ version, make sure the size is at least 50% smaller. And if you’re using email to send the pictures, forget the attachment once in a while.”

Source: http://ghislainroy.com/blog/2007/03/06/8-ways-to-drive-a-graphic-designer-mad  Read more... (241 words, 1 image, estimated 58 secs reading time)

“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?

Would love to see, via the comments section below, some answers to these general preflight and prepress problems. Hearing from both designers, publishers and printers would also be great.

You can follow Markzware’s and Prepress Online’s tweets here:
http://twitter.com/Markzware
http://twitter.com/Prepress_Online/

Here is a great article from a blog I often follow by CHUCK GREEN titled, “The designer’s prep, print, and proof checklist” which I caught while browsing Graphicstart.com earlier today. In part it reads:

“In either case, your first responsibility of the prepress process is to “preflight” your files. Preflighting is the process of gathering together and reviewing all the elements necessary to translate what you create on your computer to the printer’s computer. Most printers can provide you with a preflight checklist.” CHUCK GREEN
SOURCE: ideabook.com

The article can be broken down into several important parts:  Read more... (339 words, estimated 1:21 mins reading time)

1. Preflight your files
2. Determine who is responsible for what
3. Review and sign off on a proof
4. Check your job in progress
5. Recheck your job after it is delivered
6. Oversee and approve post-press finishing
7. Negotiate a price adjustment for printing errors
8. Stay abreast of developing