Even though the technologies enabling businesses to create documents have become more accessible, there remains a hidden cost in the generation of print and electronic media—a cost easily offset with some simple tools and best practices

Perhaps you’ve seen the commercials by print giants like Xerox and Hewlett-Packard, in which they espouse how cheap print has become? Indeed, the cost to generate color print these days is, in fact, much less expensive for businesses than it was just a few short years ago.

While printers and the consumables they use have become more accessible to businesses on a budget, there remains an unnecessary hidden cost in print output and electronic publishing—the cost of ill-prepared content.

The origin of content
The amount of content businesses generate these days is mind-blowing. It’s disseminated in any number of ways—in print products such as brochures, marketing and sales collateral, advertisements, educational and training materials, presentations and so on. In combination with their print initiatives, businesses also have “new media” opportunities—creating content for electronic communications, such as the Web, an Intranet, DVDs and CD-ROMs, and e-newsletters—each medium requiring that the content be prepared just a little differently based on its output intention.  Read more... (678 words, estimated 2:43 mins reading time)

There is a great thread running over on PrintPlanet.com titled, “FlightCheck Pro vs. Pit Stop?” where the initial poster asks, “which one is best? And why?” The responses were interesting and for the most part accurate, such as;

“Can you preflight Quark, illustrator, eps, indesign or photoshop files in Pitstop?

That’s why my vote go to Flightcheck.”
Posted, ‘Ryan’ (implying that FlightCheck can preflight numerous file formats)

‘HappyFriday’ posted;
“We run FlightCheck Professional on our native files and PDFs. When I have time, I often preflight PDFs in both FlightCheck and Acrobat.

If we work with more PDFs, I would requested for Pitstop though.”
SOURCE: http://printplanet.com/discuss/thread.jspa?messageID=16327

It general, FlightCheck Professional is for native or open files such as QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and PitStop Professional from Enfocus an EskoArtwork company for PDF jobs. Preflight and Postflight. FlightCheck can however check PDF print-jobs as well- yet does not correct them like PitStop (which can be dangerous anyway, but often a necessary evil and needed tool as well.) Join the discussion on the above link!
Related Post: What to send to the printer; PDF, Native Job or both?

The biggest complaint from print vendors is “missing pieces,” such as missing fonts or images not linked to a file. After ensuring a file has the greatest integrity (meaning it will print with no graphics errors), FlightCheck assembles all elements used to combine the document into one folder. Not only are all images collected, so are the screen and printer fonts, ensuring that all digital pieces link together to recreate the digital file at the print facility. If you print your own mailers or fliers, this is helpful in organizing content. If you outsource to a printing vendor, this function also ensures that no time is wasted searching for missing elements.

Before digital files and collect options, a printer would routinely check to see if all four pieces of film were present and that each imaged correctly. Every time a file had to be re-imaged, the cost of a standard four-color page increased by about $60. The cliche is true: time is money.

[tag]FlightCheck, Markzware, preflighting, prepress[/tag]

A few years ago, printed pieces were created using strips of text that were pasted on art boards. These strips of paper were bound to the board with wax or rubber cement. Known as “cold type,” it wasn’t until the early ’90s that most organizations began to rely on page layout programs. Today, the freedom computer programs allow is as varied as your imagination.

Even so, certain rules must be followed when designing direct mail pieces. First, four-color printing typically needs to be CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), and the screen and printer fonts must be included on the disk when sent to a print vendor. Systematically checking your files before they are printed at your own facility is the best way to ensure error-free output. To follow the basic rules of print production, use software utility programs such as FlightCheck. Once you have created your layout using QuarkXPress, InDesign, Pagemaker, Microsoft Word, or just about any other programs, you can simply drag the file icon over the FlightCheck icon. The program then checks for a number of “trouble spots” in your fle. After files are checked, FlightCheck generates a report that alerts you (or your vendor) to any problems, then allows for corrections.  Read more... (352 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

Sometimes you have to scream to get people’s attention. This is especially true of preparing documents for print and direct mail. The most reliable format for reaching potential audiences is still the printed word, and the ability to create eye-catching and immediate response fliers and newsletters has been greatly enhanced by digital technologies. It also involves checking the integrity of the digital file before final print or manufacture — a practice otherwise known as ‘preflighting,’ which can be implemented with Markzware’s FlightCheck Professional.

Designing the mailer

Organizations rely on direct mail to deliver their message to potential and current constituents. This thought is critical in the design process. Bright colors, large type and flashy graphics all catch the eye. The goal is get recipients to stop and read the piece before they toss it into the recycling bin.

Red, Orange, and green all tend to stop the eye and direct recipients to the message on the mailer. paper stock also plays a role; textures and unusual sizes help distinguish your mailer from the next. However, organizations that rely on in-house printing need to make sure their laser printers can handle the stock and using the paper does not increase the cost of mailing.  Read more... (275 words, estimated 1:06 mins reading time)

“A revolution is waging in the design and publishing industries. Workflow responsibilities are shifting and graphic artists are wearing many more hats than a decade ago,” says Mary Gay Marchese, public relations director for Markzware, a Santa Ana-based company that provides a wide range of preflighting solutions.

“With the advent of CTP and an increasing demand to re-purpose content electronically to CDs or the web, for example, creative professionals find that they can no longer realistically focus on just design. Increasingly, they are being asked to take on additional technical challenges that once were the domain of the prepress group, like preflighting and preparing final content files for distribution to electronic media or print.

Unfortunately, many graphic artists are unfamiliar with the digital production process, particularly the newly-minted ones and education via the trial-by-fire method takes time. Instead of waiting to be told about problematic files, design shops are realizing the value of doing their own preflighting.

By preflighting files in the design stage, before submission to the printer or even prepress, a lot of problems can be avoided such as improper color space, missing fonts, missing images and too low image resolution.  Read more... (679 words, estimated 2:43 mins reading time)

Henno Jacques, a freelance designer in Holland, gets interviewed by Markzware Europe’s Arnold Roosch in this perfect example on why to use FlightCheck Professional (and ID2Q in his case):

FlightCheck Professional and ID2Q user review

Dutch version of this interview can be found here…

It is excellent how he is using FlightCheck to preflight everything BEFORE making the PDF. He also checks the resulting PDF/X file with FlightCheck Professional as well. Making brochures, booklets and the likes, he also has seen from experience that sending both the press-ready PDF as well as the open source file (where he uses FlightCheck to collect all fonts and images into one approved folder) is the best way to get the print-job to the printer. This way, if there are any last minute changes, corrections or press problems, they can quickly and safely make the changes and re-output the PDF job.

Heno prefers QuarkXPress 7, even though he has CS3 and InDesign. He even goes so far that if Adobe InDesign files come in, he converts them with ID2Q into QuarkXPress. Now that is interesting!

Want to tell us your Markzware story? Just email us on marketing@markzware.com and we can arrange an interview in person or perhaps via a web cam/iSight!

One nice thing about flying in small countries is that you often get a close-up view on many of the procedures. Heading back from Caye Caulker to Belizé City on a 10-minute Tropic Air flight was a real treat both in terms of seeing the preflight and flight routines and in not having to take the cramped, long-lasting ferry boat back. See picture gallery of this flight here.

View over the pilots shoulder on approach

Naturally, this just re-enforces the need for quality control checks throughout the workflow- both in aviation as well as print-media. Preflight, Postflight and all sorts of other flights are certainly a must for top-notch PDF’s or print-jobs. Design to land safely- create to print properly!

Should we really care about emerging technologies when the economy remains in such flux that most of us are happy just to keep our heads above the rising waters, let alone invest in technologies to come?

But that doom-and-gloom mentality may be precisely what’s wrong with the allied industries today. Many printers and publishers have gone into virtual hibernation — content to statically ride out the storm — but the problem is that the industries around them continue to change.

Market demands won’t sit still, and printers and publishers are finding that remaining complacent during an otherwise revolutionary time will cause detriment to their operations in the long run. They’re clearly missing out on some new opportunities because they are not willing to make a move in one direction or another.

After thinking this current state of affair through, I came to the realization that what these industries need most of all to ensure success in the immediate and short-term future, at least — is an agile attitude.

Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines “agile” as being able to move quickly and easily. This is the new industry mantra, replacing a very tired “better, faster, cheaper,” as the buzz word du jour.  Read more... (1072 words, estimated 4:17 mins reading time)

Going through my literal stack of print media, design and publishing titles on my desk, I came across a very interesting article titled, “Careless print costs money“. This was within the U.K. magazine named PrintMedia Management (June 2008, pg. 28, 66). It highlights how this key United Kingdom government department, COI or Central Office of Information, is taking the matter of print buying very seriously. They are doing what any advertising agencey, corporation or marketing company should also be doing, however may not be…

‘Philip Brimley, head of publications for the COI explains: “The principles of our procurement are that we do a good spec that is sent to suppliers in plenty of time so that the suppliers have a fair amount of time to generate a quote, and competition rules must always be in place. We should also promote innovation, and should encourage SMEs to work with us.”

To procure print, COI uses three frameworks: one for printing, which has 76 companies; one for paper supply with six suppliers (although this is set to change); and a framework for typesetting with five companies.  Read more... (410 words, estimated 1:38 mins reading time)