Page 52 - Print21 March-April 2020

Revolution in Print
Quality in automation
see where this is going. There are big advantages in automating the quality control step at PDF proofing.
Moving forward in the workflow, imposition would generally come next. This is a function typically handled by prepress, but we should recognise that some DFEs contain imposition capabilities. In either case, prepping a 1-up PDF or integrating an imposition solution should both be part of an automated workflow. How is this part of quality? Well it is in consistency, repeatability and accuracy where the human element can waver.
After files are printed, they need to get through finishing. Finishing can be controlled by JDF generated during imposition. Automating the setup of bindery equipment and providing a final job specs versus printed sheets comparison before committing to a deliverable product is where to focus.
Lastly, we have some file management to deal with. There is job archival, notification emails, shipping instructions, front end systems to update, and the list goes on. Passing around files and status notifications without the opportunity for human error is lastly, but certainly not least, one more valuable, integral part of the quality-automation relationship.
If all of this seems obvious then more printers would be embracing quality and automation as a single unit. How can they make it happen? If quality is the bride and automation is the groom, then Enfocus is the officiant. PitStop Server delivers
PDF quality control and Switch is the platform for automation. This quality-automation couple don’t require you to have any specific vendor solutions. You automate your workflow, your way. Enfocus software unifies your print shop and allows you to keep playing by your own rules. Enfocus develops software for you to build winning print services. 21
Andrew Bailes-Collins at Enfocus says quality control and automation work hand in hand to ensure job files are up
to scratch, and stay that way, throughout the print process.
We have all read articles about the importance of automation, and about the essential aspects of quality control. By now, nearly everyone understands that automation is more than an MIS that emails some jobs specs and a link
to a PDF file. Everyone in print also understands that quality control goes beyond counting the number of jobs rejected by customers after they are delivered.
Ah, the old adage, ‘junk in, junk out.’ That is more or less an excuse for printers not to care. From the print service side it seems the customer must not care or know
any better. That is why they arrive bearing such disastrous files. From the customer’s point of view, the printer is the expert, so they need to make the job look good.
But, we can make both sides of this paradigm synergise in an elegant way. Job quality control has to start with the accuracy and printability
of files at the time a print service provider takes ownership.
For a better customer and a better prepress experience, the files should be checked at handover and the customer informed asap if they need to make changes, for which there has to be some pre-flight automation before prepress.
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The next phase in keeping the happy quality-automation couple together is at prepress. Prepress has to pre-flight. It’s what the prepress people live for. Sitting at a workstation, manually checking file after file is neither productive, nor conducive to keeping skilled personnel coming into work every day. Pre-flight is the cornerstone to job file quality control. It is
also tedious and monotonous – a perfect candidate for automation. Performing file checks in line with workflow accomplishes several things. It breaks up the logjam of files waiting for manual inspection. It dictates consistency in the way files are checked.
PDF proofing is widely accepted in many avenues of print. We
tax prepress with checking files, creating a proof PDF, which may not be representative
of the production file, and either combine that with a pre-flight report or simply turn the proof around as quickly as possible. Things fall through the cracks. Prepress gets interrupted repeatedly throughout the day. The customer gets frustrated at long proofing cycles. You
Necessary: File management
Pref lighting: essential to ensure quality
Right