Chapter 7 Digital Prepress 127
Important Terms
additive color
aliasing
antialiasing
autotracing
Bezier curve
bitmapped images
bits
byte
color management system
(CMS)
comparison proofi ng
context-sensitive menu
cross-platform
design axes
dialog box
digital prepress system
dot pitch
drop-down menus
font set
gigabyte
graphical user interface (GUI)
hardware
ink-jet proofs
interpreter
Job Defi nition Format (JDF)
lossless compression
algorithms
lossy compression
algorithms
megabyte
modem
open press interface (OPI)
system
output device
page description language
(PDL)
Digital systems have penetrated every stage of
the printing process: from formatting the author’s
manuscript, to platemaking and running the press.
Maintaining a smooth workfl ow requires the consistency
of digital data throughout the production process.
Sustaining consistency, as well as compatibility, requires
that everyone involved in the production process have
an understanding of digital media.
In a perfect world, every piece of digital equipment,
as well as every computer program and fi le produced,
would be compatible. Unfortunately, this is not the
case. For this reason, many organizations, such as
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI),
the International Standards Organization (ISO),
and the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG),
have created standards by which digital media and
equipment must operate in order to be compatible.
Due to the amount of information and the vast number
of products available, this chapter covers general
information that applies to digital prepress operations.
Digital Basics
The desktop computer has become the focal
point of job creation and assembly of text and images
into page layouts within the graphic communications
industry. The computer and associated devices, in
conjunction with the specialized graphics programs,
are components in the digital prepress system,
Figure 7-1.
A computer uses a binary system to process and
store information in digital form. This means that the
computer recognizes only two numbers or digits: 1
and 0. These digits represent two states, on (1) and
off (0). The individual 1s and 0s are called bits, or
binary digits, and can be combined into groups of
eight digits to create a binary word, or byte. Since
there are 256 possible combinations of 1s and 0s
in an eight-digit byte (from 11111111 to 00000000),
a special code was devised to assign a specifi c
meaning to each combination.
page grid
palette
pasteboard
platform
PostScript
PostScript printer
typeface fi le
PostScript Type 1 font
prefl ighting
print engine
proof
proofreading
proofreader’s marks
RAID
random-access
memory (RAM)
raster image processor
(RIP)
selective compression
separation plates
smoothing
soft proofs
software
style sheet
subtractive color
formation
suitcase fi le
template
text fi lter
toner
two-person proofi ng
vector fonts
vector images
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYP
Figure 7-1. Using word processors on a computer
is the most common method of composing text for
printed documents. A computer is also used for
creating page layouts in page composition software.
digital prepress system: A computer-centered process
that consists of preparing content, composing pages, and
outputting the fi nished fi le.
bit: Binary digit. The basic unit of digital information.
byte: A binary word, or group of eight individual 1s and 0s.