Chapter 7 Digital Prepress 155
a printed proof. This enables accurate evaluation of
the fi le for trapping, moiré, and other conventional
printing problems.
Digital Prepress
Workfl ow
The changes resulting from the transition of
conventional prepress methods to digital have
brought about many workfl ow enhancements and
radically changed the processes in the prepress
department.
PDF Workfl ow
In a PDF workfl ow, the PDF fi le is used to create
the fi lm or plates needed by the print production
facility. The PDF fi le contains all of the necessary
information, such as the fonts, graphics, images,
text, and document layout. No further prepress
steps remain to be completed by the production
department. Portable document software typically
saves a document bitmap, the ASCII text, and the
font data. Even with compression, most PDF fi les
may be many times larger than the native fi le.
The PDF fi le format allows incorporation of an
extended job ticket. An extended job ticket is an
electronic document that contains all the instructions
required for processing a job, Figure 7-38. It includes
customer information, proofi ng directives, trapping,
imposition and ripping parameters, and even
fi nishing and shipping instructions. The job ticket
specifi cations can be easily viewed and modifi ed by
everyone who has access to the fi le.
The PDF fi le is practically an ideal prefl ighting
tool. If all the necessary elements are not present
at the time of fi le creation, the user is warned. PDF
fi les also provide a single fi le for viewing, distributing,
archiving, editing, and printing small fi le sizes, and
a built-in preview. PDF fi les can access many types
of fi les including EPS, TIFF, PICT, QuarkXPress®,
PageMaker®, and PostScript® from applications on
both Macintosh® and PC platforms.
Job Defi nition Format (JDF)
The Job Defi nition Format (JDF) is a fi le
format that automates the printing workfl ow, from
design to production, and was developed through a
partnership between Adobe®, Agfa, Heidelberg®, and
Man Roland. This fi le format is based on Extensible
Markup Language (XML) and provides a standard
format that is compatible with any JDF-enabled
equipment.
JDF fi les are similar to an embedded electronic
job ticket, in that they can contain information on the
document designer, fonts used, images contained,
stock type and size, ink colors, bindery instructions,
and other static data. In addition, the fi le may
contain instructions for JDF-enabled devices used
in the production process, including ink fountain
settings on a press and the confi guration of bindery
equipment. Throughout the production process, the
With the growing use of technology in the
graphic communications industry, as well as
the increased concern for environmental issues,
soft proofs are becoming more widely used
than digital proofs. Soft proofs reduce the use
of paper in multiple rounds of checking proofs.
They eliminate the use of ink and the creation
of any VOCs in the production of printing
proofs. There is also no transportation involved
since soft proofs are sent over the Internet.
While some companies are concerned about the
quality of soft proofs, others have found that
with monitor calibrations, the on-screen page
should match the printed page. Companies
have found soft proofs to be a more effi cient
alternative to hard copy proofs because of the
turnaround time and ease of use. For more
information, see www.pneac.org.
❦
Think
Green
Soft Proofs Soft Proofs
comparison proofi ng: A proofreading method done
primarily by one person to fi nd such major problems as copy
deletion, incorrect sequence, or copy duplication.
two-person proofi ng: A proofreading method that requires
the reader to work with an assistant, called the copyholder.
soft proofs: Press-ready, electronic fi les that represent
what the fi nal printed page will look like and are most often
PDF fi les that can be viewed on a computer monitor.
ink-jet proofs: A type of job proof that provides four-color
proofs generated directly from the digital fi les.
Job Defi nition Format (JDF): A fi le format based on
Extensible Markup Language (XML), which provides a
standard format that is compatible with any JDF-enabled
equipment.