Prepress Tutorial CIP4/GATF

1
Welcome
Prepress
Koen Van de Poel Chairman OriginationPrepress WG
_at_ CIP4 Technology Staff _at_ AGFA
2
Todays Agenda

• Introduction
• Creating the Ticket
• Gray Boxes
• Processing
• Output Proofs, Plates, Ink key settings
• Digital Printing Imposition

3
Position
Customer
Print Manufacturing
4
Creating the Ticket
5
Life of a Job Ticket

• First for estimating purpose
• by CSR or estimator / or submitted
• only details that have influence on cost are
  specified (no color names, no content)
• If accepted, upgraded to production ticket
• by production planner or CSR
• more details added (final devices, scheduling)
• Updated later with prepress details
• color names, exact number of pages, content
  references

6
MIS
Estimating
Production Planning
Production Controller
Press Controller
Prepress Controller
Legend
Trapping
ImageSetting
Controller
SW Device
PlateSetterB
ProoferA
HW Device
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Known at Creation

• Info available when MIS creates prod. ticket
• administrative and job info
• product nodes (part structure) and layout binds
  info to sheets
• imposition, number of pages
• number of colors for each sheet side
• processes gray boxes

8
Missing

• Some info is often missing when the job is
  created because
• Content (PDF) arrives later
• PDF is needed to extract Spot color names
• Number of content pages for Cover often doesn't
  match description 2 pages are combined in one

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Introduction to Prepress
10
Steps in Prepress

• Creative part
• Prepress preparation (page level)
• preparing content files ready to RIP
• obtaining content files
• preparing imposition
• Production prepress (sheet level)
• RIP
• Proofs
• Plate making and Preview for ink key

11
Workflow
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Prepress Preparation

• Goal no errors or interactions in prepress
  production part (except mapping colors)
• Steps for content (not in order)
• obtaining content files (Asset Transfer)
• conversion from native to standard formats
• trapping
• creating production quality standard formats
• preflighting / fixing files
• page proofs / approvals

13
Imposition Preparation

• Activities needed to create a description of
  where the pages and marks need to go on the sheet
  resulting in the Layout

14
Production prepress

• Controlled environment
• nearly fixed processing times
• few operator interventions/errors if well
  prepared
• scheduling possible for plate making
• Includes Imposition Proof
• often needed before starting plate making
• internal or external (takes extra time) approval

15
Parts
Prepress
Product
Brochure
Prepress
Process
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In and Outs

• In
• job ticket (imposition info)
• content files
• Intermediate
• Proofs (hard copy or soft proof)
• Out
• plates (film)
• previews for ink key settings (ex PPF)

17
Building a Workflow
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Gray Boxes

• Easy way to let MIS define what prepress should
  do
• PrePressPreparation, ImpositionPrepreparation
• PlateMaking, xxProofing
• MIS provides
• input available job info, more or less detailed
• output detailed info (sheet structure, plates,
  components)
• Prepress operator (or defaults) will fill in
  remaining details

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Drawing
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PrePressPreparation Gray Box
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In/Out PrePressPreparation

• In
• indication of nr of pages
• can be different from what prepress needs
• Out
• populated RunList

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Snippet Node
ltJDF Type"ProcessGroup" Types"PrePressPreparatio
n" Category"PrePressPreparation" "gt
ltResourceLinkPoolgt ltRunListLink rRef"R0_I"
ProcessUsage"Document" Usage"Input"/gt
ltRunListLink rRef"R0_D" ProcessUsage"Document"
Usage"Output"/gt gt
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Snippet Input RunList
ltRunList Class"Parameter" ID"R0_I"
Status"Available" NPage"6"/gt ltRunList
Class"Parameter" ID"R0_D" Status"Incomplete"/gt
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ImpositionPreparation Gray Box
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In/Out ImpositionPreparation

• In
• Stripping resources
• If not available, operator intervention
• selecting a template
• recommended to give Instruction Comment
• JDF 1.3
• reference to external template
• Out
• Completed Layout
• References to Marks

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Stripping

• High-level imposition related information from
  MIS to Prepress
• avoids redoing imposition 3 times
• Estimating
• Production planning
• Prepress
• allows bi-directional communication prepress
  updating imposition info

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Sample Stripping
Sheet
BinderySignature
Pages / Cells
ltStrippingParams gt ltBinderySignature
FoldCatalog"F8-7"/gt ltPosition RelativeBox"0 0
0.5 1"/gt ltPosition RelativeBox"0 0.5 1
1"/gt lt/StrippingParamsgt
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Snippet ImpoPrep
ltJDF Type"ProcessGroup" Types"ImpositionPreparat
ion" Category"ImpositionPreparation"gt ltComment
Name"Instruction"gtImposition folder with 6
pages folded using F6-1, WorkAndTurnlt/Commentgt
ltResourceLinkPoolgt ltLayoutLink rRef"LAY000"
Usage"Output"/gt ltRunListLink rRef"RNL000_M"
ProcessUsage"Marks" Usage"Output"/gt
lt/ResourceLinkPoolgt lt/JDFgt
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Snippet Layout
ltLayout "gt ltSignature Name"SIG1"gt ltSheet
Name"SHT1"gt ltSurface Side"Front"/gt
ltSurface Side"Back"/gt ltMediaRef
rRef"PAPMSVA_880x630"/gt lt/Sheetgt
lt/Signaturegt ltSignature Name"SIG2"gt ltSheet
Name"SHT2"gt ltSurface Side"Front"/gt
ltMediaRef rRef"PAPMSVA_880x630"/gt lt/Sheetgt
lt/Signaturegt lt/Layoutgt
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Imposition in Digital Printing
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Imposition in digital printing

• Generates an imposition Layout from high level
  parameters
• Useful for digital printers with integrated
  prepress
• Supports controls for specifying
• Multi-up regular grid of page cells
• Scaling and rotation of reader pages for page
  cell mapping
• Single sided or perfected (head to head/foot)
  sheets
• Auto generation of sheet marks and slug lines
• Page distribution schemes for saddle, and perfect
  binding
• Sequential cut block distribution (i.e. cut and
  stack post cards)
• Control for vert, horiz, and stack wise
  distribution of cut blocks
• Independent horiz/vert gutter spacing and creep
  compensation
• Document and cut block step and repeat
• VDP document ganging

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LayoutPreparationParams

• NumberUp
• Rows and columns of PageCells
• PageDistributionScheme
• Distribution of PageCells over NumberUp (Saddle,
  Perfect, Sequential)
• PresentationDirection
• Distribution of pages into NumberUp (FoldCatalog,
  XYZxyz)
• Sides
• OneSidedFront, OneSidedBackFlipX/Y,
  TwoSidedFlipX/Y
• FinishingOrder
• GatherFold, FoldGather, FoldCollect, Gather
• StepRepeat

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LayoutPreparationsParams

• ImageShift
• InsertSheet
• FitPolicy
• PageCell
• Border, Color

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PlateMaking Gray Box
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In/Out Platemaking

• In
• Media (plate)
• Colors
• RunLists
• document (content)
• marks
• Layout
• Out
• Ink key setting preview (PPF)
• ExposedMedia (plate)

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Snippet PlateMaking
ltJDF Type"ProcessGroup" Types"Imposition RIPing
PreviewGeneration ImageSetting"
Category"FinalImaging" gt ltResourceLinkPoolgt
ltRunListLink rRef"R0_D" Usage"Input"
ProcessUsage"Document"/gt ltRunListLink
rRef"R0_M" Usage"Input" ProcessUsage"Marks"/gt
ltLayoutLink rRef"LAYBody01" Usage"Input"/gt
ltColorantControlLink rRef"ColorantControl"
Usage"Input"/gt ltMediaLink
rRef"Plate000001" Usage"Input"/gt
ltExposedMediaLink rRef"ExposedMedia"
Usage"Output"gt ltPart SignatureName"SIG1"
SheetName"SHT1"/gt ltPreviewLink
rRef"Preview" Usage"Output"gt ltPart
SignatureName"SIG1" SheetName"SHT1"/gt
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References

• JDF 1.2 spec
• MIS-Prepress ICS
• MIS-Prepress Samples
• Minimal, (Proof)PlateMaking
• Complex (multi part, ConvPrint)
• Proofing Application note

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Thanks for Listening