Workflow realization

Workflow is a common term used by people in the industry today. This article describes people’s views on the workflow.

In the field of printing, workflow is a common concept, but it is difficult to make a clear definition of the workflow, because the workflow of different links is not the same. The workflow of the printer manufacturer is obviously different from that of the photosetter supplier.

Therefore, the concept of workflow should be subdivided into several different sections: the creative workflow ends with the generated page file; the prepress workflow completes the imposition and platemaking work; the printing workflow comes from the printed or digitized file (numbers In the case of printing) start until the page number is ready to be stapled.

Nowadays people can apply the workflow to the field of binding and even product transmission. However, in terms of creation and photocopying, these links are less affected by digital technology. However, from the display of some large-scale exhibitions, all the printing links are included in a large workflow, and this model is being examined and approved by all workflow suppliers.

For any supplier of workflow solutions, the necessary software is needed to drive the operation of the equipment. Like Apogee, which is currently regarded as one of the leaders in the workflow field, it was originally developed by Agfa to drive a typesetting machine software while also manipulating the terminal output devices of other vendors. Other workflow products, such as Brisque of Scitex; TaigaSpace of Screen; NewAge of PurupEskotfot; FastLane of Barco; Prinergy of Heidelberg, and so on. The focus of all these workflow products is how to obtain documents from printers and designers and make them into films or plates.

At the same time, the workflow has changed the traditional process in some other aspects, such as the touch-up background function of Scitex and Screen. They separate the color from the text in the workflow and combine them at the time of output. This printing method is flexible. , especially for cross-media publishing requirements. There are still some difficulties for prepress equipment manufacturers to open their own systems, but only in this way can a device be able to use any format of the file and output the processed file in a format acceptable to other manufacturers' devices. .

We should not overlook the core part of an open PDF workflow. Like Apogee, FastLane, and Prinergy, these workflows only have outlets that are truly open. Once in such a workflow, each system is independent and has its own specific components. In other words, the PDF workflows of different manufacturers are different. This difference is similar to the appearance of a house of one household and its neighbors, but the layout of the house is very different. Therefore, for customers who are drawn to the workflow, they should make more comparisons of different products and understand their respective advantages and disadvantages before making wise choices.

More recent workflows, whether based on Postscript files or PDF files, are the beginning of the process of quickly transferring files from one workflow endpoint to another. There is much debate about the purity of PDF workflows. Some PDF workflows convert PDF files to Postscript files in order to use some existing tools for typesetting, image capture, etc., but even under a very good working condition, it is inevitable to convert the files. Can go wrong. Of course, it should be pointed out that Acrobat's PDF format is not always a print production format. Recently, Acrobat's newly released PDF version tried to provide printing production functions.

There are also drawbacks in editing PDF files. The PDF version is considered to be a locked file. The received file can completely retain the publisher's intentions. At the same time, the PDF file is not limited by the resolution and can be output in different resolutions. .

The PDF format is not limited by resolution because it is based on vectors. Vector images are generated in a mathematical mode, so that one image is associated with another image, regardless of their size or the number of pixels that make up the image. This is like a triangle. If the ratio of its three sides is 3:4:5, no matter how large the size of the triangle is, it is pencil-drawn or pen-drawn. It is a right-angled triangle.

The key benefit of the PDF format, which is not limited by the resolution, is that a low-resolution file can be output in high-resolution format, and it has almost no conflicts with the final RIP stage. This allows low-resolution PDF files to be used well for proofing unless the high-resolution version of the color image is lost during this process. Another advantage of the PDF format is its small capacity. Even if it is a PD file that is printed out, its file size should be smaller than the corresponding Postscript file. This can reduce network congestion and speed up the file transfer speed. But it is also this simplicity that is the biggest weakness of the PDF format. Like the various forms of workflow mentioned above, PDF files have different categories.

Publishers believe that the PDF format is a complete file format, images can be submitted with the wrong resolution, and can even be produced in RGB format rather than CMYK format. Process detection, such as Markzware's products, is the same for any print production stream. necessary. Ideally, this should be included in both the content generation and printing phases.

In the photocopying stage, proofing is necessary, and sometimes it is necessary to perform RIP again, so that you can find out what you do not want to see. Although this process is not entirely necessary for cost considerations, it can better avoid mistakes. One way to minimize the error rate is to use the same RIP on the output engine and the proofing engine. Another up-to-date option is to do a sub-sampling of the bitmap file after the RIP so that the file can adhere to the resolution requirements of the proof, which is 2,540 dpi instead of the 2,540 dpi required by the platesetter.

These are relatively new market attempts, so there is not much experience to follow. The products that HighWater and Pixelis are about to release have great advantages, but they still have to be cautious about them. Adobe found that its PressReady proofing device failed to achieve the desired results, and therefore stopped its continued development.

In some cases, there will be some major changes when the workflow reaches the final output stage. This situation is particularly likely to appear in magazine printing, or because of errors in the past, it is necessary to turn 8-page format into 4-page format. In many cases, if you encounter this kind of problem, it is not only the first step to go back to the production workflow but it does not have to be. Products that Apoge will release later this year can handle these problems.

The digital workflow can be extended to the printing stage, thanks to the development of technology, the ability to add cameras to the press, and to benefit from the ability to use the prepress color data in the printing protocol. The first to achieve this is CIP3, the first universal format that uses production-specific information for digitizing workflows.

Prior to Drupa, people had realized that in addition to group files, the workflow should also carry more information, and proposed to form a more extensive print production format in the JDF format. The definition of JDF is amazing: its most important part is the content of the page, as an XML workflow, rather than the current ordinary Quark or Adobe application, which ends with the page file.

To understand the concept of XML, and its use, you need to have a new understanding of the combination of pages. Because XML workflows work really differently from traditional workflows. In traditional workflows, typesetting instructions are nested in text, but not in XML workflows. The difference of the XML language is that it recognizes that the content itself exists as an entity, and each part has its own level of content. If the content of the 12pt clarendo bold logo is a title, it will be naturally placed in the title. The content of another font, font size is an index, which is also arranged in the format specified by the XML language. The markup of the XML language is also different from HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), which is more detailed than the HTML language.

There is no specific production information in the print workflow. For example, printing a magazine is only required to give a 64PP magazine with a folded cover and a metal overprint. This is enough for the printing system. The printing system can begin to run automatically including paper, printing, printing, etc. All of these processes are not interrupted manually.

All these steps of the production workflow plus the necessary subsidiary workflows are combined together as the final digitized workflow. Moreover, all the data in the workflow can be fed back to the management information system and the financial system, or even to the customer's own management system.

Although it is only an ideal to achieve such a perfect workflow, these are achievable in the next decade or so. Because of the many advantages of XML workflow, it can be connected with the production control system. The advantages of SAP, XML workflow, etc. determine that it will soon have a big development.

With the advent of more and more dotcom companies, the workflow at Drupa has been given a broader meaning. Some of these dotcom companies are working to increase the relationship between print suppliers and print consumers. Therefore, when considering workflows, their existence should not be ignored.

Drupa also told us at the same time that the development of the workflow in the future will become more and more intense, and the increase in the digital use of the printing industry is one of the factors. Another factor is the combination of economic factors and technological factors. In the future, printers will face more business, including many short-lived jobs and rush jobs. As a result, printers will have to work hard to reduce costs and shorten Production cycle. And investing in a digital workflow is a wise choice.