SPECTRUM 2003 Tucson, Arizona

1. SPECTRUM 2003Tucson, Arizona Notes prepared by Glenn Andrews Applied Graphics Technologies

2. Introduction

3. Introduction (cont.)

4. Table of Contents: • 5. Keynote Address • 4. Gray Knowlton-Standards and Open Code • 14. Digital photography session • 18. Start-to-Finish Workflow Automation: Two Case studies • 25. PDFX/DDAP/CIP4 and More • 30. Pressroom Technology and Alternative Screening • 34. Monitor/Soft/Remote Proofing • 35. Links

5. Keynote AddressNeil O’Callahan • No breakthrough applications this year. • Emphasis is on incremental changes. • Automated process control can leverage benefits of individual advances for quantum gains • Standards and best practices are the essential tools of communication that will make significant gains possible

6. Standards, Open Code, Software DevelopmentGray Knowlton • Customer input vital to development of software but is very difficult to collect. • It is hard to get a grip on workflow: Who uses the product? Where do they use it? How many people use it? What training is provided? • Adobe spends a lot of time interviewing users but this is not always enough.

7. Standards help in development of solutions • Standards are consensus driven solutions to customer problems. • Advantages: • Participants do all the information gathering. • Conclusions are unbiased. • Standards remove the barrier of one vendor solutions. • Standards let the industry solve its own problems. • PDF/X-1A came from the standards community

8. Standards and open source software • Parallels can be drawn between standards and open source software. • Open Source Software: • Uses common technology. • Uses common source code. • Reduces dependence on single vendor solutions. • Fosters innovation but not at the expense of interoperability.

9. De Facto Standards in the Industry • Some widely used applications, such as Microsoft Word, become de facto standards. • There are problems with de facto standards: • Development is limited to single vendor. • Applications may not include universal output format. • Users who prefer to use a different application have no alternative.

10. Adobe Open Office: an open source application • Looks and feels like Microsoft office. • Open source code • Lets developers build their own solutions • No problem with patents. • Downloads and information available at: • OpenOffice.org

11. Why do standards lag behind practices? • Too many standards • Small groups • Low membership • Not enough awareness throughout industry • More companies need to participate in standards and best practices groups.

12. Communicate with software developers • Describe in context as business problems to make them relevant to software developers. • Tell developers how processes are changing. • Describe problems as problems. • Describe workflow by defining people involved, and describing their roles.

13. Digital Photo SessionKin Lam,Dennis Dunbar,Michael Grecco, Nadar Anvari • Digital is developing very quickly, creating a great deal of temporary confusion. • Poor consensus on file formats, file size, color spaces, proof appearance, workflow,calibration methods. • Poor connection between photographers and pre-press. • Loss of transparency as “master image” a cultural shock. What replaces it?

14. Digital Photo Color Management • General agreement on Adobe RGB 1998 as color space. • Agreement on embedding RGB profiles-less agreement on embedding CMYK files due to fears of misunderstandings and accidental conversions. • No agreement on CMYK color space. SWOP? GRACOL? A new color space which would reflect a traditional photographic gamut? Something else?

15. Digital Image Submission Criteria • D.I.S.C. is a working group of IDEAlliance focused on quality specifications for printable image submission and development of best practices. • www.disc-info.org • Two parts: • Image specifications calibrated to reproduction quality-end product determines needs. • Proper metadata entry-recommended minimum data set of who, date, subject, etc. Extended data set for job number, DAM, etc. • Will include data on color management in future.

16. Originals and Proofs • With “master” trans gone, the “look” of an image is less defined. What replaces it? Monitor? Photo Print? Other Proof? What CMYK space? • Photographers currently experience vastly different “looks” on different monitors, proofers, and printers. • There is awareness that ICC color management can pull things together but implementation is still poor and inconsistent. • Still no agreement on what a digital image “looks” like. • Need a way to demonstrate that a proof is accurate-a SWOP style certification process or an on-site colorimetric method.

17. Other Digital Photo issues: • ERI-Extended Range Imaging and ERI-JPEG. Will allow image to be restored to original condition after doing color changes, thus protecting the integrity of the original image data. • Sacci&Sacci very interested in digital, but some high end photographers still skeptical. Many are working with companies who have expertise in digital. • Metadata editing, transmission, distribution, licensing.

18. Start-to-Finish Workflow Automation: Two Case Studies • Moderator: Dianne Kennedy • Nan Gelhard/Summit Racing • David Motheral/Motheral Printing

19. Integrated Information at Summit Racing • Nan Gelhard produces catalogues for racing equipment and parts. • Searching for items and images is a challenge, both to buyers searching the on-line catalogue and to those who prepare the print catalogue. • Finding an efficient method to search for images and match them to specific text or page is a big issue in the graphics arts world. • Much of the time spent searching for pick-up images from previous print jobs could be eliminated if integrated information systems were used in production and pre-press .

20. Integrated Information • Can’t build whole systems at once but can be assembled in pieces joined by standards. • Standards make information accessible, add flexibility. • Context-structure important parts of information set. • Use of restrictive vocabulary improves search. • Turns copywriters into information architects by specifying vocabulary.

21. Automated Workflow at Motheral Printing • David Motheral has increased productivity and reduced costs dramatically by automating the process from beginning to end. • Key components include: • Six Sigma Program for statistical process control. • 100% PDF workflow. • Use of Job Description Format job tickets • Automated plate changing and closed loop color control.

22. Benefits of Automation • Prep department has gone from 30 to 2 employees as volume increases by 100%. • No preflighting. • Rip, Trap and Output at 1.27 seconds per page. • Prep is bigger profit center than press. • Spoilage has dropped from 8% to 0.27% • Time to change plates and start new press run has dropped from 1.5 hours to 6 minutes. • Prep costs so low they are no longer tracked.

23. How is it Done? • 100% PDFX/1-A file format. • Prinergy by Creo used to automate workflow. • Clients are given Synapse Prepare by Creo to prepare their PDFX/1-a files, and taught how to use it by Motheral. • ADA scripting allows flexible automation without errors. • Uses Job Description Format-Will not buy any non-JDF compliant equipment.equipment • Information on JDF available at www.cip4.org • Information on PDF available at www.pdf-x.com and www.ddap.org • Information on Prinergy and Synapse available at www.creo.com/global/products/software_solutions/ss_workflow/synapse/default.htm

24. Selling the Concept • Client must buy in to take advantage of automated workflow potential. • Can’t be sold at traditional sales level-must be demo’d as part of whole workflow. • Go to buyer and production person. • Easier to sell economics to top person. • Salesman not best to pitch value of technology-include technical people for backup. • Make it hard for clients to disengage

25. PDFX, DDAP,CIP4 and MoreLinda Manes Goodwin, Johnny Sutton, • PDFX: • Agreed: PDF workflows work; but clients and providers have to work together and know what they are doing. • PDF better than .ps (No reflow, no font changes, hard to accidentally change file). • Overprint still a challenge. • Hard part is matching settings when PDF files are produced using different software • Preflight software helped, but DDAP helped more by specifying uniform PDF settings (PDFX)

26. PDFX Flavors • PDF/X1-A: CMYK + Spot colors • PDF/X3: CMYK + Spot colors +profiles • PDS/X2: CMYK + Spot colors +profiles+ OPI-like workflows • Europeans use more PDF/X3 because CMYK output color spaces are less standardized than in the US.

27. Test files for PDF • Global Graphics Test strip. Tests systems for proper handling of overprints. Download at www.globalgraphics.com • Altona Suite. Tests systems for proper handling of PDFX/3. Download at http://www.eci.org/eng/index_e.html • Kensington suits Tests systems for proper handling of PDFX

28. DDAP • DDAP: Mission is universal file exchange. • Past and current projects: • tiff/it • PDF/X. • JDF • CIP4 • Kensington Suite • Universal Digital Ad specification • “Application Data Sheets” for PDF/X1-A creation

29. JDF CIP4 and Automation • CIP4: A standards group focused on integration of graphic arts processes and the specification of standards. • JDF: Job Definition Format. Not a product but an XML based format/proposed standard for end to end job ticket specification. • Graphic arts industry under pressure to go faster,cheaper. Automation best way to improve process, but hot folders too static, error-prone. • JDF Intelligent automation directed by job ticket retains flexibility. • Process control is a must in order for automation to work

30. Pressroom Technology/FM ScreeningKen Petersen, Gordon Pritchard, Steve Musselman, Linda Enright, Lacey Tuttle • Pressmen must transition from being craftsman to being technicians. • Closed loop color control depends on uniform proof appearance-TR001, TR004. • With or without CLC, gray balance is #1 control point. • CLC means not only press but entire process. • FM screening less variable than AM. Need better match between press and proof

31. FM Screening • FM screening being used on all substrates: #1 coated to newsprint. • Use is growing. • Advantages increased gamut in quarter to mid tone, freedom from morie’ and improved detail. • Disadvantages include graininess, short run length, high TVI

32. FM Screening • Ist order FM Screening: Random dots. Noisy appearance caused by clumping in mid tones. • 2nd order FM screening uses “worms” to reduce clumping in midtones. • Hybrid uses high (300dpi) screen ruling with traditional angles in mid tones, and reduces frequency in highlights to avoid need for ultra-small dots.

33. FM Screening: Pressroom Considerations • FM is like running 300 dpi: you need very high levels of pressroom control to do it. • #1 cause of problems in FM in inconsistency throughout the run. • Ink piling can be a concern, especially on heatset presses, or with high tack inks.This tends to happen at 20 micron dot size. 25 micron dot size less prone to piling, is the smallest practical size. • Creo has a service available to tune-in presses for stochastic printing. • FM printing is a good match to inkjet proofing, since both avoid visible dots and both work best with a standardized appearance model. • Process control on the press is absolutely necessary to to run FM successfully. A new approach based on measurement and consistency is key to success in this area.

34. Monitor/Soft/Remote ProofingDan Caldwell, Brad Mintz, Jim Smiddy, Cheryl Peters Lacey Tuttle • Terms are being used inexactly. • Remote proofing refers to any proofing device being used at a remote location. • Soft proofing means using a monitor to OK content only proofs. • Monitor proofing means simulating the look of a printed sheet on a color monitor. • Some users see monitor proofing replacing traditional proofs others don’t accept them at all. Little consensus yet but eventual acceptance seems inevitable. • Concept of remote press OK demonstrated by ICS. Main difficulty is lack of urgency: Art directors hundreds of miles away can forget that the presses are running!

35. Links (just a few) • http://www.idealliance.org IDEAlliance • http://www.printtalk.org/ Best practices for print management • http://www.ddap.org/Digital Distribution of Advertising for Publication • http://www.swop.org/ Specifications for Web Offset Printing • http://www.gracol.org/General Requirements for Applications in Offset Lithography • http://www.pdf-x.com/ Everything about PDF/X • http://www.cip4.org/ System integration in Graphic Arts • http://www.color.org/ International Color Consortium • http://www.ipa.org/Association of Graphic Solutions Providers • http://www.npes.org Standards-Home of CGATS • http://www.disc-info.org/ Digital Image Submission Criteria • http://www.isixsigma.com Statistical Process Control • http://www.iso.org/ THE International Standards Organization