PDF format proved to be a very useful tool in variable printing and short live printing
We all know that accurate printed proofs are the reference for the final printed product, and its quality directly affects the quality of the printed product. After proofing, the proofs should be given to the user for confirmation. Once the customer signs and approves the proofs, they can be printed on the machine. However, if the case of printing 5,000 copies at a time is changed to only one print at a time, and there are 5,000 print jobs awaiting printing, how can proofs be confirmed?
In the digital printing process, the easiest way to proof a job is to print and proof on the same machine. This technique is called "digital wet proofing." Its advantage is that it can ensure that the proofs are exactly the same as the final prints, and the cost is relatively modest. But what if the operations are constantly changing? Staff cannot waste a lot of time watching the proofs flow out one by one on the machine. You certainly don't want to find problems on the 5000r proofs, but the front ones are wasted.
It is certainly not necessary to look at each print. All that needs to be done is to confirm that the job is acceptable by using enough samples or a representative database. For example, you can create a job with long, short text, and images of different sizes, and then test the perimeter of the job. So why not test the proofs on the monitor instead of the printer? PDF files allow you to do this.
Streamlined PDF proofs
A complex variable data workflow usually contains multiple image layers. Depending on the software used, these text or image layers are saved in one or two file formats, which are then flattened and passed to the print driver at a nominal rate. Generate assembly files that exist in Post or PDF format instead of passing these data directly to RIP and printers. Although users can integrate pages and layers on the press, this approach allows previewing the final results in advance.
With the help of PDFExpress developer Think121, Canopy created PDFProofStreamer, which displays each merged PDF page. In ProofStreamer software, all text and image PS layers are refined into Acrobat files. Then, these PDF layers are placed in the same way into the print manager, merging all elements, page by page, and using the same electronic job ticket to control fusion and grouping. ProofStreamer is based on PDF technology that simulates data fusion, layering, collation, and grouping to build simple proofs for all single jobs. PDF proofs are almost identical to the final digital press.
How does PDF Proof Streamer work?
It allows the pages (or templates) that exist in PDF format to be used in variable data print jobs. Designers can also use one or more files from multiple pages as backgrounds. The background varies in size and direction.
In the variable data printing process, a PDF output file with single or multiple background pages is integrated. These background pages are selected from the main file. They can be added to the output data stream in groups. When each page is added, the changed text and images are integrated into each page.
Using a variety of variable data production tools, you can generate separate PS or PDF layers, such as the PDFExpress tool, which is an Acrobat plug-in that can directly integrate variable data into PDF files. On the press, the integration of background, style, and personalized content is controlled by electronic job ticket files.
So why must use PDF workflow for proofing? Here are some unquestionable reasons:
1. Soft Proofing - Formed PDF files are very easy to transmit on a cross-platform network. Transmitting PDF data on different networks is as simple as sending e-mail attachments. Production managers, designers, vendors, and customers can see documents or printed documents on their own machines.
2. Remote Proofing - High-resolution files can be created and can be placed on a remote printer with color management software to provide accurate color proofs on the fly. Even these jobs can be printed directly from afar.
3. Prepress inspection - Prepress and variable data printing operators can identify errors in documents without delaying printing time or risking problems. It can also estimate paper waste and color errors.
4. Prepress Confirmation - One of the fears of designers of variable print jobs is that the elements of fusion cannot be placed exactly where it should be, either large or small. In preparing a complex variable data job, the operator needs to confirm that the contents of each layer can be exactly blended and can be exactly aligned with each other. Creating an accommodating PDF file can be done offline without taking the press time or causing any waste.