Two Sided Proofing

prepressdork

Well-known member
Hi everyone,

For those who are doing two-sided (dylux) proofing, how do you do it?

Glue two sheets of paper together?
ImpoProof / PreProof?
SpinJet?
Other method?

Thanks,
pd
 
Current shop has Impoproofers. The last place I worked replaced an old, finicky SpinJet with a Djet system, and really liked it.
 
We use OKI and Xerox devices to do booklet proofing.
For oversize work, like Kitfolders, etc.. we use Epson that was not good for color anymore, just manually flip the sheet. Backup is not perfect, but most of the time within 1/8".
 
We have had the ImpoProof with the two Canon iPF8400S printers for about 3 years now. It replaced a PreProofer with 2 EPSON 9880 printers that we have had for about 10 years. Before that we had a HP DesignJet with a TechSage SpinJet accessory. The ImpoProof has the best back-up by far, but also the most paper waste if you are only running a few forms at a time. The software on the other hand is cryptic at best.
 
We have had the ImpoProof with the two Canon iPF8400S printers for about 3 years now. It replaced a PreProofer with 2 EPSON 9880 printers that we have had for about 10 years. Before that we had a HP DesignJet with a TechSage SpinJet accessory. The ImpoProof has the best back-up by far, but also the most paper waste if you are only running a few forms at a time. The software on the other hand is cryptic at best.

HI MacTwidget,

When you say that the software was cryptic at best, can you expand on that?

Thanks,
pd
 
HI MacTwidget,

When you say that the software was cryptic at best, can you expand on that?

Thanks,
pd

The documentation is OK at best. A lot of the terms and methodology seem counter-intuitive. But you will get the hang of it over time!
It might also be that the tech that installed our system was new and only had a few other installation under his belt.
 
The last 2 shops I've been at we've used Epson printers and just flipped the paper manually for each side. Not automated but it works pretty well.
 
We used to use Epsons and manually flip, but just within the past year we got an ImpoProof with Canons.

Epson backups weren't great, but were (for lack of a better term) cheap, made ok use of paper, and gave us some flexibility to print on other media for special projects if needed. The downside, was that it took time out of an prepress operators day to flip the sheet. The ImpoProof backups are almost spot on, not cheap, make better use of paper (unless you need a "hot" proof), but the downside is you can't print on any other media. The upside, the prepress operator really doesn't need to do anything except empty the "basket" on occasion. It's pretty much, send it and forget it, unless it is "hot". Or you need to change the roll of paper.

Like MacTwidget says, the software is a bit quirky, but with a bit of time, you will understand it. If it's working right, you really shouldn't have to touch it, until you need to load paper. Or like us, the power goes out, and the computer shutdown.

Tech support for ImpoProof has been very helpful and responsive.

Overall, we've been very happy that we have switched from Epsons to the ImpoProof, wish we would have done it a long time ago. For our shop, I believe the time savings of the prepress operators not turning paper and the savings in paper should make this a good ROI.
 
Here's another question. Why are you doing imposition proofs? Is it just because that's the way it's always been done since the days of blue lines? Or is your work so varied that all of your book work isn't using standard templates?
 
For us, we are a commercial shop, so pretty much every job, is different. We do have some standards, but we also do a book proof to make sure that the those in prepress have everything in the correct location. Pages, marks, color bars, and such. One of our estimators folds and cuts down our book proofs, as another check. And I know we have talked about not doing them, but so many of our customers demand them. So for them and for a quality check measure, we continue.
 
Hi seratne ,

We are a commercial shop and our jobs vary but to answer your question, part of our QC procedure requires that we produce a digital dylux for all jobs (there are only a few exceptions when we don't). In addition, many of our customers require them.

Best regards,
pd
 
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The DI-Plot software, which controls DJet and ImpoProof, is really cryptic, but offers the advantage of being able to process print data and 1bit-/TIFF-data from many different workflow systems.

DI-Plot can also output this print data single-sided on any standard Windows printer.
 

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