PrePress Mistakes

[PrePressLacky]

I work in a web printshop in the prepress department and lately we have been having problems with the way the jobs are being checked we are using the check list system but it hasnt been the best of friends to us. we had a job were the wrong pages were placed on a couple of versions in Apogee most of them were caught except for like 2. Most of the errors that are made here are human error which has dropped quite a bit but to the extent that we need to be in. We are trying to find a way to minimize the mistakes being made in the department because the press crews do not ttrust us when they should. are there any suggestions we could use other then the checklist any ideas will be worth a shot.

 

[craiglpress]

Proofing Best Practices

Proofing Best Practices

With the adoption of digital proofs, laser proofs, and CTP, many companies have circumvented some fundamental procedures; contributing to significant spoilage costs. You can significantly reduce spoilage by implementing better procedures for producing proofs and approving production makereadies.

The following procedures will help to ensure that the final product is technically correct prior to running a job. Once the job is printed it is too late! The idea is to catch the mistakes before they get further down the production process and increase in spoilage cost. The little time and costs these proactive procedures may add to the production process is considerably justifiable by the savings in spoilage, improved quality, and improved customer satisfaction.

Imposition Proofs - Prior to imaging plates, digital imposition proofs should be made of each signature to verify the position, layout, pagination, marks, trims, bleeds, and content; prior to plating or press. Imposition proofs are typically the size of the press plate and can be a digital Dylux, Sherpa, Spinjet, or HP Inkjet proof.

Folded Dummy - Optionally, a second set of imposition proofs can be made, gathered, and trimmed in the book format. The "folded dummy" is an important aid to ensure the job is technically correct for cutting, folding, and binding; prior to plating or press.

Press Rule-up Sheet - All jobs and signatures should have a rule-up press sheet on which rules have been drawn to show trim, final size, spine, perforations, folding, etc. The rule-up sheet is verified against the Imposition Proof made in prepress. This is a double check of the mechanical layout to verify that the signature will trim and bind correctly, that the pages are in the correct order, and that there is enough bleed. Mechanical correctness must be confirmed at the press during the makeready. Once the operator is confident that the signature is technically and visually correct, the pressroom supervisor should approve the job for running by signing the press rule-up sheet. This is where the term “Signature” originated.

Hope this helps.

Craig L Press, Printing Industry Business Consultant
Profectus Printing Industry Business Consultants specializing in best practices, lean, and information technology

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Could you please clarify difference between Imposition proof and Press Rule-up Sheet? We have our Imposition proofs ruled up. Do you mean that the Press Rule-up Sheet is ruling up one of the first in the actual print run? Or is it a second imposition?

 

[David Dodd]

The first step toward eliminating mistakes is to understand why those mistakes are occuring in the first place. You say that most of the mistakes you're experiencing are caused by "human error." The important question is: Why are these human errors happening? The "lean" way to address an issue like this is to use a process called "5 Whys." When a mistake is discovered, pull together the appropriate people and ask why the mistake occurred. Keep asking the question "Why" until you uncover the root cause of the problem. Once the root cause of the problem is clear, the solution is often obvious.

The proofing procedures suggested by Craig Press are certainly sound. And I agree that the cost of performing those procedures is probably minimal compared to the cost of reprinting jobs on a regular basis. However, these procedures do add costs and consume resources, and they may or may not directly address the root cause or causes of your mistakes. So, first understand what is causing your mistakes to occur, and then design a countermeasure that addresses that cause.

 

[craiglpress]

A Press Rule-up Sheet is the rule-up of an actual printed sheet that comes off the press during the makeready and just prior to pproducing good product. Its your final makeready check before running the job.

An Imposition proof comes off a proofing device such as a digital Dylux, Sherpa, Spinjet, or HP Inkjet printer.

 

[PrePressLacky]

We print out Hi Rez for each job on a Sherpa44 and all our impos are put together by the production manager and given to us, our low rez (blue lines) are made and proofed press ready so there is no cutting involved just checking measurements. This is thing our process isnt that complex yet these things are still happening. I will throw the 5 whys to my prepress manager to see what he thinks. Thanks Craig and David the info was very helpful.

 

[mvogel]

Color Proof?

Color Proof?

In addition to the 3 proofs (impo proof, folding dummy and ruled-up proof), do you use another proof for your pressroom to match for color? What type of proofs are you using and are they mocked up for production, or are they only used as color targets? We have multiple proofs (like those listed above), and have trouble with our press operators knowing what their target is. Thanks for the help!

 

[gumbylives]

some other things...

some other things...

Have several people look at the proof. Is there a schematic that is with the job...re: versions. Ask ask and ask. Never assume someone else has it covered. Is your docket information complete or close to complete when you receive the job? (most are not). make up a checklist...are there versions on the job and what are the plate changes for that. create a plate change form. check overprint. check 4/c blk. make up a list from all the questions you think are pertinent and have this form follow the job. It helps.

 

[LoweringTheBar]

I feel your pain.

I feel your pain.

"The relentless pursuit of perfection." I'd like to kill the little son of a #$%@ that coined that phrase.

The reason you keep making mistakes is because you're not Jesus, and no matter how hard you try to become Jesus you will always fall short.

Remember, pressman are inherently evil and were put on this earth to constantly remind prepress operators of their shortcomings. Prepress operators were put on this earth to endure the suffering of the human race, much like Jesus. This is why we feel the burden to strive for perfection in our work, and suffer so much shame when we inevitably make a mistake. We are mocked by owners, sales people, CSR's, client's, pressman and bindery operators every time we substitute the wrong font because it wasn't supplied, or use the wrong InDesign file after the client uploads 5 revisions all with the same file name.

But fear not my brethren, for ye thou mayest suffer long, yet be of good cheer! Remember, pressman make mistakes too, but nobody ever sees them because the client only sees the "good" samples. Sales people make mistakes every day when they show up at 10am, leave at 2pm and expect prepress to explain to their clients how to ftp files to prepress when the web site has clear instructions. CSR's make mistakes on estimates, but they just make it up on the next quote and count on the salesman's inability to actually read a quote. Client's makes mistakes, but that's why we have jobs. Bindery operators make mistakes, but they lose fingers when they do, so that's a big incentive to not screw up. Owners make a mistake every time they hire a sales person.

Our company has tried many ingenious ways to eliminate mistakes, and they always pour more responsibilities and red tape onto the already battered and beaten backs of prepress. Prepress has performed rule-ups for pressman, collected and sorted press sheets, filled preflight and proofing check lists, hired proof readers, filled out Corrective Action Forms when a mistake was made so that the shame from the mistake can be stored in a database and printed for future reference, but none of this prevented human error.

When problems arise, our management brain trust usually tells us something profound like "you guys need to spend more time reading the job ticket", even though it's a two sided 12x16 bottomless pit of an envelope that's printed on both sides with more data than a real estate contract, and stuffed with 20 pages of quotes and post-it notes with hidden messages scribbled in invisible ink. My personal favorite was when the owner suggested that we keep a journal next to our computer so we could document every detail of our activity for each job... with a pencil. AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Fortunately, there is a silver lining to our plight. I discovered that the life expectancy of prepress operators is about 8 years less than the national average due to stress, toxic chemicals and exposure to sales people.

 

[AutyGraph]

I'm with you

I'm with you

I did want to add to this discussion that we feel your pain too.

We create Epsons for colour and double sided HPs for folded mockups, yet every day someone in our organization says - just match the sample we don't need Epsons. The problem is that inks change, stocks change, presses change, yet for some reason we feel compelled to save a couple of dollars by not making an Epson.

I've tried to explain to pretty much everyone that colour matching is best done in prepress and not on press, yet almost every day someone complains that they had trouble getting colour on press because the customer didn't want to actually match the proof. They bring in a sample from who knows where and says this is what we want.

I'm not sure what it will take to get customers and sales staff to actually take the time to look at proofs - check the colour and then just let us print to that. With constant price competition and ridiculous turnarounds, I guess it's too much to ask. We seem to find the time to print it again.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Lukas Engqvist]

Is the echo for emphasis or just a booming voice?

Is the echo for emphasis or just a booming voice?

…Fortunately, there is a silver lining to our plight. I discovered that the life expectancy of prepress operators is about 8 years less than the national average due to stress, toxic chemicals and exposure to sales people.

Thank you for something to look forward to. Is there any statistic on the number of prepress people doing extreem sports to lower their adrenalin levels (at least for the duration of a bungyjump)

 

[prepressdude]

That explains it!

That explains it!

"'The relentless pursuit of perfection.' I'd like to kill the little son of a #$%@ that coined that phrase." Loweringthebar, that entire post is one of the funniest things I've read in a long, long time. It's now posted in my work space for all to read. Thanks for that!

As a 30-year member of the joyful club that we call prepress survivors (and graying much faster than the rest of my family members who were smart enough not to get into printing), I must say that I, too, feel the pain of the original post.

Currently I'm a working prepress supervisor in a small print shop and, try as we might, mistakes will happen. We do the folded, digital proofs and press rule-ups. We do catch a lot. But mistakes do happen and you can only hope to keep them to a minimum.

A perfect example is a job that's going through our shop right at this moment. The job is from a client of ours that's famous for, let's call it, not being as organized as he could be. But, as our CEO told me a couple of weeks ago "He pays his bills." Anyway, we've had a book project of his sitting here since mid-July. All the client has seen is a set of laser proofs. This Tuesday our sales rep for the account announces that the client's client has a book signing THIS FRIDAY and needs books!

I said "That's great John. Think you can get us a cover file for this thing?" Always on top of things, he responds "We don't have a cover file?" Nooooooooooo, I'm just makin' this up as I go along, just to see if I can give our sales reps a stroke during the course of the day!

The job is on press. We've already found several typos that we simply don't have the time to fix. We're going to have to let it go so this dude has something to sign at his book signing besides a paper napkin.

Gotta love workin' in prepress in today's "gotta have it yesterday" environment.

 

[jbarrie]

In our company we enjoyed all the human mistakes as well, until... We added another position called Quality control. The prepress operators will produce the proofs, ie... Photo epsons, backed up paper epsons, etc. The quality control person will double check the work. This means roaming the monitor proof, checking nesting and pagination, checking for correct knockouts, and so on. After He has filled out his own checklist, the paper proof will be trimmed out, (if it's a book, the forms will be folded and stitched and trimmed) and folded. All proof material will be organized and presented for the sales person to take to the customer. We have reduce the amount of Human error's significantly by adding another pairs of eyes. Hope this helps.

 

[prepressdude]

Quality control person

Quality control person

I've run the quality control person idea up the flag pole several times. The response I've consistently gotten from our higher ups is that it's "just one more person to blame." Each supervisor is charged with maintaining their department's "quality control." I've also suggested a proofreader, at least part time, but "we don't have the time" for that. But we always find the "time" to fix it when it's on press.

The more eyes that look at anything, the better if you ask me. But when you have upper management that's only looking to blame, says they want to fix the problem, but they're not actually willing to make the tough decisions that might actually make a difference, it's tough. Like I've told "my people," we can control what we can control, and that's our department and the product that comes out of it. Mistakes happen, but we try our best to keep it to a minimum.

I've been auditioning for my next job. I've got it down to two choices, and I think I've got it "down." "Would you like fries with that?" and "Welcome to Wal-Mart."

I think I can do that.

 

[prepressguru]

It looks like you need to review your procedures. Both quality control and over all file handling. If you have wrong files in a job folder this is something you must ask why and how did they enter the prepress workflow? To me it seem obvious your files are not organized in away to identify correct files.

The other suggestions already stated are imposition proofs before plating. Gives you a final check before committing. We also run out laser seps to check the spot colour break downs.

Other points to look at; do your operators have other distractions going on taking their focus away from the task they are working on? Or if they are multitasking to many jobs or constant interruptions from other departments.

Good luck

I work in a web printshop in the prepress department and lately we have been having problems with the way the jobs are being checked we are using the check list system but it hasnt been the best of friends to us. we had a job were the wrong pages were placed on a couple of versions in Apogee most of them were caught except for like 2. Most of the errors that are made here are human error which has dropped quite a bit but to the extent that we need to be in. We are trying to find a way to minimize the mistakes being made in the department because the press crews do not ttrust us when they should. are there any suggestions we could use other then the checklist any ideas will be worth a shot.

 

[PrePressLacky]

Great info

Great info

These are some great posts i got some good info. We have a new prepress manager who is into color management and ive learned quite a bit from it. So before we do a job we read the paper stock so that our color proofs come out like a finished job. we do use break downs to show plate changes and codes, our jobs our put together press ready so all we got to do is measure the proofs ( blue lines ), we have a check list on our job tickets. Now i will try some of the info that all of you have given me here which is very helpful.



Thanks again.

 

[mvogel]

Prepress Best Practices?

Prepress Best Practices?

We recently had a few employee changes in our Prepress department and have come to many realizations -- one of those being that we have checklists all over the place, but don't have a "Best Practices" or "Standard Operating Procedure" truly documented for Prepress that outlines all the different proofs, purposes, who creates them, who uses them and when. Does anyone have anything like this they would be willing to share? I don't have a lot of Prepress experience personally, but have been thrown into the mix of reorganizing the department and being a "resource", and I would like to see something documented but don't know where to begin. ?

 

[Tech]

We are further upstream (aka publisher) in this process... we don't expect our printers to proof read our documents, that's our editors' responsibility. You can have all the checklist in the world, but if it's not your responsibility don't take on more than what you can chew. If you have clients whom aren't happy about printed jobs with poor spelling, etc. tell them that's their problem...getting jobs printed with accurate color, good registration and on time delivery is yours to worry about. Truth will hurt their egos, if they are smart, they will learn from it.

We recently had a printer hold one of our jobs for roughly 3 weeks just for blue line and their reason is 2 pages failed their preflight...never bother to followup with us, until we question the status. This is far far worst at burning bridges with your clients than failing to catch typos. BTW, the preflight failure was due to a 4C 100% black used in an illustrator file. If they had bother opening up the file, it would take under 2 minutes to change color palette to grayscale or remap color on output. This printer has done something like this before, if not for their lower bids, they would not be getting our business. At least I won't recommend them.

 

[ErnieLail]

The reason you keep making mistakes is because you're not Jesus, and no matter how hard you try to become Jesus you will always fall short.

Amen, brother! That is why we are saved by faith through the grace of God! Although i dont think pressmen are inherently evil. (i know, i know, ur joking) But i do think the majority i have dealt with in the past think that we (prepress) are the spawn of satan.



We use a 8.5 x 11 checklist that has developed over a 2-3 year period. Its composed of a list that you check off that you have checked each aspect of the press sheet, sign and date. If someone checks off something thats not checked you point out that they have falsified the document. It has cut down on tons of errors. We still make mistakes, but every human will. We also run epson proofs of the job for content and press color match. We make miniature dummy books (laser print) for a quick once over and imposition check. The majority of the problems at our plant are press related now.

 

[flybynitepress02]

The True Value of a Proof??

The True Value of a Proof??

I hope this is not too far off topic but to relate a problem of a mistake I have to see what the answer from others would be.. We have a customer who gives us a word file on a yearly basis. Its fairly simple although it must print as a 2 color job, So as we always have done in the past, we use the file to create an Id3 file and apply the colors for the spot colors and supply the proof (lasers or pdf) back to the customer for approval and proceed to press. They approve the job and it was printed as it appeared on the proof. After delivery of the job the customers tells us of a mistake. Although it was approved to go on press by the customer the mistake was something obvious as the year being wrong on the form. Soooo.... how much weight can you put on this proofing process, seems to us that customers look at proofs and think we are just supplying them with pretty pictures of their artwork.. I am frustrated with customers supplying crap files (word, mspub) and working with office secretarys that are left to "design" the company stationary. So of course I can see a rerun coming of this one at our expense... How can we make our customers understand that the proof is just that. We deal with so many townships and municipalities that print newsletters and use publisher just riddled with lo-res clip art and placed .gif pics. What would be the best approach to fix this situation? and should the customer get this job rerun at no cost or what? sorry I had to vent but what are your opinions?