Principles of Prepress

Offset Printing Technology Principles of Prepress
2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt
Print Media Academy
Contents:

The way to the digital workflow The production steps History Reproduction Whats that? The original copy: Text, graphic, picture Digital data Fundamentals of color theory From the original to the printing plate The Screen Postscript, PDF, PPF, JDF, CIP... The workflow Color management Standardization Output and process automation Prinect MetaDimension Proofing and PDF workflow Imposition digital full pages Computer-to-Plate equipment technology
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The production process of printed products
Prepress
Press
Postpress
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Complete processing of signatures Digital proofing RIP RIP Film processing Hard and soft proofing Plate exposure and development Film proofing
Possible workflows in prepress

Images are scanned, electronically processed and positioned, then separated and screened
Film checking Plate making
Printing
Plate development
Printing Complete processing of A3 signatures
Digital proofing RIP
Plates are directly imaged in the press and printed
Print Media Academy
A prepress workflow in general
Single pages proof station color- & text correction
Digital sheet assembly

( imposition scheme)
External Data
Form proof Layout, text & graphic workstation

(proof of complete print form)
Server ( Data Manager)
Plate ( Film) imaging Scan & image processing ( Scanner or Digital Camera) CIP4 Processing
Data exchange with press and finishing
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Prinect Print Center Prinect CP2000 Center
The way to the digital workflow
PC
Folding Database Cutting Stitching Prinect Signa Station Prinect Printready System Prinect Data Control Prinect Prepress Interface
Prinect Prinance Internet Portal

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt 6
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Distributed tasks in the past
Repro house Compositor Printing house Agency
Assembly
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Reproduction What was is that?

The photographic masks, called repro films or lithos, were photographed mainly with large-size repro cameras: - Color separations were exposed with RGB color filters and corresponding correction masks on special sensitive films - Screens were produced with engraved glass screens or contact screens - The finished lithos were then depending on the printing method assembled one over the other and true to register on transparent polyester foil
Klimsch Repro devices of the 19seventies
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What is an original copy?

The original copy comprises the following elements: - Picture - Text/type - Graphic These elements are created by means of scanners, digital cameras, application software
Picture
Text
Graphic
ABC $%&
Scanner, digital camera Computer, software, fonts
Computer and software
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Fundamentals of color theory
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Fundamentals of color theory What happens in the head ?

The color receptors of the human eye react to colors Cone-shaped receptors = color We recognize the three main fields red green blue Rod-shaped receptors = black, white, gray
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Color receptors of the eye White light Prismatic colors
How the human eye perceives light
Light source Prism
A prism splits sunlight or white artificial light into prismatic (rainbow) colors of the electromagnetic spectrum So WHITE is the sum of all colors; BLACK, i.e. no light, means no color The so-called color receptors of the eye (red, green and blue) receive these pieces of the picture, the brain then combines all this information in one color picture
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Additive color mixing
Red, green and blue are the base colors of additive color mixing (TV, monitor, beamer, video) If a white area is illuminated with three spot lights in red, green and blue, the eye perceives a white spot where the three light bundles overlap The addition of two base colors generates lighter complementory colors
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Subtractive color mixing
The base colors in subtractive color mixing are cyan, magenta and yellow. Overprinting, they add up to black The white paper serves as the reflector The more color is applied to the paper, the more light is reduced Color absorbs its own complementary color and reflects its own inherent color Autotypical color synthesis
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From the original to the printing plate

The way from the original to the printing form/printing plate: Creation of the document Page layout, text, graphic Scanning of pictures Integration of all elements Imposition, if required Transformation of the computer data into an imageable bitmap Exposure of the film or the printing plate (on-press or off-press)
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Scanning
By scanning strip by strip and step by step as well as through the color separation with the RGB filters, 3 bitmaps are generated for red, green and blue With an appropriate software, RGB are converted into cyan, magenta and yellow taking into account the necessary corrections Black is generated by using a special color filter or by calculating it as the fourth bitmap The precision of many scanners allows to reconvert screened films into bitmaps (copix)
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Data input is complete and ready for output
All elements, i.e. picture, type (text) and graphic, are combined into one unit, i.e. one or more pages, one document, on a workstation - The documents are now ready for a digital specimen print, for imposition or for exposure on film or printing plate or direct imaging to press
Type
ABC
Type
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How the digital code works
Computers use the binary code, i.e. the representation of information with the figures 0 and 1 = 1 bit (binary digit) A group of 8 bits forms one byte, i.e., one of 256 definition or switch possibilities: 1 bit = 2 switch conditions 0 or 1, 2 bits = 4 switch conditions 8 bits = 256 switch conditions = 1 byte
ASCII-Code
Morse Signals
A a B b 1 2
01000001 01100001 01000010 - 01100010 00110001 - - - 00110010 - - -
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0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
The Bitmap
The digital, geometric representation in a kind of chessboard pattern is used with image data (scanners, digital cameras) and for controlling printers and exposure units This format of digital representation is also called bitmap. It is a map consisting of bit (or byte) data, i.e. of pixels or picture elements The fineness or resolution is expressed in dots per inch (dpi)
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The Vector Format
Besides the bitmap format for pictures, there is the so-called vector format for line art and text in which all elements are defined by geometric formulas, e.g. Bezier curves These vector data are not converted into the known bitmaps until the output on a printer or exposure unit The advantage of vector data is that they are independent of size and resolution, e.g. with typefaces, smaller quantity of data
Type Type
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The Screen

Why is a screen used? With all known printing methods of letterpress and offset gravure printing is an exception. In order to create visual tonal gradations the screening technique is used Gray values are represented by dots of different diameters, mostly in a regular arrangement (therefore: screen) The human eye mixes the different reflection intensities thus created into one gray tone or graded halftone
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The Screen Angle
When 2 screened images are printed on top of each other and their screen angles are not in perfect register, a moir pattern may occur The screen angle relationship of 30 is common Since 3x30 means 90, a 4th color would lie on one of the already existing angles Yellow distinguishes only little from the paper white and the other colors, therefore a special trick is used, i. e. yellow is positioned at an angle of 15 in relation to 2 colors, mostly on 90
Standard angle positions
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Screen Ruling
The distance between the dots is called screen ruling There is a rule: A coarse screen for bad paper grades (coarse surface) like newsprint paper, a fine screen for coated paper grades (art paper) For art paper, normally screen rulings of 60-70 l/cm are used, with the modern print quality, it is no problem to print much higher screen rulings
Schematic representation of a screen of an approx. 30% tone value and at an angle of 105
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Screen Construction
With an imaging resolution of 100 l/cm, there is a basic area of 16 x 16 spots for every dot between 0% -100% Thus it is possible to represent 256 tone values per dot, enough for the human eye Under these conditions, an output device requires a total of 0.921 mio. commands in order to switch the laser beam on or off for all spots on an area of 1 cm2
Halftone value approx. 82%
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The Raster Image Processor (so-called "RIP")
The production of the bitmap to be printed and the allocation of the screens for halftone pictures / sets of color separations takes place in the so-called RIP process with the original CMYK image data and the original typefaces being used It is based on the PostScript page description language (Adobe) and a suitable software on a standard computer platform (Software-RIP, e.g. Prinect MetaDimension) In printers, the RIP is in the device itself (Hardware-RIP)
Type
Type
Layout/Document
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What is behind the terms PostScript , PDF, PPF, JDF, CIP ...?
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What is PostScript?
PostScript is a page description language from PS achieved its breakthrough with the launch of the first RIP (raster image processor) by Linotype in 1985 for the Linotronic 300 from Linotype-Hell AG Important PostScript components are e.g. the programming language, the printer driver, and an interpreter (RIP) as well as Type 1-fonts
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What happens in the PostScript-RIP?
Application-specific modifications are realized, e.g. distorting, image enlargements, gradation adjustments, etc. %!PS line width Graphic elements (pictures, graphics) are converted into screens, including screen angles, screen ruling, dot shape and calibration (e.g. print characteristic curve) For every color, a separate bitmap is generated in black and white
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What is PDF (Portable Document Format)?
PDF is a page-oriented PostScript data format which can easily be produced (PDFwriter/printer driver), in which superfluous command and definition structures are eliminated (lean PS) and which can be represented and to a limited extent edited with simple tools (Adobe Acrobat Reader, Freeware) across different platforms It even simulates missing fonts with an approximate character width and approximate font characteristics
Prepress
Document
PDF printer driver
PDF file PDF view
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Workflow
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Prinect Prepress Interface

Digital Imposition RIP Computer-to-Plate Printing Plates
Print Production Format PPF
Job Memory Card
Prepress Interface CIP4
Ink Zone Profiles

Or via online connection
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From Print Production Format towards Job Definition Format
Introduction DRUPA 1995 Horizontal Integration of Production Workflow
Introduction DRUPA 2000 Vertical and horizontal Integration of Production and Business Workflow
PPF-Format (Print-Production-Format): The PPF-format can be used for: A PPF-file can contain the following data: - Automatic ink zone setting - Job and commercial data - Make ready of cutter, folding and - Low-res bitmaps of the printed sheets stitching machines - Transfer curves - Register marks - Color and density measuring points - Cutting, folding and stitching folding data
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What is JDF (Job Definition Format)?

The automation of the production processes in the printing industry has made great progress over the last few years Within the classic production units prepress, press and finishing, production can be highly automated, on the condition that it is an environment from just one manufacturer Standardized data formats as CIP 4 bridge the borders between Prepress, Press and finishing and production data capturing
JDF Planned Data
3rd Party Machines and Software
Scanner
Workstation
Film-/ Platesetter
Printing Press
Cutting-/ Folding Machine
JDF Actual Data

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... and to make sure it really works, a standardized color work flow from input through to printing
Color Management is a precondition and a tool for matching all components involved in a workflow with a preset standard Applications The Digital Proof - Simulates the print run on the printing press - Is a preview of the printing result - Requires appropriate resolutions and repeat accuracy
Profiling
Calibration
Standardization
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Why Color Management ?
Scanner
Monitor
Proofer
Press
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Color Management
Graphical representation of color spaces described by ICC profiles Color spaces have different shapes and dimensions. Every device has its own specially defined color space
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Targets of Print Color Management
Standardization
Optimizing of PrePress
Optimizing of Printing press
Process control
ICC-Profile
Proofs and standardized print
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We must have a common order!
With the device-independent CIELAB color space
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Color Management is based mainly on international standardization
Commission Internationale dclairage (CIE) - Specification of the Lab color space 1976 - Device-independent, - Based on human color perception International Color Consortium (ICC) - Specification of the ICC profile format 1994 - Computer-independent, - Manufacturer-independent
+b +b
-a -a
+a +a
-b -b
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With precise color space descriptions
In the form of ICC profiles
Classified for scanners, monitors and printers / proofers / printing presses

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Color Management !
Scanner
Monitor
Proofer
Press
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High-performance PDF and PS 3-RIP
Open PDF workflow - Combinations with Prinect SignaStation, Prinect Printready System, Prinect MetaDimension and Prinect MetaShooter, etc. are available according to requirements - Open for any self-made PDF workflows with Acrobat plug-ins and applications
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State of the Art PDF trapping Very fast and easily operated Acrobat plug-in - Interactive and automatic - Standard and user-defined parameters - Efficient spreading of special colors - Image-to-image spreadings
Preflow: Generation of a perfect PDF!

JobStream generates a clean PostSript preflight PDF after the distiller - Pitstop for PDF-editing and preflight check - Pitstop Server for automatic preflight of large quantities of documents and revisions of the PDFs Interactive trapping of PDF with Supertrap Optimized PDFs for Prinect MetaDimension for imposition, form and color proofing, output on film or plate
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Whats imposition, please?

The term imposition describes the arrangement of pages on a print sheet taking into account the finishing steps in finishing: - like folding, - collecting, - and binding technologies like adhesive binding, saddle stitching/thread stitching The arrangement of the pages is always defined by the sequence of pages and the dimensions of the individual pages
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6 11 10 7
The print sheet
The folding scheme determines the arrangement of the pages The pages are brought into the desired sequence by folding After trimming at three sides, the copy book can be opened
15 14
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All elements need to be available in a digital form, e.g. - print control strip - process control strip - cutting folding marks Redigitization of old data is necessary Digital proof systems are required
Advantages and disadvantages of digital printing plate production

Very short production times Very high quality of the printing plates Maximum register-trueness Less make-ready times in printing Less waste
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Equipment technology
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Imaging techniques and design features

Modern imagesetter technologies comprise the following 3 categories listed by production expenses: - Capstan imagesetters work via a polygon onto material on a roll which is transported in a synchronized way with the rotation, - Internal drum imagesetters expose onto fixed material (sheets cut from a roll), - External drum imagesetters direct the laser beam strip by strip onto a rotating drum holding the material to be exposed.
External drum imagesetter

Internal drum imagesetter
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The Capstan Principle

Costly synchronization of optical system Adjustment of light intensity between the center and the edges of the material (beam length differences) Suited for film and polyester plate Comparatively low production costs Link to online processor
Film material Polygon
Laser source
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The Internal Drum Principle
Costly production of the internal drum, fixed film, high repeat accuracy Identical beam length in all positions Simple optical system (prism) Only 1 laser beam for imagesetting, from roll to sheet, roll to roll Link to online processor, Integrated register Punching system for film and polyester plate
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Offset Printing Technology Principles of Prepress
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Offset Printing Technology Principles of Prepress

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

The production process of printed products

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

Possible workflows in prepress

Film checking Plate making

Printing Complete processing of A3 signatures

Digital proofing RIP

Plates are directly imaged in the press and printed

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

A prepress workflow in general

Single pages proof station color- & text correction

Digital sheet assembly

Form proof Layout, text & graphic workstation

Server ( Data Manager)

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

The way to the digital workflow

Prinect Prinance Internet Portal

Print Media Academy

Distributed tasks in the past

Repro house Compositor Printing house Agency

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

Reproduction What was is that?

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

What is an original copy?

Computer and software

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

Fundamentals of color theory

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

Fundamentals of color theory What happens in the head ?

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

How the human eye perceives light

Light source Prism

Print Media Academy

Additive color mixing

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

Subtractive color mixing

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

From the original to the printing plate

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

Data input is complete and ready for output

Print Media Academy

How the digital code works

01000001 01100001 01000010 - 01100010 00110001 - - - 00110010 - - -

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy

2004 Print Media Academy Wolfgang Wallowy Principles of Prepress.ppt

Print Media Academy