Remote proofing developments raise fundamental business questions. by Terri McConnell, Prepress Editor REMOTE PROOFING IS a set of evolutionary image-communication technologies with mainstream appeal and very broad applications. There is debate on exact terminology, but we'll say that remote proofing denotes the concept of making digital image data accessible to another person, at another location, for review and commentary. The image data may be rendered on a hard copy output device, or it may be viewed onscreen, a practice known as soft proofing. In either case, remote proofing facilitates the sharing of printable images throughout the iterative approval process from concept to
Terri Mcconnell
Effective color management may require thinking outside the lines. by Terri McConnell, Prepress Editor One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish. Remember that Seuss classic? Numbers, colors, and shapes are our first adjectives; the first ways in which we are taught to differentiate the objects of our world. A perusal of the World Book reveals color to be a remarkable physical phenomenon. Light is made up of multiple colors. When a light wave is refracted, or bent, it separates into distinct color wavelengths. Light-sensing cells in the human eye are each tuned to react to different wavelengths between 400 to 700 nanometers.
Quantifying the benefits of computer-to-plate: a challenge package printers may need to approach with new diligence. by Terri McConnell, Prepress Editor In the span of a few hours on September 11th, our hearts were broken, our livelihoods were lost or threatened, and our determinations tested. In the path of swift and sweeping financial repercussions of those events, some packaging businesses are sure to fail or suffer. Even companies with the brightest outlooks are making provisions for a probable downturn and have become more reserved, careful, and "quiet." Shaken by the uncertainty of our economic condition, we will be cautious. Understandably defensive. Less inured to
Part one of a two-part series exploring how some of the largest prepress companies achieve major-league technology initiatives. by Terri McConnell, Prepress Editor Here we are again. At the point in the grand American economic cycle where it seems that big companies just keep getting bigger, while small companies battle for survival among the giants. As consumers languishing on the other end of perpetual hold, we might wonder just what's so great about the race towards consolidation. Frustrated with the complicated, sometimes dehumanizing experience of doing business with a corporate Goliath, it's easy to believe that mega-companies are endless, faceless entities where nothing
Flexo plate sleeves are rounding out the process for higher quality, faster turnaround packaging. by Terri McConnell, PrePress Editor IN A MARKETING study recently conducted by the High Definition Flexo Consortium, end users across several consumer product industries were asked to identify the most important printing technology advancements over the past three to five years. The respondents were senior packaging engineers, packaging procurement managers, and senior designers from the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, and health and beauty segments. These professionals, key to influencing and specifying packaging print methods, overwhelmingly agreed computer-to-plate imaging has made a substantial positive impact on print quality. They also consistently
Preparation and experience determine which printers and trade shops most readily reap Digital Asset Management's benefits. by Terri McConnell, PrePress Editor Digital Asset Management (DAM) has been described as an emerging billion-dollar industry. Estimates from the California-based market research firm GISTICS suggest revenues from DAM software development could reach $3.2 billion by the end of 2001. That's an enticement certain to create frenzy within today's opportunistic investment community. But, in this case, the buzz surrounding DAM is both legitimate and well deserved. It really is an important issue for every business to address, and what both large corporations and small businesses alike will find
Implementing CTP may be viewed as a technological journey whose length and destination depend on your operation's starting point. by Terri McConnell Since its phenomenal debut at DRUPA in 1995, computer-to-plate (CTP) technology has been integrated into the daily routines of printers across nearly every commercial and packaging application. Why? Because the benefits of imaging directly to the printing plate surface from digital data are irrefutable. Digitally imaged plates carry sharper dots and are capable of delivering a wider color gamut. They register better on press. They are free of pinholes and the effects of light diffusion associated with analog film-based plate production. CTP
Package printers are just now beginning to see the light at the end of a long tunnel of confusing, and often ill-fitting file formats. by Terri McConnell Even dynamite could not have changed the face manufacturing infrastructure of the printing industry more than the advent of desktop publishing and the subsequent adoption of PostScript. Up to that point, prepress automation was directed by a handful of highly-specialized equipment suppliers who built color electronic prepress systems (CEPS) around laser-powered film output devices. CEPS were, for the most part, closed, proprietary environments—not a big problem as long as the origin and form of printing content were
Packaging-specific prepress technologies are opening new lines of communication, unprecedented quality-enhancement opportunities for printers, and strategic alliances between suppliers. by Terri McConnell "It doesn't get any better than this" was one of the first principles I was taught 15 years ago as a fledgling mechanical artist. Thankfully the statement wasn't a commentary on my career potential—it was a strong warning that as layouts moved through the analog printing process, image quality had generally nowhere to go but down. I also remember another warning: "When a press operator walks through those swinging doors carrying plates, pray he's not looking for you." In those days, little
