Digital workflow for newspaper printing companies

For a newspaper printing company, it is not as simple as installing a CTP. The digital workflow of the CTP front-end must also be carefully selected because it relates to the economic benefits, production efficiency, and payback period of the printing company. Most newspaper companies are digitizing their work processes step by step. The digitalization of the workflow can be achieved in four stages.

Prepare for CTP

No matter which phase you choose, you should confirm that the printing company has prepared for the adoption of CTP before the equipment installer arrives.

Phase 1: The simplest front-end CTP system

Although some newspapers have tasted the sweetness of using new high-performance RIPs, there are still newspapers that continue to use the existing RIP. The simplest front-end CTP system is generally made by hand using typesetting software, then RIP processing, and then sent to the controller software such as Print Console. As long as RIP can output 1200dpi TIFF files, this system is the basic system that can meet the needs of CTP.
However, not all RIPs can output 1200 dpi TIFF files. Some RIPs used by some newspaper offices output non-standard format files, and some have a resolution of only 1000 dpi or 1016 dpi. At present, many newspaper printing companies apply CTF and CTP processes simultaneously. They use the same RIP to output files for laser imagesetters and computer-to-plate makers. There are also good RIP files that accept customer RIP files or send them from the point of delivery.

The method from analog to digital is the conversion of files. There are several conversion tools on the market today, such as Creo's Copydot Toolkit. It can achieve the conversion of the file format and resolution without moiré. In addition, it can also convert from positive to negative.

If there is enough RIP capability, this simplest system can also be considered a fully functional system. However, you must manually determine which pages are on the left and which are on the right. Therefore, if a large number of printing plates are processed every day, the operator will soon be confused by which side of the plate the problem is. If so, the printer should choose an automated workflow.

The second stage: the basic process of automatic imposition

It is recommended that you use the workflow of automatic imposition, because the page group version is a labor-intensive job and it is easy to make mistakes. The use of automated workflows can help printers recoup their investment as soon as possible, reduce labor intensity, reduce costs, and obtain high-quality products.

In fact, no matter what process system is used, the imposition software suitable for newspapers should be selected first. The software accepts a single page transmitted by the typesetting system. Operators do not have to make their own, workflow software (such as Creo's PDF workflow software for newspaper printing - Synapse NewsManager) can do this work. It will wait until all layouts have been transmitted before generating the full-page output automatically. When the page is ready, it will be issued and will not be issued under a special order. This automated software makes everything simple. For example, if a newspaper is a black-and-white newspaper and another is a newspaper, then the software will clearly treat them differently when publishing.

When a lot of pages are exposed on a plate, it is often necessary to turn the page left, right, or center and adjust it over and over again. The use of software with imposition can do everything to avoid human errors and lead to the cancellation. Using this workflow, it is beneficial to control the production process and quality, and reduce the operating costs of newspaper pre-press departments.

There are many newspapers that are running similar processes and have achieved good return on investment.

Phase 3: Automated workflow with load balancing

The volume of newspapers used by different newspapers is often very different. Some newspapers may need more than one CTP or RIP. In this case, an automated workflow with a load balancing function is needed to maximize the use of existing resources and to obtain more benefits from the investment, thereby ensuring efficient production. This process can automatically assign jobs to different CTPs based on different plate sizes. If one of the devices is broken, it can be redistributed.

Phase 4: Automated Workflow with Version Management If a newspaper has many different versions, the typesetting will become more complicated, so the workflow software should have version management capabilities.

When a newspaper has more than two versions, different versions of the newspaper may have the same elements on some printing plates, and some graphics only appear on one of the pages. For example, a newspaper has two different versions, the left-hand pages may be the same, and the right-hand pages are changed. In this case, three files are needed: a left-hand page file with the same content, a first-version right-hand page file, and a second-version right-hand page file. The system knows to use these three files to make two sets. When it receives two of the files, it will automatically output a set of versions (you can also mark the version to tell the operator which set of versions). When the third page arrives, the system automatically generates another version. As long as any two pages in the same page are updated, the system will output two new versions.
The version management function in the workflow software controls many variable elements and helps newspapers report more smoothly.

Factors to consider in selecting a workflow

When selecting a digital chemical process for CTP, the newspaper office should consider the following points.

1) Is it convenient to use? Easy-to-use processes can increase productivity without the need for complex training.
2) Do you need soft proofing or hard proofing? Do you need color proofing? Or does it only need layout proofing or content proofing?
3) Is it possible to easily output the plate repeatedly? Do you need to re-RIP every file?
4) Is the newspaper's communication infrastructure capable?
5) Is there time to receive data? Have you tested it?
6) Newspaper printing companies often use plates of different sizes and specifications? If so, can the output order of the printing plates be controlled and the time wasted due to loading and unloading plates of different sizes?
7) Is there enough time to output the same printing plate with different resolution?
8) Are all the changing factors foreseen in advance? Is it necessary to rely on manual operations to achieve rotation, horizontal reversal, etc. in production?
9) Do you use a contract printing factory? Do they need special resolution or format? Do they already own CTP? Do you need to consider compatibility issues?
10) When a CTP fails, can the system detect the failure and use a replacement solution?
11) Do you need to keep CTF as a backup?
12) Is the monitoring of the production process and quality throughout the system?
13) Did the system output the plate earlier than the scheduled time?
14) The same digital file can output several versions?

Taking into account the above factors helps to select the most appropriate digital workflow, so that the newspaper production is more smooth.

Workflow recovery point

The use of CTP can bring about a reduction in material costs and time savings. If you do not carefully select the right workflow, the above advantages may be lost. Therefore, be sure to plan everything before the CTP equipment arrives.

The biggest point of investment recovery comes from automation, automation, people do not have to waste time waiting for documents, and then decide what to do next. The automation of production can reduce the operator, and the saved human resources can do other things. In addition, the pre-planned production can also be used to recover the investment as soon as possible, which can reduce errors and reduce waste. Soft proofing saves material, but there must also be checkpoints before the plates are exported. Automatic repetitive printing of plates can shorten the preparation time for printing. In particular, the use of CIP3 can shorten the tuning time.

About PDF and JDF

As long as the software can generate the required color or black-and-white pages with punctured, bent marks, each of the solutions described in this article can be completed in TIFF, Postscript or PDF format. When a newspaper office wants to upgrade its workflow, it is advisable to consider the PDF process. Because PDF has many advantages, not only the transmission time is shorter, but also the cross-platform compatibility is stronger. And a PDF file can be RIP at any desired resolution, which is an attractive solution. It is believed that the PDF process will become the newspaper's future development direction.

JDF is yet another standard process that people are talking about now, and the JDF workflow is also preparing for the application in newspaper printing houses.

Replace RIP

Why replace the RIP that is not bad? Many companies' practice is to introduce CTP first, and then gradually add or update equipment to increase the value obtained from CTP. RIP is a good way to PDF, can make production faster, more efficient, and can avoid many problems. RIP is also a solution for implementing FM network printing. If a newspaper printing company is interested in doing commercial printing in addition to the newspaper, it is very important to adopt a FM network and a better workflow.

To be on the safe side, the newspaper should consider having more than one RIP. Because of the backup RIP, you can balance production. Perhaps RIP is not the first newspaper company needs to be replaced, but if a good RIP, it can really speed up the investment recovery.