pdf what's in it for me

8/6/2019 PDF What's in It for Me

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S YOU WILL RECALL

from last issue, Adobe has

made some very large promises with

respect to what its new PDF (Portable

Document Format) file format will do to inject

predictability and efficiency into the desktop print

production workflow.Reliable file integrity, smaller file sizes, less preflight-

ing, final page previewability, faster and more predictable

output time, the elimination of film proofs, and data repurpos-

ing; and I am all for every one of these benefits.

PDF and the schizophrenic publisher

You have to understand one thing before I start. Yes, Im a publisher,

but Im a publisher with a serious case of schizophrenia. Not only do I wear

the publishers hat (which means my primary concerns are looking after my ad-

vertisers and reducing production costs) but I also have to think like an editor

(copy is never really finished until somebody pushes Print), an art director (can I

see it? can I taste it? can I trust it?), a designer (dont make me spend a bunch of time

learning new software, and whatever you do, make it easy and intuitive), and a produc-

tion manager (get the damn job out, and dont give me any more responsibilities).

Dont get me wrong. Despite its awkward, complicated, aggravating nature, my current

PostScript workflow still works (most days). It gives me what I need (more or less): creative

latitude, control over my production, and a printed magazine. Nevertheless, the publisher/edi-

tor/art director/designer/production manager in me pines for a smoother ride to press (and my

printer wouldnt raise any objections either).

So whats reallyin the PDF workflow for me and me and me and me and me (and him)?

Meandering toward the ideal publishing workflow

For purposes of present discussion Im going to make a couple of assumptions (even though making

leaps of faith runs contrary to my inbred Perry White instincts).

First, I am going to accept the basic core of Adobes contentions regarding PDF: well-structured codethat behaves properly and is now usable in high end print production; and viewable page format that is

font, application, device and platform independent.

Second, I will close my eyes, tap my heels together three times, and believe that, yes, Dorothy, before the

year is over, third party developers will provide PostScript Level 3 support in these critical areas: PDF ripping

(a fundamental feature of PS3), RIP-based trapping, PDFcolor management (which shouldnt be an issue since

PDF files carry the same color tags as the PostScript files), and either pre-RIP or (preferably) post-RIP imposi-

tion (which must be developed within or for each individual vendor or service providers workflow).

In my own workflow today, I use a hard drive to transport my job, a magazine in electronic form (except for

PDF PublishingWhats in it for me?

BYDAN BRILL

Before Adobes PDF file format can succeed

in becoming the standard for cross-

media creation, it must first

satisfy the demands of high

end print production.

Agfas announcement

of its commitment

to a PDF

Publishing

workflow

raises the bar

even higher.

A


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a few full page ads that get stripped in at the printer), created

on a Mac. This isnt particularly practical, and I could trim it

down to a couple of Jaz cartridges, or a boxful of Zips or

Syquests, but that 2 Gb hard drive gives me the luxury of throw-

ing on support documents and extra fonts and my own versions

of applications and system utilities and lots of other stuff that I

might unexpectedly need. Suffice to say that this works for me.

But that means toting around a couple of gigs of data and lit-

erally thousands of elements: Quarkfiles, big TIFFs, little TIFFs,

composite EPSs, separated EPSs, line art, grey scale images;straight vector files, vector files with bitmaps in them, big

bitmaps; and lots of fonts and utilities. Despite my careful at-

tempts to check that everything is print-ready and in the box,

something invariably gets overlooked, misplaced or corrupted.

Id be extremely happy if I could reduce the volume of files

and the complexity of my job. As a matter of fact, I know exact-

ly what my ideal number of final production files is. One. With

perhaps one backup. But just one final file, ready to push Print.

Im also looking for a way to know that anything I hand over

is preflighted and rock solid. I dont want any more calls saying,

Got a problem with page 53. Keeps crashing the RIP. Can we

get a replacement file?

Five heads arent necessarily better than one

Mine is not simply a PostScript workflow. As with most pub-

lishers these days, its specifically a Quark-based workflow. I

never reallyseea PostScript file and I dont reallywantto see a

PostScript file. I blithely let Quarkseparate the file, write it to

PostScript code and download it to be ripped and plotted.

I also want to get advertisers files that dont need fixing. In

that respect, Im just like the service bureau, except that its awful-

ly tough to ask my advertisers to pay for massaging their files

especially since Im the one who told them not to give me film.

So now Im paying the piper for files or fonts that are no

good. Even if they print on my laser printer, its no guarantee

that they will rip to the imagesetter.

Which is to say, I can live with the inconvenience of learning

Acrobat Distillerand creating PDFs from Quarkfiles if the pay-

off is guaranteed output. If I could also shorten my turnaround

time and lower my prepress prep costs, the incentive to alter my

workflow sooner would be that much more compelling.

But how do I train my advertisers to deliver their ads as

printable PDFs? And what do I do with them when I get them?

The editor in me says PDF is a good thing if all it does is

prevent those damn text reflows and font substitutions. And its

handy to be able to fix a typo. However, its not much use

when, just as a page is set to go, I suddenly think of exactlytheright wording to fix that cumbersome sentence on page 47,

which means rewriting the whole paragraph. And what about

when the publisher drags in that last minute ad and I have to

rework my carefully fitted story to accommodate it? (Alas, some

things will never change.)

As the art director, PDF is already a blessing. Acrobatlets me

exchange low res files with artists and designers for approving

concepts and layouts. But when I want to adjust a picture a pix-

el to the left or to the right, or play with a bothersome drop cap

font, or rotate an image clockwise a fraction of a degree, or re-

size it a half of one per cent its back to the application file.

And how does the designer feel about PDF? Well, I cant de-

sign pages in Acrobat, so it doesnt help much that way. If you

want me to save my finished pages as PDF, fine. Give me a

scrolldown menu in Quarkthat says Save as PDF; otherwise,

dont expect me to start learning another piece of software. Im

still on page 3 of the Photoshopmanual.

And the production manager, who you knowtakes the blamewhen anything goes wrong? He doesnt like to change to an un-

known, unproven workflow from something that works.

Prove that PDF can do everything Adobe says it can do,

show me how it doesnt just create new nightmares to replace

the old ones, and Ill consider adopting it. But you also know

whos going to have to learn all the ins and outs of distilling

files, of course. So make it simple. And make it bulletproof.

Give me digital color proofs I can rely on. And above all,

give me a good job docket (the easier to set up, the better).

Agfa goes live with PDF Publishing workflow strategy

Its another gorgeous March day in Key Largo, Florida 75degrees Fahrenheit and sunny.

Id be out revelling in the sunshine, except for the fact that Im

sitting in an airy meeting room at Key Largos swishy Ocean Reef

Club, attending Agfas Executive Conference on PDF Publishing.

In the room with me are a flock of Agfa marketing and product

managers, four key people from Adobe, and 26 technology man-

agers and workflow experts hand-picked by Agfa from the cream

of the North American graphic arts industry. More than a dozen

of the biggest, richest printers and color separators in North

America are represented, a group whose cumulative annual rev-

enues total $10 billion or more. Completing Agfas invitee list are

about a dozen PostScript prepress mavens, wizards and pundits.

John Harrison, Agfas worldwide director of marketing for

image processing systems, is laying out a workflow model

designed around PDF and PostScript Level 3. It assumes the use

of PDF files for a multiplicity of purposes: conventional printing,

digital printing, multimedia and Web. This is the first compre-

hensive PDF-based workflow unveiled by a major vendor aside

from Adobe, and incorporates off-line pre-ripping and imposi-

tion, and optional in-RIP trapping.

Agfa mirrors Adobes Supra architecture, except that the

Normalizer and Page Store in Supra are replaced by Agfas

PDF Production Manager, which logs in PDF files and distills

PostScript to PDF. Instead of Adobes real-time live processing

approach, Agfa divides up the production steps: PDF orPostScript in and diagnosed, PostScript Level 3 interpretation, ras-

terization, storage and output.

PDF Production Manager reads the electronic Job Ticket,

defines the PDF page imposition (through pointers, describing a

batch of pages going to a virtual flat) and sets trapping, screen-

ing and separation values. It can also write the PDF flat back to

PostScript Level 2 for ripping on PS2 RIPs, or even route the file

to an APIS box for ripping through another manufacturers RIP.


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The PDF flats are ripped through Agfas PostScript Level 3

PDF RIP (or multiple RIPs), where trapping and OPI replace-

ment are performed. The resulting raster file is picked up by

a Print Output Manager for output on a Hewlett Packard plot-

ter or an Agfa output device. Or it can be transferred to a

server for storage, archiving, or digital distribution to a

remote location. The Output Manager also includes a

PrintViewer for viewing the ripped file, dots and all.

PDF debates and futures, hopes and needsAgfas vision for a PDF workflow is all-encompassing and

extremely ambitious: support for either pre-separated or com-

posite workflows, trapping off-line or at the RIP, and a work-

flow that can be cross-media or cross-vendor.

As we sit around the table, telling senior Agfa and Adobe

execs whats right and whats wrong with their proposed PDF

workflow model, were pulling no punches.

The Agfa guys are giving it back as good as they get,

emphasizing their need to prioritize which feature sets to

focus on first and which workflows to support.

But theyre getting hammered in the corners by some of

the big printers over topics like the inability to easily integratescanned film into the workflow, and the flaws in not impos-

ing post-RIP, and how powerful PS RIPs will need to be to

perform separations, trapping, screening, rasterization and

spooling functions all at once, and the impossibility of mix-

ing an Agfa PDF workflow with a Creo CTP workflow, and

the workflows lack of support for other formats such as

TIFF/IT. For a student of desktop technology like me, its a

lot of fun.

I hear some new terms and concepts: Productizing.

Reference document space. Dissolving into a network-

centric publishing model. Digital Master.

I hear recurring articulation of users needs: a reliable

desktop-to-CTP workflow; maximum last minute editability;

foolproof electronic job tickets; the elimination of print dri-

vers from the desktop workflow; the separation of PostScript

interpretation from screening and raster functions; a content

format that is cross-everything; content creation once, distri-

bution through many media; and more promotion and aware-

ness advertising by Adobe to raise PDFs profile.

Most important of all is the gnawing question: how soon

and how readily will the customer adopt PDF as a standard?

Afterwards, Alan Darling, chief operating officer at Western

Laser Graphics, sums it up: I thought it was a very good ses-

sion what a great group of people. It was unfortunate that

we all concentrated on the reasons why PDF workflow wouldfail, rather than analyzing the benefits of going there I

guess thats just the nature of the beast, and indicative of how

badly we have been burned by open systems in the past.

The problem with the open solutions that were thrust

upon us in the late 80s and early 90s is that we had to do

the integration and work out the fixes to make these 80%

solutions work. I think that everyone is loathe to have to

find that extra 20% (and probably a different 20%) again!

PDF in a QuarkXPress-centric workflow

To become a graphics standard, PDF will have to be ac-

cepted by every print production manager.

With my production manager hat firmly in place, I ques-

tion the notion ofQuark-based PDF publishing straight on.

Namely, what is Quarks position on PDF support?

My e-mail to Tim Gill at Quarkelicits this response:

[Tim] called Adobe [in October] to see if they had avail-

able code that would allow Quark to import and print PDF

from within QuarkXPress. At that time they indicated thatsuch a code library was not available. That didnt mean that

they wouldnt have it at some point, simply that they didnt

have it then (or that we talked to the wrong person). [Tim]

talked to John Warnock [in early March] and he indicated

that the libraries to do that are now available. Were current-

ly waiting for info on whats involved.

What I hear from Quarkis, dont hold your breath.

So I cant place a PDF in Quarkas if it was TIFF or EPS,

and I cant save a Quarkfile directly as PDF. But I canopen

a PDF in Exchangeor even Illustrator(although its painfully

slow), export it to EPS, and place it in Quark. And I can

manually save a Quarkfile to PDF by creating a PostScriptfile and automating Acrobat Distillers distillation procedure.

Im not thrilled with converting PDF back and forth. But I

also assume that this is only until Quarkadds PDF import

and export support. And if not, some ambitious XTension

developer certainly will. A PDF Import XTension called

Gymnasthas been in development for some time, but still

no word on its release. As well, PDF has to be able to han-

dle fractional pages, which are presently problematic.

As far as configuring Distillers Job Options, I expect the

vendors to provide a library of automated scripts as Post-

Script Level 3 products emerge. And I hope they will be sim-

ple drag-n-drop interfaces.

Then theres the trapping issue. If I trap in Quark, and send

the file with separations off, I lose all Quarktrapping. Thats

fine, as long as the RIP has automatic trapping. If I send with

separations on, I get four separations that cant be viewed as

composite in Exchange. Wouldnt it be nice ifAcrobatcould

let me see my page either composite or separated?

I prefer the simplicity of a composite workflow, and I

dont really want to trap anyway. So if PostScript Level 3 RIPs

can handle trapping effectively, thats the end of it. But if not?

Editorial workflow produces finished pages on a story-by-

story or section-by-section basis. When theyre ready, I want

to send them to the RIP as single pages, and impose post-

RIP. Imposition before or at the RIP would mean stockpiling

pages until a flat is complete, but I dont want to wait. I want

to see single page digital color proofs as quickly as possible.

AndI want the proof I okay to be produced from the same

ripped file that goes to film or plate.

Finally, theres the bible of my job: the Job Ticket. There

better be a way for me to lock out changes if I choose, and

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an audit trail to indicate if and when any

changes are made.

To the designer in me I say: go with the

flow, babe. All those precious designs andlayouts will keep happening in our favorite

apps. PDF is just the lock on the door. And

Save as PDF is already built into Adobe ap-

plications, though it may take time for Quark

to follow suit.

But my designer persona would like to

point out that, sure as Bill has billions, Ex-

changeoffers not even the most rudimentary

design tools. Some simple grids, guides and

rulers would be a small bonus, Adobe folks.

You know, those straight line thingees you

just finally added to Photoshop?

Of course, thats after you figure out how

to let me move an object on a PDF page, or

even perform a simple undo.

Meanwhile lets keep the art director as far

away as possible from PDF in production. Just

keep using PDFWriter, big fella.

But the editor is quietly reading the Sey-

bold advance press releases on at least a

dozen new or improved Acrobathigh end

PDF plug-ins. For the production manager,

theres Tailor, a PostScript preflighter. For

printing, Lantana Research now has Cracker-

jack, the Adobe module that was in develop-

ment under the name Extended Print Services.

For the designer, the art director and eventhe editor himself, Scissors, an object-oriented

Acrobat plug-in, makes Acrobat pages fully

editable. With Scissors, working in either wire-

frame or preview mode, you can move and

rotate any element, and add or modify lines

and curves, including clipping paths. But text

is also object-oriented, and as such not much

more editable than in Acrobat.

But then the publisher asks, Does anybody

realize how difficult (or even impossible) its

been to convince ad agencies to supply ads on

disk? And now you think Im going to be able

to convince them to jump on the PDF band-

wagon? Whats the incentive to do it that

doesnt come out of my pocket?

Answer that one, and maybe then the all-

digital publishing workflow will have a

brighter future. But without agency accep-

tance, the dream of eliminating film and going

straight to plate begins to dim.

There are still holes in the high end PDF

Creating a final PDF production file beginswith the creation of a PostScript file frommy QuarkXPress document.1. UnderPrinter Type in the Page Setup dia-logue box, I could choose the Acrobat Dis-tiller PPD which comes with Acrobat. How-ever, Im using the Scitex Dolev PS PPD

because its supposed to be more reliable. (Iwant my PostScript file to be distilled auto-matically, so Im using the PSPrinter 8.3.1LaserWriter Driver and the Distiller Assistantwhich comes with Acrobat to distill the Post-Script file once its created.) This also meansthat I had to make sure my Distiller prefer-ences were set up correctly before I start-ed. Substitute Fonts and Smooth Graphics inthe Options menu are turned off since thiswould create a much larger PostScript filethat would take longer to print and display.2. Now I go to the Print dialogue box. In theDestination box, I select PDF, leave Separa-tions Off, Registration Marks Off, and thenclick on Save. In the next dialogue box, I se-lect Compatibility for PostScript Level 2, In-

clude All Fonts, and set Binary file format.Once the file is saved,distilling of the Post-Script file occurs automatically. I can chooseto save or delete my PostScript file and/orautomatically view the resulting PDF file. (Thisoption does not work with LaserWriter 8.X.)Tip: Keep in mind that I could also designatea Distiller station, another workstation onmy network that would receive and distill thePostScript files from a Hot Folder.Tip: Get the Luminous Prepress XTension(LPX) that builds even better PostScript.

This is how I imagine a QuarkXPress-to-Production PDF workflow wouldlook in my Macintosh environment. PDFs are immensely useful for checkinglayouts and simple page idea exchange. But Acrobat also lets me add, replace,delete or copy pages in a documentmuch easier thanmost

page layout programs.Acrobats Security feature lets me lock files. It also meansmy advertisers could lock me out of theirs (hmmm...is that good or bad?). Keep

in mind that we are waiting on some par ts whichneed to be developed by Quark, Adobe or

various prepress systemvendors.

Page

assembly

Final

pagination

Print pages

to PostScript

Print Pages

to PostScript

Print PDF

proofs

Editorial

approval

PostScript files canbe created and dis-tilled automatically,using PSPrinter 8.3.1and Distiller Assistant.

Distill

PostScript pages

Files are distilledusing predeterminedpreferences specifiedby printer.

To create PostScriptfiles and Distill themautomatically, usePSPrinter 8.3.1 andDistiller Assistant.

Distill

PostScript pages

Files are distilledfor low-resolutionproofing and internalapproval.

Soft proof

in Exchange

Design & Layout

PDF Production

Ideally, ads suppliedas PDFs. Unfortunatelyits not yet possible toplace PDFs into Quark.

Soft proofand define job ticket

in Exchange

To Pri

Design & Layout

PDF Production

The automated PDFJob Ticket (which could

be provided by theprinter) is the back-

bone of this work flow.

How I would design my ideal PDF publishing workflow model

PRODUCTION

SUPPLIED

EDITORIAL

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Color scans remain part of the digital workflow. Low res or placement FPOsare returned to me for page layout. I approve digital color proofs. Kodaks

Approval system output

is accepted as a contract proof in the trade today, and Iris inkjet and 3MRainbow dye sub continuous tone digital prints are often used. Remote proofinghas obvious benefits in this workflow.

workflow, but a cursory look at just the

Acrobatplug-in market shows that they

will unquestionably be filled quickly.

The next CGATS draft of recommenda-

tions for PDF will suggest a number of im-

provements to its specs, including a trap-ping indicator (Yes, No, Maybe),

support for embedding TIFF/IT, TIFF, EPS

and DCS, ZIPflate compression (superi-

or to LZW), support for RGB and CIELAB

color spaces or a mix, and the implemen-

tation of digital signatures on files.

So even though everything Ive seen

tells me that PDF is not quite ready for

prime time print production today, its

convinced me that tomorrow PDF will be

the bridge to a more productive, more re-

liable digital print workflow.

If you make your living in design, ad-

vertising, communications, or printing

and you havent familiarized yourself with

Acrobat, I heartily recommend you start.

And if Im wrong, Ill eat my hats. P

SPECIAL THANKS TO LYDIA V ARMAZIS FOR HER

INVALUABLE ASSISTANCE WITH THE

PREPARATION OF THIS ARTICLE.

Before creating the PostScript file from my Quarkdocument, I have to set up Distillers Job OptionsMenu as follows: 1. In the General menu, underFileSettings, I ensure that Compatibility is set to Acrobat3.0 (if Acrobat 2.1 is selected, all spot colors are con-verted to process color [CMYK]).ASCII Format boxis unchecked.UnderDevice Settings I set the Default

Resolutionto 2400 dpi (the maximum resolution al-lowable; I checked beforehand with my printer for op-timal output resolutions). Default Page Size doesntmatter since that information is carried in the Post-Script code. 2. In the Compression menu, I turn off allcompression options (JPEG is a lossy method of com-pression that degrades the quality of images). 3. Un-derFont Embedding, I select Embed All Fonts and donotselect Subset Fonts (used when distributing PDFsfor Internet or multimedia applications,where files

need to be especially compact. Font subsetting em-beds only the characters used, instead of the entirefont set). 4. In the Advanced menu things get a littletrickier. I select Distill with prologues.ps/epilogue.ps(before I ran Distiller, I had to move theprologue.ps/epilogue.psfile from the DistillersXtra:high_end folder into the same folder as the Dis-

tiller application).This ensures that spot colors are notconverted to CMYK. I deselect Convert CMYK Imageto RGB, and select Preserve OPI Comments (embed-ded high-resolution images are not affected by this). Ideselect Preserve Overprint settings and PreserveHalftone Screen Information (which also eliminates Il-lustrator or FreeHand trapping and halftone screencalibration; I will let all trapping and screening be ap-plied at the RIP). I deselect Preserve Transfer Functionsand Preserve Under Color Removal/Black Generation

(because I assume that UCR is al-ready in the scans and that it hasbeen optimized for the printersinternal press conditions), and setColor Conversion options as Un-changed (since my workflow in-corporates CMYK already).

5. Finally, I set up the Job Ticket (aplug-in to Exchange or Distiller) asper instructions from my printer.

Tip: Look at CrackerJack,anAcrobat plug-in from LantanaResearch Corporation (inheritedfrom Adobe) which simplifiessetting print job parameters.These four screens show Docu-ment, Pages, Output and Colordialog boxes.

Scan color

originals

View pages

in Exchange

Print Production

Color Scanning

Toign Digital color

proofs

Some high resolution graphicsare generated by the creatorand embedded in the PDF,others follow the OPI workflow.

Color

approval

Color

correction

Files no longerrequire preflighting,since the productionPDF file is print ready.

Read job ticket.ast minute changesand corrections are

applied here.

Image final

film/plates

DUCTION

Proof

pages

The ideal productionworkflow uses thesame RIP for digitalproofing and highresolution output.

Impose

pages

Using a compositeworkflow, it ispossible to imposepages post-RIP.

RIP & trap

single PDF pages

Ripped and trappedsingle pages resideon the RIP/server untilall pages are readyfor final imposition.

Printing PDF files toa high-end outputdevice is a function ofPostScript Level 3.With PostScript Level2, it is not possible.

Color Scanning

Print Production

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