The third stage is the actual printing of the document. Whenever there are problems with the final printout, the document may need to be sent back to the computer operators to be corrected. The problems that caused the rejection of the final printout may be due to any number of reasons such as the wrong font or image was used, or a font or image file was missing, or perhaps a particular color was incorrect, or some box was not positioned correctly, etc. However, in many cases the actual overlooked problems are the result of complex inner structures of the document’s elements that are virtually impossible to detect with the naked eye, such as the resolution of a particular image, incorrect trapping values and other difficult to discover factors. This is the exact point where your electronic servant FLIGHTCHECK® enters the picture!
It is rather interesting to consider a whole new definition for a document and that is a “set of printer instructions”. Each object on the page is sent as a “request” to the printer to draw or “paint” the object. In some cases it is a mere “recommendation” of what to draw because the printer can sometimes override, recalculate, or otherwise redetermine how to draw the object. For example, if an object is defined using an RGB color model, the printer may use built-in algorithms in order to convert the color to CMYK, in which case the eventual output may not be entirely what you had hoped.
There are other factors which come into play at print time such as a calculation known as “flatness” where the printer is asked to draw a curve depending on a value given to it which represents the desired deviation from a straight line. The “flatness” to a curve is therefore the number of iterations of tiny straight lines to draw in order to form the curve. A very large number will cause an incredibly smooth curve, and a very low number will cause the line segments to be noticeably poorly printed. There may also be a problem with available memory when accounting for a large number of points comprising a drawing, in which case the printer might crank away for several hours only to come to a grinding halt and issue some sort of offending command, such as a calculation overflow due to the lack of memory to accomodate a massive quantity of points (there is a limit of 1500 points for a Level I device).
Therefore, while all efforts can be made to design the document with precision, and great care should be taken while creating the document, there still could remain a host of possible printing problems that will not surface until the actual printing process has begun. Unfortunately, the current version of FLIGHTCHECK® does not account for these types of problems with the actual printing device itself, nor can it be used to check advanced trapping and imposition, as these functions are best left to other available software. Therefore, it behooves you to always stay on your toes because despite all efforts to check a document ahead of time, there could still be a rocky road ahead, complete with uninvited paper jams and other unforseen “workflow stoppers”.
As you can now see, inserting FLIGHTCHECK® into your workflow will tend to smooth the transitional flow of the document from the creation stages on through to the final printing stages, and will naturally tend towards cutting down the number of rejects that cause the dreaded backwards flow.
In conclusion, the sole goal of FLIGHTCHECK® is to assist the workflow process by detecting and revealing any potential printing problems, thus allowing the net result of saved time, film and money to be converted into higher and more efficient production and consequently increased profits.
