A Survey of Print Copy Technology (4)

5 Development of Printing Workflow Technology

Due to the development of network technologies and digital technologies, in order to increase work efficiency, people use standardized workflow technologies to manage the prepress process. The promotion of workflow technology in China has its own unique approach. Most companies are aiming to achieve the ultimate goal of CTP output. Starting with the realization of digitalization, they will gradually implement digital proofing, PDF output, and DAM management, and eventually realize full-process digitalization. In the process of digital workflow development, the following technologies play an important role.

5.1 PDF

As the image mode of the global standard Adobe system, PDF is a recording format developed by Adobe Corporation for reliable, consistent graphics, image, and text mixing technology. Adobe Adobe image mode has become the core printing and publishing technologies, including Adobe Postscript 3 page description language, Adobe Page Maker page layout program, Adobe Acrobat reader software and electronic publishing Adobe PDF format.

In the prepress area, Post script Extreme and PDF combine to optimize the file workflow. As a page description language, Postscript describes the format of a printed page, and RIP can convert information into pixels to image it on the output medium. PDF is not a programming language. It has a structure and is targeted. All objects are indexed in a file. Because the structure of PDF is stable and accurate, it can be easily read and the pages are independent. PDF is essentially a thorough, perfect Postscript that works for any particular printer. In today's prepress industry, most commercial printing companies have been using PDF since the summer and autumn of 1997 and have grown rapidly. The future printing equipment will be the perfect environment with PDF workflow as the core. Because the PDF file can be updated at any time, some device-related information such as trapping and folding can be included in the file during processing, instead of rebuilding the entire file.

PDF as a standard will drive the future of the printing industry to a highly integrated and highly automated direction. The Printing Technology Standards Committee (CGATS) announced that the CGATS Subcommittee (SC6) will use PDF as a basic standard for the delivery of print data for industrial devices, in order to establish a standard for the transfer of data through telecommunications.

5.2 CIP3

In 1995, 26 prepress, print, and postpress companies in the world jointly established an international cooperative organization dedicated to achieving integrated computer control of prepress, printing, and postpress processes. The main purpose of the organization is to study and formulate a number of standard formats and to improve the quality of printed products, reduce costs and increase production efficiency with the concept of data-based process flow.

The process flow that conforms to the organization's standard format is called the CIP3 (Computer Integrated of Prepress, Press, Postpress) workflow. Before printing, CIP3 can implement document color management, trapping, fonts, documents, image management, imposition and ICC Profile generation and digital proofing machine proofing. In printing, CIP3 controls the amount of ink (ink expansion and conversion curve), register control, and color quality control (color color and density measurement) on the press. After printing, cutting and stapling control and bookbinding control are achieved by transmitting the parameters and information of cutting and stapling.

Due to the large gap between theory and practice, the development of CIP3 technology is slow. In 2000, the JDF Union and the original CIP3 alliance reached an agreement to join CIP3 and join the word "Process." The emergence of the JDF format is a new force that has prompted CIP3 to transition to CIP4. Agfa's R&D general manager said: “JDF is an invisible link between e-commerce and printing, which satisfies the full automation of the entire publishing process.” “The printing and publishing industry needs a complete and powerful standard to support electronics. business, automation and CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing), and have the ability to link together the various printing "in a temporary consultant on stage July 14, 2000 press conference, Martin Bailey CIP4 chief technical adviser, said:." based on this At one point, JDF is a prerequisite for any choice, and we are pleased to see that it is moving in the direction of an open standard body that will help anyone develop further."

The 21st century is a era of knowledge economy with digital information and networking as the main technical features. As a major provider of information media, the printing and publishing industry has great potential as an important component of the information industry.

Source: Publishing Science