As Shakespeare said in The Tempest “What’s past is prologue,” the past always sets the stage for the future. Prepress services have greatly evolved over the years to what they are able to accomplish in today’s world. While digital or flexographic printing vary slightly in the prepress process, it ultimately transfers data onto a printing plate that will be transferred onto paper placed on the printing press. The ability of prepress printing technology to accept and transfer electronic information is an amazing technological feat over older, outdated techniques that require manually inking a printing plate. While digital design and printing are the latest steps in the growth of prepress in printing technology, it remains to be seen what will be next in the development and advancement of the prepress process.
The Role of Prepress In Printing
When you begin the design process, keep these prepress steps in mind:
- The first step in the role of prepress in printing is designing your final product with print in mind. Make sure the images in the file have the proper format and resolution, the CMYK colors are set-up correctly and all of the layout items (margins, crop marks and bleeds) are included and accurate.
- The next step is creating a proof that gives an idea of how the finished printed piece will look. When working with one sided or smaller format items like business cards, a PDF proof is best because you can quickly email it to the client for approval. A physical proof is a better choice for books or brochures as it allows you to see how the piece will be constructed (folding, binding, etc.).
- Once the print is approved, the digital print is ready to be produced. If you are using a digital printing press, your preparation process is done because the graphics file can be transferred electronically to the digital press. If you are using an offset press (like flexographic printing), printing plates will need to be created in order to transfer the images to the paper.
Prepress Printing Services that Set You Up for Success
The evolution of prepress printing technology has made the print process much easier over the years. In turn, this has set businesses of all sizes and types up for success. When it comes to prepress services, most (if not all) of the tasks can be handled or monitored by the graphic designer and the prepress operator. In digital printing, the elimination of the need for printing plates also saves you the time spent creating the plates and the cost associated with their creation and use. Prepress in printing has opened up a new world of possibilities that continues to expand as time passes and technology moves forward to the next level of high-quality finished printed products.
Learn more about the next big thing, and current successful prepress techniques, by calling our printing team today.
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