Soft proofing - an efficient way of working

In the publishing house, you will encounter such a situation: When the editor has finished the layout, it is necessary to output, but the author proposes amendments. If you agree to amend it, you must leave all the work on hand, make changes, and after confirmation, send it to the factory. The factory produces according to the new proofs and sends the proofs back to the publisher. This will definitely affect the speed of the book. Have you ever thought of using soft proofing to overcome these problems?
Some Internet companies and printers have proposed a new scheme for editing and checking content. In this way, the necessary modifications and confirmations can be done at any time, anywhere, with the click of a mouse.
Reichard, a director of the Digital File Exchange (DAX) business software company in Boston, said that over the past year, DAX has upgraded the application of digital soft proofing, allowing customers to quickly check and modify the contents of documents without adding hardware. And software costs.
DAX customers can log in to DAXProof software through a standard Shango browser, remove high-resolution material from the printer's server, convert them to the best visual resolution on the monitor, and then lower the resolution The version is forwarded to the customer's designated location.
The DAXProof interface is similar to other online applications. Its menu allows the user to make some changes, and the user can also enter the table to provide detailed description of text and images, such as the number of words and lines, as well as the density, size, etc. of the image. This solution allows printers, prepress suppliers, designers and customers to view documents at the same time.
To help customers save time, some printers have developed their own soft proofing software. The directors of Lehigh Press's image technology department pointed out that they have inspected the major network soft proofing developers and found that there are such restrictions in the workflow or technology itself. Lehigh Press and technology partner companies have developed a custom solution that requires only a web browser to enter.
Soft proofing technology is very suitable for reprinted products because they rarely modify the color; customers did so long ago. But soon soft proofing will also apply to workflows in other areas. It can be predicted that soft proofing will not be a new technology in one or two years but a way of life.
Although some editors do not believe in digital proofs, printers are very confident in digital proofs. Midas Printing's sales representative said that his client wanted a complete set of CTP engineering processes, so he set up a soft proofing solution. For the publishing customers in the United States and China, it is necessary to implement soft proofing on the screen. Because faxes stop halfway, soft proofs can be displayed directly on the screen, making them ideal for applications.
Soft proofing can serve customers better. Although many people think that soft proofing is not closely related to printing conditions, and feel that it is not a good practice to use digital proofs, soft proofing is a solution from the customer's point of view.
The advantage of soft proofing in time attracts busy publishers.
Another obvious appeal of soft proofing is cost. Not only does the customer avoid the expense of four-color proofing, but the cost of shipping is also a thing of the past. More importantly, if the customer is not satisfied with the final product, the electronic communication in the production process has a record. The soft proofing service provided by DAX records every change, no matter how minor changes occur.
How much can you do with soft proofing? You can decide how to deal with it according to the specific circumstances of the modification. If the author only wants to modify the text, he should digitize it and avoid another round of proofing. However, if you want to change the color, it is another matter, and it is wise for printers to produce new proofs. Those who support soft proofing also recognize that traditional proofing is still very practical and will not be eliminated.
DAX pointed out that they do not think that soft proofing will completely replace traditional proofing, and there are still many problems surrounding color. However, the final product is at least 95% identical to soft proofing. (Wen Wei) ("China Packaging Newspaper and Print Weekly")