Book Printer Automation
Not many Book printers today can claim that in just a couple of years they have increased their order volume by 20 %, reduced Prepress staff down to a handful of people, and virtually eliminated all their Prepress mistakes. CSS Group’s DataManager and DataPlanner have been proven to do just that.
Unlike most other types of printing products, Books always contains multiple components, with each component type having it’s own specifications. When these components are assembled into the Book, they must properly “fit” each other.
Processing New Orders
Each Book may contain a variety of Covers (hard or soft), Inserts, End-sheets, and Dust Jackets that are entered into a series of Jobs by CSRs. This complicated, multi-component order entry process is highly susceptible to costly mistakes omissions, or oversights, primarily due to the fact that most MIS systems do not provide any methodology including using customizable business rules to verify and validate all the component’s detailed specifications within each component or against the other required components.
Sadly, the CSR’s order entry relies solely on the specifications and information provided to them by their customers and their tribal knowledge, which in many cases, contains flawed or incomplete information.
Once graphics arrive, the real challenge for Prepress operators is to manually compare and contrast order information against the supplied graphic information by simply using rulers and calculators for each component of the Book. This includes measuring critical panel sizes, spines, flaps, turn-ins, gutters, and the PDF’s trim and bleeds to validate that the graphics fit against the order specifications while documenting any variances or differences.
Next, those differences need to be communicated back to the CSR, who then must work with both the customer and the graphic supplier to establish what each component’s correction needs to be. In some cases, the graphics might need adjusting or replacing, in other cases it’s the order information that requires adjusting, while in most cases the Job plans, print estimates or unit pricing needs to be updated.
Lastly, it’s the CSR responsibility to manually review and verify all the Book component’s measurements proper fit each other for optimal Book assembly.
Any Book’s first printing might go through several cycle of updates, or rounds of corrections until the customer agrees to finalize the Book’s specifications which allows the graphics to be finalized and approved.
Book printers typically try to gang cover components together when planning layouts. Gang printing does save significant costs and maximize equipment production time, but adds layers of complexity when deciding what to gang together and processing those orders onto layouts as combo forms while attempting to update the MIS system to manage stock allocation and the manufacturing of the combo form’s components.
Reprints and Reprints with Changes
It is expected that the “first printing” of any Book is time consuming and complex and “reprint orders” should be straight forward, except most Book components rarely print exactly like they did during the last printing, meaning most “Reprint” orders should really be classified as a “Reprint with changes”.
Some of these changes are related to graphics, some of these may be related to the customer using a different bindery, or sometimes they change specifications to reduce costs, or the changes needed are related to internal manufacturing requirements (like gang cover forms).
Changes can consist of a singular page replacement with updated print edition information, or entire sections of the Book are being replaced. Inserts may have been added, deleted, or changed, forcing the Book’s signatures and forms to require adjustments. Certain types of changes might only affect a single “component “ while some changes may require reworking of all the Book’s components, like a text stock change that has a different caliper and therefore requires a spine adjustment that affects all of the Book’s components.
Additionally, many printers today have implemented newer digital printing and bindery technology to handle smaller orders, forcing a complete rework of any prior printing’s Job plan to a new digital Job plan. In almost every case, each printing of the Book requires something to change, and many times new Job plans must be generated for some or all of the required components.
Each Book’s text component contains a large count of unique PDF pages that must include any desired page replacements to be verified and prepared, using the exact same characteristics as the balance of the order’s PDF pages to properly flow onto the Book’s text component’s page list and onto multiple signatures and forms.
CSS Group’s Book Printing Automation
Merging Graphics with Orders
CSS Group’s DataManager and DataPlanner web portal and toolkits have specialized functionality to integrate with virtually any MIS system using customizable business rules routines to create DataManager Jobs. This creation routine can identify any components incorrect, incomplete, or incompatible data entry. This includes any data within each component, or across all the required components.
Next, when operators are receiving and reviewing the supplied graphics from the FTP site, the order information is available for each component in the Book. PDF files can be inspected for basic separations and size, compared to each component’s order entry information, then classified, auto renamed, and submitted to the Prepress system’s basic pre-flighting routines, automating the creation of a new Job, new Job’s folder tree, and pre-flighted files appearing using a Pass/Fail routine (including pre-flight reports).
Cover Planning
DataPlanner’s Cover Planning interface is used to convert pre-flighted graphics into verified and standardize print-ready final PDFs. An important feature is the ability to generate and display an overlay (with dimensions) that incorporates all the order entry information and customizable business rules, specifications, and calculations to visually verify the supplied graphics fits all the required panels sizes. Different cover types will generate a unique overlay with panels and dimensions tailored to each cover type. These overlays can be written to the PDF as layers for Prepress to utilize and make adjustments, if desired.
Any issues or discrepancies identified can be emailed to the CSR (including a thumbnail with the visual overlay on the graphic) to help describe the problems.
Covers that require mask channels, separations, or layers in supplied PDF files (for additional finishing operations) can be verified, modified, adjusted, and merged or separated from the main cover PDF before being submitted to proofing workflows for hard of soft proof approvals.
Many standard PDF edits can be submitted and corrected using DataManager’s internal PDF editor or, based upon each file’s classification, the web portal will present a filtered list of the integrated Prepress system’s hot folder workflows to use. These workflows typically are designed to prepare, adjust, trap, and finalize the file for approvals.
Text Planning
DataPlanner’s Text planning interface, designed specifically for Book printers, contains specialized features to compare and contrast all the PDF page files required for production. This includes integration with DataManager’s built-in PDF editor to compare, split, merge, and standardize all pages PDF boxes and marks. DataManager’s page lists can be built, and DataManager’s signature and forms lists are generated using customizable business rules and order entry information. Inserts Jobs can be added and final spine sizes calculated to verify the Cover components are correct.
If page replacements are required, DataManager’s page list can be updated programmatically and visually to insert the required correction PDF pages.
Lastly when the operator decides they are ready to generate a JDF layout file for the text component, the system will run routines to verify all requirements have been met, and DataManager will generate the text component’s JDF layout file and required Marks PDF. These JDF layout files are built upon business rules and DataManager’s page list coupled with DataManager’s signature and form list, incorporating all the required fold patterns, page position and rotations, gutters, offsets, creep, sheet sizes, sheet offsets and plate sizes with all the required layout marks and bars, including bar codes. They are then ingested by the Prepress system for generation of plates or imposed PDF files.
A last check can be performed by the plating department just prior to plate generation to ensure everything is current, and no additional edits have been requested or performed, allowing the Platemaking operation to proceed with the generating error free plates.
Gang planning
DataPlanner’s Preplan web page provides an Excel like view of all covers components that are in the system and ready for layout generation. They can be manually sorted and sifted to identify which covers share similar characteristics and can potentially be grouped together, or a customizable script can be run to identify potential ganging possibilities. Selected orders are submitted to either DataManager’s Cover planning engine, or to a wide variety of integrated commercial available planning engines.
These planning engines run through their algorithms to determine the optimal sheet size, best usage and fit. The ganging results are can be reviewed on DataPlanner’s JDF Planning web page.
DataPlanner’s JDF Planning
The JDF Planning page is designed to visually interpret the Job’s output JDF layout to show a list of planning jobs and their JDF layouts. Results from DataManager’s planning engines will appear showing the top 4 combinations available, articulating percentage of the sheet used,
# up, and overs generated per component. The operator can then select their choice, and DataPlanner will convert their selection into a Planning Job with layouts and orders assigned. The operator can then review detailed breakdown, sheet utilization, printing times, sheet requirements and sheet counts incorporating and all the calculated press finishing waste required. Another section in the details window will show each component’s percentage breakdown of the layout, based upon components sizes and coverage.
Components can be removed; reorganized, or entire layout and Job plans can be deleted. Any edits are automatically updated back to DataPlanner’s Preplan page to reflect each component’s current Job Plan status.
Additional DataManager’s capabilities
DataManager is a very full-featured complete Print Production Management System with integrated MIS/Graphic functionality supporting not just Book printers but also a wide variety of specialized tools for all commercial and packaging printers.
The focus of this article is to detail out specialized functionality, capabilities and workflows for Book printers. DataManager provides a platform that streamlines the entire process, incorporate customizable tribal knowledge to simplify and aid order entry, automate and integrate key systems together while reducing touch points, costs, and eliminating costly mistakes. We will be glad to discuss all DataManager and DataPlanner’s capacities with you.