As noted in Part One of this technical discussion, bringing prepress and platemaking in-house may offer many financial and productivity advantages. Of course there is also the simple appeal of having control of changes and turn-around times that can drive a desire for change. Working with your suppliers, it is important to carefully consider key questions related to cost savings, personnel needs and which solutions are the best fit.
The process of bringing prepress functions in-house generally falls into one of three paths:
Prepress/Graphics Only:
Prepress refers to the ability to manage the art production cycle. This may involve everything from design to preflight to editing to color management to output. Ultimately incorporating prepress functions yields the most control of art files and platemaking. You control the art files and send ripped, plate-ready files to outsource platemaking. While the initial investment may be less and may not take up as much physical space as platemaking solutions, it does require a skilled production artist (or team) and adequate software to complete the many tasks.
Fortunately, there are many software tools that simplify these graphics tasks to include preflight, barcode generation, nutritional panel creation, white/varnish plates, trapping, step-and-repeat, etc. all while staying within the native editing application, Illustrator. This is a huge benefit to production artist. Incorporating color management and proofing adds another layer of complexity, though there many user-friendly resources that now simplify these processes as well. Blending these tools with powerful fully-automated workflows, MIS integration and web collaboration systems, and prepress nears the point of light-out operation. Even with employing just a few of these tools, a single operator or a small team can now manage a great deal more. APR's Technical Solutions Group specializes in working with customers to define what software and hardware resources are needed to include options for phased implementations allowing you to grow your capabilities.
Platemaking Only:
In Part One of this discussion we specifically focused on considerations for implementing platemaking, citing key benefits to moving in this direction. Platemaking solutions will likely take up the most real estate and may be the larger portion of the initial investment compared to graphics solutions. For locations with very little room, this can be challenging. On the flip side, this is the easiest phase to implement and train personnel. In this scenario the trade shop supplies your facility with ripped or plate-ready files. APR's TSG will not only help to assess your platemaking options, but can also assist with a facility assessment and plate room layouts. Select this link for additional startup considerations: PlateRoom_StartUp_2016
Prepress AND Platemaking Both:
This can be a major undertaking depending on the complexity of your jobs and the processes and personnel you already have in place. The key is tackling it in manageable pieces that won't overtax your resources and personnel.
Breaking it Down
For facilities that have neither prepress nor platemaking, APR can help assess your current processes and future needs. In general we recommend a phased implementation. For those currently working with a trade shop that does it all, starting with just platemaking is a logical first step allowing you to maintain your relationship with the trade shop for managing the graphics and job output. If a graphics person or team is already in-house, we can help to assess current processes and skills to determine what solutions are needed to completely bring all prepress functions in-house. Regardless of the advantages, this transition should not be trifled as it deserves thoughtful consideration of the pros and cons and will take effort implement. Partnering with a knowledgeable supplier to help navigate all the potential solutions and paths is essential to establishing a comprehensive plan for when, what and how to proceed.