Background
In a common digitalThe preflight process
The process of preflighting a file helps reduce the likelihood of rasterization problems that cause production delays. Page layout software applications (which allow users to combine images, graphics, and text from a variety of formats) automate portions of the preflight process. Typically, client-provided materials are verified by a preflight operator for completeness and to confirm that the incoming materials meet the production requirements. The pre-flight process checks for: * transparencies that run on Pantone instead of CMYK * color corrections wherever required such as rich blacks combinations, color shifts due to overprinting * trapping requirements for offset printing such as overprints, choke, spreads and knockouts * images and graphics embedded by the client have been provided and are available to the application * fonts are accessible to the system * fonts are not corrupt * fonts are in a compatible file format * image files are of formats that the application can process * image files are of the correct color format, Pantone or CMYK (some RIPs have problems processingHistory
Professor Ron Bertolina was a pioneer of the preflighting concept in electronic publishing. In the mid-1990s, he wrote published technical articles and conducted workshops across the US on preflighting for the Graphic Arts Technical Foundation. His preflight checklist, included in the article "Preflighting Digital Files" for GATFWorld magazine, became a standard for printing companies to follow to help to reduce costly errors and thus was a great benefit to the publishing industry. Eventually, preflighting software entered the marketplace to assist designers and publishers in efficiently publishing electronic files. Early preflight methods were largely manual, and typically relied on checklists that highly skilled prepress operators would use to verify the production readiness of each incoming job. As desktop publishing and graphics applications, PDLs, RIPs, and output devices evolved, the process became more complex. Software plug-ins and stand-alone applications that supported the major