The study on the roles of electronic artwork pre-flight checking in digital prepress workflow

Pre-flight checking in the context of digital publishing, refers to the application series of test, performed manually or semi-automatically that will determine the readiness of a given file for the final output. The importance of addressing quality prior to imaging may result in remakes and the loss of customers due to their dissatisfaction. Furthermore print publication demand stringent control of image quality to assure the consistency of type and illustration throughout the given publication. Immediate objective of this study is aimed to introduce and understand the concept, technology, advantage and application for pre-flight checking as a common practice of inspection to produce quality print production. Moreover, this study helps to observe printing operation and propose best practices towards improving print quality. Questionnaires and a case study were instrumented to acquire finding. Fifty questionnaires were sent to selected respondents and thirty-nine were completed and returned. The finding showed that the importance of pre-flight checks to the prepress workflow and revealed the top five of most common errors detected in the files. In addition, the case study also found the working culture influences the pre-flight checking performance.