Written by Stig | 15 February 2012

GDW’s Stig aka Jason Price has been fixing, de bugging, installing, swearing and reinstalling software and hardware for computers for over 15 years. Here he shares some computing advice for the smaller wide format print business, the bedroom/garage start up.

I know loads of people who started out with either a Roland or a Mimaki in their bedroom who have since gone on to build quite successful display graphics businesses. They way they have achieved this is because they knew what they were doing with computers and associated software. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they can buy a wide format printer, chuck it in the back bedroom and it’ll be a licence to print money. It can be, but you have to know what you’re doing with the front end first.

Now before anyone gets the wrong idea about me being a ‘designer’ and the whole MAC vs. PC thing, GET OVER IT! I use both and always have done, why? Because Macs are good at handling large files and design packages, and PC’s are great at bolting on hardware to run.

Let’s start with Macs. They look good (should do for the price) and can handle large files. These are great engines for design work because they are very good at using their processing power only on an ‘as and when required’ basis, ergo more power to you. And the Adobe suite in my opinion is way forward. On the downside, plug in anything remotely wide format and things will start to go rapidly downhill.

PC’s might be the Forrest Gump of the computing world, but, they love hardware, printers, cutters, routers, hairdryers, as well anything with a USB connection! They will sit and chug through data all day, but don’t make the mistake of asking them to do two things at once! PC’s are also great for ripping large print files, and the additional benefit of a PC is you are able to ‘get under the hood’ and fix things when they go tits up (and they will, trust me I know!).

Web to print, sorry, W2P is the new ‘buzzword’ and lots of printing companies offer this service now. As much as I hate the term I do tend to use it a lot as I can set up my print files safe in the knowledge that the finished prints will be return exactly as I ordered them, but be warned. Get it wrong and you won’t be getting a friendly phone call from the pre press artist to say ‘did you notice this spelling mistake etc?’ because computers tend not to make phone calls, or understand the English language, so the rule of thumb here is to check, check again, and only when you’re 100% satisfied that you haven’t’ made a balls up, click send.

Setting files to print for the W2P thing really is not as hard as it might seem. As long as the bitmap images are of a decent quality, and you are aware of the final size of the print, then all is good. Just keep in mind a few pointers: always make sure that your fonts are ‘outlined’ i.e. they are no longer editable text and are graphics otherwise this will cause issues. Save the PDF file with ALL compression methods off, adds crops and bleed if you need it, and upload it to your friendly printing company and you’re on your path to printing glory.

I could write pages and pages about complicated print file settings and probably bore you rigid in the process, therefore if there is one thing you can take from this article it is that it really will pay you to learn and become familiar with using the Adobe CS suite. It has a massive knowledge base and a huge community of geek bods such as myself who are more than willing to offer help, even I (who has been using adobe for 12 years) still find I need a bit of advice now and again.

If you are thinking of planning a trip to Sign & Digital next month the best thing you could do is attend the Adobe workshops where they show users how to get the best out of the software. It’s also a great way to meet fellow users and do a bit of networking. If you get stuck and are not sure which way to go, feel free to drop me an email and ask a few questions. I’m always happy to help.

Cheers!

Stig

jason@graphicdisplayworld.com
www.jkpdesign.biz

Photos kindly supplied by www.istockmax.co.uk

Written by Colin Gillman | 07 February 2012

Having clients submit print ready PDF files to automated online W2P ordering systems is one of the biggest problems in web to print. ArtAffirm from Lucid Dream Software is a new solution to empower clients with a powerful yet easy to use web app to solve this problem.

"Our research shows printing companies are spending thousands of dollars every month simply touching client files," says Lucid Dream CEO David Lewis. "ArtAffirm can substantially reduce these costs."

Embedded in the browser, ArtAffirm is a Rich Internet Application developed using HTML5 and Javascript to run in all popular browsers on the desktop and as a Web App for the iPad.  
ArtAffirm has simple user friendly - built in - pdf preflighting to help users learn how to create a PDF that is print ready from all common formats including PDF, EPS, and image formats.

ArtAffirm has online design tools with editing options, such as resizing, rotating, positioning, and layering. Print products ranging from single sided business cards to complex multi-page photo books, sizes from stamps to posters to full press sheets can all be assembled exactly to specs using ArtAffirm.

ArtAffirm is available for OEM license as a web framework for prepress systems, to integrate with web2print and print store front solutions and is also available pre-integrated with Lucid’s own TribalSketch online print store front.

www.artaffirm.com

Written by Colin Gillman | 07 February 2012

Android looks set to replace Apple’s iOS in terms of importance to developers within the next 12 months, according to independent technology analyst company Ovum. However, despite a clear vie for ultimate supremacy between these two platforms, almost all developers support both.

In its second annual developer survey, Ovum reveals that while iOS and Android form the core of developer support, there also exists growing interest from developers in BlackBerry OS and Microsoft Windows Phone.

“The growing momentum behind Windows Phone indicates that Microsoft has managed to convince developers that its platform is worthy of investment; its challenge now is to persuade consumers,” says Adam Leach, devices and platforms practice leader at Ovum and author of the research.

The trends in this year's survey mirror closely changes in the wider smartphone market. Developers have been quick to respond to the exit of once-important smartphone platforms such as Windows Mobile, Symbian and WebOS, and have embraced opportunities that have arisen through emerging platforms.

The research also shows a move away from traditional cross-platform mobile application development approaches (e.g. Java, Flash, WAP). Instead, developers are focusing their efforts on web-based standards (e.g. HTML5), which seem to be the preferred approach to building cross-platform applications.

Yet, despite the increasing use of cross-platform programming approaches, most developers are still using vendor-specific distribution channels (e.g. Android Market) to deploy applications, as this is seen as the best way to reach the largest possible audience for their applications.

“A smartphone platform’s success is dictated not only by the pull of consumers and the push of handset vendors and mobile operators but also by a healthy economy of applications delivered by third-party developers. Therefore, it is important for all players in the smartphone ecosystem to understand the choices developers are making today and the downstream impact of those choices,” concludes Leach.

www.ovum.com

Written by Colin Gillman | 07 February 2012

SAi International (SAi), a provider of solutions for the professional sign making, wide format digital printing and CAD/CAM for CNC machining industries, has announced that it will officially unveil its new PixelBlaster print production software on its stand (J46) at FESPA Digital 2012 (Barcelona, 21st - 24th February).

SAi's the modular and scalable PixelBlaster uses standardised printing to ensure predictable and consistent print quality and colour. This means that in print facilities operating a number of different devices, PixelBlaster ensures each machine outputs the exact same colour, regardless of the brand of hardware, the type of inks they're running or the various substrates they're printing on.

Gudrun Bonte, product manager at SAi, says: "Many print service providers increasingly run a mix of different output devices from different manufacturers. PixelBlaster acts as a nucleus to pull these together and ensure consistent print and colour quality regardless of the equipment or media."

Eliminating the need for multiple software programs to run production, PixelBlaster has been designed to reduce bottlenecks, streamline workflows and increase profitability. The software offers a complete production solution from file verification, job preparation, colour management, RIP to analogue or digital, and finally output check and production.

PixelBlaster has been specifically introduced to meet the needs of users in super-wide high volume print production environments, as well as the increasingly important specialty printing sector which embraces substrates such as glass and ceramics. Using modular building blocks, PixelBlaster can also be easily tailored and scaled to fit users' needs in mixed Macintosh or Windows environments.

www.saintl.biz