Imagine your entire pre-press department on your smartphone. It is  that sounds like some kind of 4G pipedream, imagine an even more ludicrously efficient fantasy – your entire pre-press department on your client’s smartphone. 

As it stands, you can’t download PitStop or Fiery from the App Store; neither of the above scenarios is about to happen just yet. But recent developments in “cloud-based” pre-press signal the first steps in this direction. 

Look at some of the graphic arts specialisations that have moved from the protected realm of experts to become accessible to clients, such as design and digital asset management (DAM). Fully fledged file preparation and preflighting could be next. The software isn’t there yet, but other roadblocks are steadily being cleared. It shouldn’t be hard to sell the idea up the line. The consumer sector has already seeded the cloud. Apple has its iCloud; iPhone and iPad users are savvy at storing their personal information on the web, accessible on demand. Microsoft has joined the party with Azure. 

The arrival of the National Broadband Network means that the speed of the internet pipe linking printer to client shouldn’t be a bottleneck either. 

The technology providers are ready. We are already seeing ‘software as a service’ (SaaS) in the realm of quoting and ordering. In the burgeoning field of web-to-print, online components are being introduced into many vendors’ products. Optimus has introduced Optimus Cloud
as part of its Dash and 2020 MIS products, integrating web-to-print into a MIS environment for quoting, orders and specs. 

The task of assembling content has been devolved to the client via web-to-print templates. Cloud-based pre-press appears to be the next frontier. Regardless of whether you view it as just an extension of web-to-print or as a whole new phase in the evolution of print production,
it is significant. We are in the beginnings of seeing the actual preparation and management of files being done on a customer’s keyboard, while the file resides externally on the print provider’s servers. 

So what are we talking about? That’s the million-dollar question, because there’s no doubt the word “cloud” has become an over-used buzzword. The bevy of software launches set for Drupa will do nothing to alleviate this. There’s a trend toward throwing the word into the specs of any software that accesses the internet in the hopes that being seen to be on the bleeding edge will translate into product sales. The actual definition of “the cloud”, according to Ian McCullough, a sector specialist whose CV includes work with business management software developer SAP, is “Using a network connection to do things and store things on computers that you don’t directly control.”

One key development in the print sphere concerns collaborating on documents via the cloud, particularly data-intensive jobs that require multiple rounds of approval, such as variable-data work. 

Sensitive issues

But hang on, it is not just about the ability to share files remotely – there are other matters to weigh up before you should float the cloud idea. Will sensitive file data will be flitting about in cyberspace? When talking about data in the cloud, security is the obvious concern. Ultimately it’s a matter of judgment. How secure are files on your own server, or for that matter, the paperwork or artwork in your cabinet? 

Privacy is one issue; data preservation is another. There’s a natural worry that files stored on a database in some far-flung location might disappear into the ether. But equally,  your own server room could burst into flames tomorrow. Both come with risks attached for all cloud users, both consumer and corporate.

There are other anxieties that are more specific to the printing industry. As clients gain more oversight, there will undoubtedly be a greater onus on them to supply well-behaved, print-ready files. After all, pushing the work back to the client saves resources at the printer’s end, which is a big driver here. But with the best will in the world, we all know problem files will remain a reality. So if, under this new regimen, files are corrupt, wrongly formatted, or otherwise not RIP-worthy, who is at fault and who will pay for the additional work? 

Collaborate on VDP

Market forces will inevitably answer some of these questions, but the technology is not waiting. At Drupa, pre-press and digital giant Screen will premier what it claims is a world-beater. It is introducing cloud-based preflighting application for variable-data files on its Equios workflow, which it says simplifies production of variable-data jobs. Designers and data owners can collaborate on projects via any web browser before the file is sent to the print provider. 

The service is expected be launched globally within the next 12 months, although Screen’s Peter Scott says there is no date yet for an Australian debut.

Drupa will include an array of SaaS vendors. While some heavyweight print groups are already be developing their bespoke cloud solutions, the vast array of SME printers will be in the market for a shrinkwrapped SaaS package. 

MIS developer Quote & Print is the Australian representative of Quarterhouse Software’s QPrint Pro suite of web-to-print systems. Bruce Popky, marketing director of the US software company, tells ProPrint the software also encompasses online customer services for graphic design, and preflighting and file proofing.

QPrint Pro’s eDesigner is a design application for a print company’s online store. It features template creation and management, online design functions, print-ready PDF file output, a customer-accessible artwork library and flexible templates for product dimensions.

When it comes to the brave new world of cloud-based pre-press, the tool to look at is QuickFlight. It features online soft proofing with automatic file preflighting, secure document delivery, proof histories, logged, automatic emailing between pre-press and customer, integration with QPrint Storefront and Administrator, automatic print-ready checks upon file upload, and click-through, print-ready PDF file creation.

Web-savvy clients

Sydney digital printer Frontline adopted QPrint Pro last year. Managing director Wayne Godsell researched products and decided to source the system direct from the US. But as a 15-year-long Quote & Print MIS site, he is keen to integrate QPrint Pro into that system.

The 27-year-old Artarmon-based print shop caters to the financial service market on its Konica Minolta and Océ lines, as well as offering wide-format print via Roland DG and Canon machines. Godsell says QuickFlight has been enthusiastically received by “younger” customers. More cautious clients can use Frontline’s 1800 phone hotline when prepping their files. But he says customers working on their files before submission has taken a major cost factor out of his pre-press department.

With the promise of big savings in administration, printers should be taking note. It is no wonder so many developers are getting in on the action. MIS supplier Tharstern has integrated third-party online desktop publishing app Chili Publisher into the e4Print Pro online ordering module of its Primo MIS, which has extensive web-to-print capabilities. Chili Publisher allows users to create, edit and approve documents online.

Meanwhile, Quark has adopted Micro-soft’s Azure platform to offer corporates cloud-based marketing services under its Brand Manager product. QuarkXPress and InDesign templates are converted to online Brand Manager counterparts for rapid approval by the marketing team. 

Now in beta testing, US developer Lucid Dream’s Art Affirm will offer built-in PDF preflighting and enable creation of print-ready PDFs from common formats. It is accessible through most browsers – even an iPad app, and utilises third-party services like DropBox and Flickr.

Lucid Dream’s marketing assistant Lisa Gosteva estimates file correction can cost a small to mid-sized printer anywhere between $2,000-$10,000 per month, most of which is absorbed by the printer in the name of client relations. Meanwhile, clients are annoyed when they find out late about low resolutions and missing fonts. To that must be added the cost of updating software for several thousands of dollars each year.

“An online preflighting tool like ArtAffirm is helpful not only for publishers but also for their clients. ArtAffirm is simple to use even for newcomers. Once uploaded, every file is checked and if there are any issues, such as not embedded fonts or low resolution, a user will get a warning sign and will be offered to preview possible solutions at Wiki.”

New business models

But it is early days. “The current model for preflighting uses highly complex production software designed for desktop or in-house server-based processing by highly trained professional users. Cloud-enabling this technology is likely not compatible with the conventional business model of current suppliers,” says Gosteva.

She says the jury is still out on whether customers are fixing their own problems – fonts, image files, flattening, compression. “Without proper supporting instructions the answer is likely no, however, solutions like ArtAffirm are attempting to gently guide customers down the path.” 

David Minnett, managing director of progressive Sydney digital company Group Momentum, is taking a close look at the emerging crop of SaaS services at Drupa.

Speaking to ProPrint on the eve of the show, Minnett was circumspect about the pre-press implications of external subscriber-based hosting. “We’re digital at Group Momentum, so when you think about it, a lot of material is already streamlined and hitting our server as print-ready files dropping into a PDF folder with automated job ticketing.”

Minnett is philosophical about exactly how SaaS pre-press might alter the dynamics between file submission and processing, that old dance between client and printer. What defines a poor, non-performing file, and how much of a premium do you charge for spending that extra time prompting it into life?

According to Debbie Ludwig of MIS developer Pent Net, the technology is useful for both customers and printers, but the printer needs to set up the rules and decide on a customer-by-customer basis the level of preflighting allowed. “If customers have more experience with preflighting or graphics, the printer can probably set more complex rules.”

Simple preflighting

Ludwig believes preflighting online will become common. The software will become easier and approval times will shrink. Yet while it will reduce errors, it will not be a chargeable service. 

Pent Net’s Online StoreFront enables some simple preflighting of files before allowing a customer to order, she explains. “For example, if a customer uploads their own files or images, the printer can set predefined rules such as, the files must be at minimum resolution, check for RGB, CMYK, and so on.”

For more comprehensive preflighting, Pent Net’s web-to-print connects to PitStop. If the printer has set up the rules, Pent Net’s software can automatically send the files to PitStop for customised preflighting before allowing the customer to move on to ordering. Consequently the printer has more certainty that the customer’s uploaded files are print ready. 

In the short term, there appears to be a consensus among vendors and printers ProPrint spoke to that while brand owners, advertising agencies, publishers and printers will be able to tweak their artwork and click up post-its, most of the heavy legwork will remain in the hands of the art and pre-press departments – at least for now.

Case study: Wellcom Group

A company pioneering online pre-press is 350-staff Wellcom Group. It began offering these services around eight years ago to clients whose VDP catalogues are printed on HP Indigo (currently a 5500 and 7000) at Digital House in South Melbourne, owned by Wellcom, while high-volume catalogue runs are outsourced for web offset to Adelaide’s Cadillac Printing.

Wellcom decided to develop online pre-press internally, at a time when there were no vendors, and the ‘cloud’ jargon was years off. General manager Andrew Sidwell says Wellcom has invested significantly in its own IT to develop its product, KnowledgeWell. 

Clients can use web browsers to manage their digital assets, accessing images and repurposing them to different formats, sizes and configurations, all on-the-fly, depending on whether it is for web, print, PowerPoint, or other media. Clients can also look at their archive, say, last year’s Easter campaign, and download PDFs.

Wellcom’s customers were initially offered DAM and the service has since expanded into online approval and job ticketing, he tells ProPrint. “To our clients, we pretty much are the cloud; we have our own data centre, and on those servers we have our own security. We have either a VPN network or a high-speed communications link that is directed to our data centre through our client’s server.”

DAM has become very much a client-driven and accessible zone. Preflighting, with all its pitfalls, has remained in Wellcom’s in-house production resources, with jobs pulled up by clients at the end of the process for online approval.

“The only time we automate the preflight process is within the Local Area Marketing module of KnowledgeWell. That’s where we upload pre-approved artwork templates. It’s a more template-based approach, where customers, usually from franchises, can upload their image library, retrieve it, change information like pricing, and so on, enter all the fields required, then download a PDF.”

There are two fee structures: a premium model where the client licenses the software, typically for their own studio work, and an all-in model where Wellcom provides design and production. The latter is a “value add”, says Sidwell. But in reality, clients sit at various points between the two revenue models.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter