Workflow is a workflow of workflows

We use the term workflow as though it is one thing; it is actually many things. At the EFI Connect Conference in Las Vegas, it was apparent that moving from a marketing or communication need to a final printed product requires many steps:

Initiation workflow

This might be the development of a marketing program or the need to communicate with a certain constituency. There is usually discussion about audience and channel. This is a customer activity.

Business workflow

This involves budgeting and ROI analysis. Cost estimates must be developed based on print specifications. Paper must be ordered and scheduling is also an issue. Today’s MIS systems streamline the estimating process and allow many alternative scenarios to provide clients with printed products that meet their needs.

Creative workflow

The writers, photographers, and designers get their marching orders. After much work, pre-proofs, and changes, the result is a printable file.

File transfer

The job file must now be delivered to the printer. According to a panel of printers at the EFI Conference, almost all files come in in electronic form. Some printers have implemented store fronts which process the job and provide an electronic proof.

Pre-press workflow

Automated software now pre-flights the file for production. Electronic proofs (usually PDFs) are the norm. A proof is the simulation of the expectation of the eventual output of a reproduction device. Of course, on a digital device, a proof is a run length of one.

Printing workflow

The printer then queues the job for printing. In some cases the file will be sent to a CTP device and plates will be produced. In other cases, the file will be sent to a digital printing device.

Finishing workflow

The printed sheets must be cut, folded, collated, and bound. In some cases, primarily with digital printing, the finishing is inline.

Distribution workflow

For mailing, the printed products must be addressed and organised for postal processing. They may also be bundled, shrink-wrapped, placed in cartons, and shipped to one or more locations.

Billing/archiving workflow

The job is billed and stored for retrieval. Because most printing today is short run, re-printing is a common occurrence.

JDF links many of these steps but only if the system provider has applied CIP4 intelligently.

Workflows have evolved from metal to mechanicals to film to direct to plates to digital. One of the reasons that printing companies have cut their costs and labour is because they have implemented automated workflows.

There is no such thing as one workflow; there are many workflows. The successful printer will figure out how to integrate them for the most efficient and cost-effective production approach.

Frank Romano is professor emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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