The most important aspect of change in the production industry is workflow improvement. The more efficient the workflow, the more time we have to focus on customer service.
This efficiency is being accomplished by the evolution of digital workflow systems. In order to implement a fully digital workflow we must embrace key technologies such as color management, PDF files, electronic paper and soft proofing.
1. Digital Workflow Systems
Workflow is the operational aspect of a work procedure: how tasks are structured, who performs them, what their relative order is, how they are synchronized, how information flows to support the tasks and how tasks are being tracked. In keeping up with the growing technological advances and increasing digitization of our world, the printing and publishing industries are integrating digital systems to manage this workflow. Digital workflow provides independent consultancy, mentoring and assistance in the management of change within print production. Digital systems also help reduce the variations of the printing process and offer increased consistency of the printed product. The move to a digital workflow involves more than just adding systems – it’s a change in production. The printing process becomes a manufacturing process. Once complete, a number of benefits are clear. Printers can have faster turnaround times, more color, better quality and potential cost reductions. The digital workflow system actually allows printers to become a business partner with the customers, allowing them to work both smarter and more efficiently.
2. Color Management
As a printing professional, we have the difficult task of assuring that the colors we see on-screen will match the ones in our final printed materials. Mistakes in color can have far-reaching consequences, from damaging a client’s corporate image, to causing customers to return products because they were not accurately represented in a promotional image. One component of a fully digital workflow is closed- loop color, which allows printing production departments to continuously manage color throughout the printing process. The results include virtually perfect color, thereby reducing proofing cycles and lowering expenses.
See full post at: Five Production Technologies you Should Know About.
