In search of the perfect file: Why are printers starting to require PDF files only for printing?

by Ron Pramschufer ~ May 19th, 2003. Filed under: Book Printing, Publishing Basics.

In search of the perfect file: Why are printers starting to require
PDF files only for printing?

I’ll try to not get involved with a lot of techno-babble in answering this question. Let it just suffice to say that the printer wants to be able to say, with certainty, that “It is not my fault” when a problem appears on a proof. Any problem resulting from a PDF file can be charged to the customer as an A.A. (Authors Alteration) rather then absorbing the cost of the change as a P.E. (Printers Error)

Historically there has been a constant battle between designers/print buyers and printer-prep departments. In the 30+ years that I have been doing this, I never remember hearing any designer state anything other than “My files, copy, overlays, etc are perfect”. In the designers mind any problem surfaced at the proof stage, had to be because “the printer’s prep department screwed up”. I must admit, in my 20+ years on the sales side of the picture, I have used that same phrase on more than one occasion.

In reality, however, most problems do originate with the customer supplied media. Prep departments get bullied by customers and their own salespeople into making corrections to “keep the customer happy” to the point that rarely is prep a profit center for the printer and is more than likely draining profit away from other departments. Quite honestly, I have never heard of a printers prep department ever making a nickel and know of more than one prep department who has actually run the printer out of business.

Everyone saw the advent of the digital age as an answer to the entire graphic community’s prayers. Designers could produce jobs quicker. Technology advances made it possible for designers to take over much of the work that was previously done by the printer. Halftones, screen builds, traps, reverses were now all at the designers’ fingertips. From the printers’ standpoint, the end of the “bleeding” on their balance sheets was near. Files could come in and almost magically be output to either film or plate without a hitch. A real dream comes true. Unfortunately, from the printers’ standpoint, it was a long way from it.

As computers became less and less expensive, more and more people became “Graphic Designers”. Unfortunately many of these designers know very little about printing. If it looks good on the screen, it must be good. The statement, “My files are perfect” was now being repeated, even more emphatically than before, by people who know little about design and nothing about printing. The “dream” quickly turned into a nightmare from the printers’ viewpoint. The software industry continued to pump out various software to help the “design” end of things. Unfortunately, there is not a single application file that printers actually print from. Everything needs to be converted to Postscript in order to run through the image setters or plate setters. The easy thing would have been for the printer to require everyone to supply postscript files. Only problem with this is the designer can’t look at the final postscript product before it goes to the printer. When an error appeared in the proof of a customer supplied postscript file, the printer could say with confidence, “It is not my fault”, but the customer would come back and say, “How was I suppose to catch the problem, if I can’t view the postscript file?”. Printers could see that by sticking with this procedure, they could win the battle but could easily lose the war. All but a few printers gave in and stopped requiring Postscript files, allowing the file battle to continue.

Enter Adobe. The most popular adobe program does not cost the user a penny. The acrobat reader is available, at no charge, all over the Internet and is used to view PDF files(Portable Document Format). A PDF file is a locked version of an application file. The printer takes this locked file and runs it via PostScript direct to plate or film. Pretty much all application files can be converted to PDF. By requiring PDF files, both the printers’ issues (getting a correct file to run) and the customer’s issue (being able to see a final proof before turning over to the printer) are addressed. If a font or image is missing or the type reflows, it will show up in the viewable PDF. It is up to the designer to make it right. The printer finally gets to do the only thing that was ever included in his prep price in the first place, “output customer supplied files direct-to-plate or film”. If there is a problem with the proof, it is chargeable to the customer. It is truly not the “printers fault”. If corrections need to be made, the customer needs to supply a new PDF file for the page/s with corrections.

The printers are not going to back down from this one. For all you new designers out there, it’s time to learn how the process works and take the time to do things correctly. Remember, “garbage in garbage out.” On the other hand, properly prepared “trouble free” files will lead to a correct proof which will be followed by a good looking printed book.

If you have a question pertaining to the publishing production process, please feel free to contact me at ron@rjcom.com.