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Technology Guides

The Digital Dots Technology Guides are written to inform prospective buyers and users of digital technologies for print media production applications. They contain objective, detailed and thorough explanations written in a lively and engaging style (mostly) by people who have spent many years struggling to understand technology, how it works and why. These many years of arduous toil have prematurely aged Digital Dots’ authors. However they have also left them with with unmatched insights and appreciation of what digital technology means for communication, especially the printed word.

The series includes straightforward explanations of how the technology works, how it developed and what it’s for. Each guide presents different aspects of the technologies and their relevance, cost benefits and contribution to digital production for cross media publishing.

The guides also cover market response and acceptance to diverse technologies, addressing related investment considerations for effective workflow development. Each guide has a summary of available technologies including new products coming onto the market, plus an overview of the decision criteria to consider.

The Technology Guides are published every two years, generally on the occasion of a major Graphic Arts trade show. The current edition was published at IPEX 2006. The previous edition (no longer available) was published in 2004 at Drupa.

JDF

JDF

Never has a technology been so difficult to separate from its function as the Job Definition Format, JDF. Never has a technology offered printing and publishing such promise, and been so misunderstood. The most important thing you need to know is that JDF is not just about technology. JDF is the technology you need for automation, and process automation is fundamental to the success your business. JDF is an agent for change, it’s about process and growth, and it offers potential for developing your business so that it survives the maelstrom of change facing the industry. JDF automates media production to help traditional printing and publishing move into the realm of digital media communications, without compromising traditions of high production values and sophisticated content management. JDF will help media production remain the unassailable preserve of the professional, in a fast changing world of digital communications.

The Guide to JDF covers everything you need to know about JDF, introducing the basics of what it is, how it works and its importance for workflow automation and business efficiency.

Colour Management & Proofing

Colour Management & Proofing

It’s confusing, difficult and not terribly exciting. But at a time when everyone’s eyes are on cost, colour is one of the few remaining areas of prepress where there are substantial savings to be had through improved process management.

The Guide to Colour Management & Proofing covers everything you need to know about colour management and digital proofing. It introduces the basics, explaining how colour works, what an ICC colour managed workflow really works and why people think it doesn’t, and its importance for workflow automation and production efficiency.

This Guide covers the primary issues shaping investment into a colour managed workflow, including hardware and software. Device calibration and profiling are fundamental to an efficient, colour managed workflow, but there is a lack of general understanding as to their importance, so this too is covered in the Guide.

Preproduction Data Management & Quality Control

Preproduction Data Management & Quality Control

The whys and wherefores of how workflow has changed over the last couple of years is a discussion best addressed over a ripe and ready Shiraz. What is less opaque and Shiraz-dependent, are the factors shaping production process management, such as preflighting, standards, profiling and a host of other factors. What used to be called preflight checking is now more about managing preproduction data for all parts of the workflow, rather than a single isolated function.

With so many people involved in print media production, basic process awareness can be crucial to production efficiency. This problem concerns everyone in the print and digital media supply chain. An understanding of basic working practices and how to resolve problems is what the Guide to Preproduction Data Management & Quality Control is all about. It is intended to help printers, prepress professionals and their customers understand the importance of preflighting for print production and is useful to anyone who buys print, from marketers to publishers.

CTP

CTP

For many commercial printers and publishers computer-to-plate production is already a reality, but for a great many more it is not. There are many reasons for this, but for most people the biggest barrier is uncertainty. The Guide to CTP is all about helping printers, prepress professionals and their customers understand CTP production.

In the second edition of this guide we are looking more carefully at the cost of ownership, chemistry-free and processless plates, as well as explaining everything you need to know about digital metal platesetting.

We consider the effects of various production factors on a CTP workflow, using real world examples to explain how and why CTP was implemented. The Guide concludes with an overview of the latest CTP developments.

Digital Printing & Digital Imaging Presses

Digital Printing & Digital Imaging Presses

Digital colour printing is less than ten years old, but it has quickly come of age. Over the past four to five years, product development has shot forward and all suppliers now offer mature printing technologies plus powerful front ends to drive the presses. Printers and prepress houses are starting to catch up, and many offset printers are using digital printing to expand their output capacity, particularly for bespoke and short run work.

The Guide to Digital Printing & Direct Imaging Presses covers everything printers and print buyers need to know about digital colour printing technology. It explains the basic printing technologies and how they work and are used. It also covers the points you should consider when planning your investment into digital colour printing, using case studies and real world experiences. The Guide also provides an overview of the manufacturers and their products.