Automatic JDF Workflow Checks Advertisement Data

The German Lubecker Nachrichten has optimised its advertising workflow with fully-automatic JDF workflow that has been put in to operation to check and proofread imported advertisement data.

The German Lubecker Nachrichten has optimised its advertising workflow with fully-automatic JDF workflow that has been put in to operation to check and proofread imported advertisement data.

The core of the new JDF system is an interface used to integrate Onevision's Asura Pro program in MAN Roland's and PPI Media's printnet advertising production system, Adman.

The system enables the newspaper producer in Lubeck to employ a fully automatic process for checking production data for advertising jobs.

Using the new JDF interface between Asura Pro, Onevision, which is a partner with MAN Roland and PPI Media in the Networked Graphics Production Organisation (NGP), has ensured that the Lubecker publisher has established a checking process that ensures the quality of its highly automated printnet advertisement production.

Before the newspaper is produced, advertisements go through a fully automatic process that checks and proof reads them for structural defects.

The new checking and proof reading method is applied to all imported production data and can process all of the current data formats used by PDF, Postscript and EPS, said Onevision.

All advertisement jobs are entered in the VI and VA commercial advertisement system (Lufthansa Systems AS) and then produced using Adman and an on-line user interface ensures that all VI and VA job information is directly available to the printnet production system.

Using automatically generated job bags, Adman organises, administers and checks advertisement production.

Setting copy, as well as specific job information concerning size and colours for each advertisement, is stored here.

Until now, technical defects in the imported digital setting copy was discovered at a relatively late stage in the production process but Asura Pro makes it possible to identify and repair technical and structural file errors before production begins, said Onevision.

First, Adman generates a normalisation job for each imported setting copy and uses a JDF ticket to transfer it to Asura Pro.

Taking the publisher's customised settings in to account, Asura Pro checks the data for consistency and, if necessary, corrects it.

That process includes checking resolution and, if necessary, reducing it, checking hairlines that would not be visible in print, generating a standardised production file (certain PDF version or certain EPS level) and trimming the advertisement in accordance with trim marks), whilst checking for invalid fonts and removing unused colours from the page folio.

It also converts colour space, renames colours to meet publisher's rules and checks and corrects composition rules, if necessary, for spot colours to meet publisher's rules.

All normalised production files are automatically returned by Asura Pro to Printnet Adman, where they are checked and proof read a second time.

In particular, the criteria for colour and size, as well as those for inadmissible fonts, are analysed to ensure that the file at hand complies with the terms of the job.

If there are any deviations, Asura Pro once again receives an order via JDF to adjust the production file accordingly.

That allows advertisements to be scaled automatically to meet requirements, as well as optimally aligned, should the depth and width ratio deviate.

The Lubecker Nachrichten also achieves a similarly high degree of automation for treating colour, said Onevision.

Whether gray levels, CMYK or spot colours,in a fully automated process, Printnet and Asura Pro find and correct deviations in colour between the terms of the job and the production file.

Using that checking and proof reading method, PPI Media and Onevision said they ensure correct and efficient advertisement production.

All of the released advertisement data is then transferred by Adman directly to the automatic page assembly in Propag.

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