Catalogs Streamline the Print Workflow
Catalog print production has never looked so good.
The past few years — actually, the past decade since computer-to-plate came on the scene — have been replete with technological improvements to the print production workflow.
Gretchen Peck, a contributing writer for Catalog Success, spoke to four catalog creators to find out what their crowning achievements have been in the realm of print production workflow, the strategies they’ve put in place, the technologies they’ve embraced, as well as new challenges. The discussions revealed that, indeed, there’s been great progress in the areas of content capture and prepress, but there’s still room for improvement in the process.
John McGlynn
art director, PetEdge
Topsfield, Mass.
Merchandise: pet products
www.petedge.com
Catalog Success: What has been the single most important technology for streamlining your catalog print production workflow?
McGlynn: Digital photography. It not only saves us money, but allows us to have a quicker turnaround time — from the photo request to when the image is placed in layout. Previously, we had to schedule a studio and photographer … and wait for film and files to be processed, which could take days, at the very least. Now, we can have an image photographed, proofed and in the catalog, on a package or on our Web site in an hour.
CS: How have you ironed out the digital workflow between catalog creation, prepress and printing?
McGlynn: We supply PDF/X-1a:2001 files to our printer, Perry Judd’s. We do our color corrections and separations, create FPOs, do our own proofing, and create PDFs that we FTP to the printer. I rely on my printer’s expertise, and if that’s the file format they say is best, that’s what I deliver.
CS: It sounds as if your workflow is completely digital — from content capture through to plate-
