Incorrect color management settings lead to printed colors that don’t match the designer’s expectations, resulting in a customer who is unlikely to use the services of this particular designer and printer again. Miscommunication, ambiguous specifications, and plain old mistakes routinely result in adjustments at the prepress phase, and can easily cause a project to go over budget or miss its deadline. And the larger the job, the greater the cost of such errors. “Preflighting” software helps designers and output providers to avoid some of the costly mistakes possible in the world of high-end printing — but while preflighting tools are excellent for examining a layout after it has been completed, they do nothing to prevent an unprintable or incorrectly constructed layout from being created in the first place.

The Job Jackets™ feature, available in QuarkXPress® 7, takes a revolutionary step beyond preflighting: it helps to ensure that a print job adheres to its specifications from the moment it is created, and that it continues to adhere to those specifications all the way through until it rolls off the press.

Precise print job definition

The first step in avoiding press problems is recording the specifications for a proposed print job in a Job Jackets file. A Job Jackets file is an XML file designed to contain a detailed description of a print job, including specifications such as page size, page count, image color space and resolution, trapping settings, PDF/X compliance requirements, custom rules, color definitions, and color management settings.

The person requesting a print job and the output provider responsible for printing that job can contribute to a Job Jackets file using the familiar QuarkXPress user interface. Once completed, Job Jackets files can be used in two ways:

• When a layout artist creates a new project from a Job Jackets file, the project automatically includes layouts that follow the specified guidelines.
• While working on a layout that uses a Job Jackets file, a layout artist can periodically run an automated inspection on the layout to make sure it still conforms to the job definition.

Automatic layout configuration

When a layout artist creates a new layout from a Job Jackets file, that layout automatically acquires the correct page size, margins, number of pages, colors, color management settings, and even style sheets. That means that from the very beginning, a layout is constructed exactly as it was defined. Because the specifications are created in the Job Jackets format, there is no room for ambiguity — and because the specifications are read and implemented automatically, there is no room for misunderstanding. Of course, an automatically configured layout takes far less time to produce than a layout that must be manually configured by a layout artist. And if a project changes hands, the details of the job description are preserved in the Job Jackets file — so there’s less danger of a project capsizing when a key player leaves.

Automatic layout inspection

Correctly setting up a layout is only half of the equation; a layout must continue to follow its specifications all the way to the end of the page layout process. That’s why the Job Jackets feature includes a layout inspection engine that can:

• Inspect a layout to make sure it does not exceed job requirements in terms of page count, spot colors used, graphic file format and resolution, color management settings, bleeds, PDF/X compliance, and other specifications.
• Inspect a layout using custom rules that verify whether the layout follows the job definer’s specifications in terms of box background, line thickness, font usage, trapping settings, and more.

Customizable guidance

Job Jackets can be configured with as much detail as is necessary for a particular purpose. For example, an output provider might give customers a Job Jackets file containing only the color, color management, and output specifications necessary to print on a particular press, thus helping those customers avoid creating unprintable jobs. A company with a recurring print job can use Job Jackets to make sure the job adheres to its specifications every time it is done, regardless of who actually does the work. And because it’s easy to link a project with a Job Jackets file, any QuarkXPress user can instantly benefit from using it.

Putting the JDF standard to work

Job Jackets are based on JDF (Job Definition Format), an open standard created by CIP4 (the International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress Organization). Building upon the concepts addressed by CIP3’s Print Production Format (PPF) and Adobe Systems’ Portable Job Ticket Format (PJTF), JDF was created to provide a standard format for storing information about print jobs and facilitating the automation of many print-related processes. JDF is supported by an ever-expanding list of vendors and organizations, including Adobe, Agfa, EFI, Heidelberg, Hewlett-Packard, Eastman Kodak, and Xerox. For a more complete list, see the JDF Marketplace section of the CIP4 Web site at www.cip4.org.

QuarkXPress 7 uses the JDF format as the underlying structure for Job Jackets, and allows you to add JDF information such as binding specifications and contact information to job tickets for QuarkXPress projects. When you send a QuarkXPress layout to output, you can export a JDF file to carry JDF-specific information along into the next phase of the process.

Summary

Quark Job Jackets offer you the ability to control the way a layout is constructed from the very beginning, and to keep that layout on track all the way to the press – on a project, client or enterprise level. Whether you’re a designer or an output specialist, this means you can save time, avoid expensive errors, and move one step closer to a standards-based all-digital workflow.

©2006 Quark, Inc. and Quark Media House Sarl, Switzerland. All rights reserved. Quark and QuarkXPress are trademark of Quark, Inc. and all applicable affiliated companies, Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. and in many other countries. Job Jackets is a trademark of Quark, Inc. and all applicable affiliated companies. All other marks are the properties of their respective owners.