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Up to the Challenge

Lee Printers was one of the first printers in Cincinnati area to have Postscript imaging services in house. Our years of experience have taught us how to best use this technology to your benefit.  We have the necessary experience to recognize the weaknesses of the technology and know the workarounds and tricks that can make it all come together. One of the things we learned early on is that you can't believe all the hype software vendors put on their packaging. If you are furnishing artwork on disk, our staff has the real world experience that can help you along the way to avoid the pitfalls. 

We do not consider ourselves graphic designers, but if you have a basic design, we can turn your ideas into reality. Our prices for basic layout and design work are very reasonable. For more ambitious design needs there are many firms and freelancers that have the artistic flair needed for to create eye popping designs. 

An Agfa Selectset Avantra 30 Imagesetter is the backbone of our electronic pre-press department.  This devices never fails to amaze us with it's incredibly accurate registration, dot formation and speed.  By using electronic trapping and imposition software we produce plate ready films which are automatically processed with its in-line film processor. The Avantra, platemaker and presses are all equipped with the same punch registration system. This standardization allows a fast and accurate registration for proofing and on press assuring you of the highest quality print standards.

What is Pre Press?

Pre Press operations are all the production steps which are take after initial job planning and as the name infers, before the job is printed on the press. The end result of pre press is printing plate(s) which are used on the printing press to reproduce the text and images on paper. Below is the list of steps generally involved in pre press preparations using today's technology. 

1. The acquisition of text from either keyboarding, word processing files, etc.
2. The acquisition or creation of graphics by electronic drawing or scanning of hard copy images.
3. The integration of the above in using a desktop publishing application such as QuarkXpress, Pagemaker or InDesign to create the design of finished pages and documents.
4. Digital proofs; laser or  ink jet. These are used to check for satisfactory design and proofreading (May require several interations).
5. Creation of Postscript or PDF files.
6. Trapping of electronic files to compensate for any misregistration in the printing press
7. Imposition of pages into digital "flats" which represent the final form the images will take on the plate
8. The imaging of films
9. Analog proofs; dylux (bluelines) or Dupont waterproof.  These proofs are made from the final films and are used as a last check before printing.
10. Exposure of the printing plate from the films.

What is above represents the typical steps needed to produce a printing job using today's technology. Today anyone with proper training, a personal computer and good desktop publishing software can perform steps 1 through 4. Steps 5 through 9 require specialized hardware and software to perform and are usually left to pre press professionals.  

Recent changes in technology have tremendously lowered overall costs, improved quality and shortened delivery times. Both printers and print buyers have benefited from this streamlining of workflow. These changes have blurred the lines of who is responsible for performing the various tasks required. It is important to remember that producing a good desktop publishing document is only the beginning of the printing process. Issues such as the ability to use desktop technology for trapping, and imposition are where a large amount of cost savings are garnered. Working with you, we can help you decide what is best for you.  The major decision that confronts many people is should I do it myself? 

Doing your page own layout and design is a good choice for some people and a terrible one for others.  The two main reasons for doing it yourself are cost savings and creative control.

Cost savings come from the fact that you are not paying someone else to do the work. First, in order for these savings to be real you must place a value on your time, this is difficult for most people to do, in general people underestimate the value of their own time. Second you must consider how long it will take you.  Professionals in any field can usually perform their task much faster than people than someone that does it infrequently, is it cheaper to work yourself for 10 hours to do a project or to pay someone else to do it in 5? Another consideration is doing it correctly. Producing a job for print is more complicated than simply making it look good on the screen or when printed to a desktop printer. If you prepare your files incorrectly or use inadequate software additional charges to fix the problems can quickly eat up any savings.

Creative control is another reason to do-it-yourself.  If you like to do a lot of experimentation with style, desktop publishing gives you a lot of creative options. The caveat here is not to over design, amateurs tend to use too many colors, shadows and effects, these often distract the reader.  If you have the skills to design your own, go for it, if not, hire a professional designer.

Be assured that either way you go Lee Printers has the technical skills needed to bring your job to a beautiful conclusion.

Last modified: September 19, 2001