Print projects in the business world continue to be a crucial tool for the marketing department to use. Even in today's digital age, print formats such as business cards, brochures, posters, and more still have their place.
Given the mechanical nature of many of today's printing processes and the compatibility issues when working with digital files, quality control in printing is vital. Here's a summary of the relevant stages:
PREPARATION
Quality control begins with years of training by staff members and the experience gained by printing professionals during their work. For many printing jobs, the first real step in the quality control process is to verify technical details of the printing job with the customer and the printing management company. The quote will include details such as the quantity, size, and expected completion date for any printing job. Any errors at this stage could be costly later on.
COMPATIBILITY
Files need to be converted to the correct file type, colors must be in CMYK format, and all images and fonts must be accessible to the printing system.
RESOLUTION AND READABILITY
The resolution of images is checked to ensure there is no blurring or pixelation in the finished product. Printers will also determine whether the text will be readable when printed.
ALIGNMENT, MARGINS, OVERFLOWS
The resolution of images, the arrangement and sequence of pages must be thoroughly checked before the printing process starts smoothly. These checks are crucial in digital printing and represent perhaps the most critical area of quality control in 21st-century printing projects.
SAMPLE (PROOF)
For everything except the smallest print quantities, a proof is produced to give the customer an accurate idea of how the final result will look. Digital proofs are usually used to check text, alignment, and layout, while "wet" or "press" proofs are short runs using the type of paper that will be used in the final full run. This means wet proofs can be used to check color, but they are also much more expensive than digital proofs. Additionally, if you perform such a test and are not satisfied with an aspect other than color (such as text size), changes to the plates will be required.
MACHINE MAINTENANCE AND CHECKS
Professional printers ensure that their machines always operate efficiently by performing routine maintenance on their printers. Throughout each printing job, results will be periodically checked to make sure nothing has gone wrong. While today's printers are much more reliable than machines used in the past, this kind of quality control is still important.
FINAL TESTING AND DELIVERY
Final products are usually inspected by the supplier before being delivered to the customer, ensuring that the customer's specifications are met.