better ways to make pdf and pdf/vt for direct mailing

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Better Ways to Make PDF and

PDF/VT for Direct MailingMartin BaileyCTOGlobal Graphics

Global Graphics company confidential. Copyright © Global Graphics Software Limited, 2012.

2

Who uses PDF for variable print and direct mail?

Optimized PDF

PPML

Fiery Free Form

VPS

Optimized PostScript

VIPP

SNAP

PPML/VDX

AFP/IPDS

JLYT

Other

Don't know

Don't use optimized print format

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

58.8

21.1

20.2

15.8

10.5

6.1

5.3

5.3

5.3

3.5

1.8

11.4

6.1

FIG 1: Optimized print output language usageUsers were asked to select the top two optimized print output formats used for variable data job production (Multiple responses

permitted).End-User Workflow Survey, InfoTrends 2010

InfoTrends 2011 DFE study suggests around 85%

usage of PDF


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Why PDF for variable print and direct mail?

• Supported on many digital production pressesEasy to move between presses at the last minute

• Created by almost every composition toolMix and match composition and presses

• Capable of graphically rich designsTo match collateral, magazine advertising, etc

• Universal access to viewersCan be viewed/approved by anyone, anywhere

• Even non-specialists can make reliable filesOpens the market to short run jobs from new customers


4

PDF/VT improves PDF for variable print

• In 2001 PDF/X was published Increases robustness of file delivery for conventional print ISO 15930 parts 1-8, 2001-2010

• In 2010 PDF/VT was published Intended to do the same for Variable & Transactional

print ISO 16612-2:2010


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How does PDF/VT make PDF better? (1)

• Builds on PDF/X Reinforces self-discipline by requiring all fonts embedded,

all colors characterized etc Easy for preflight vendors to offer simple options to check

file reliability• Supports “document part metadata” (DPM)

A hierarchy of metadata about pages in the file Enables connectivity to job tickets at the page level Key technology for variable-length bound personalized

jobs


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How does PDF/VT make PDF better? (2)

• PDF/VT ‘hints’ identify re-used graphics Encourages composition vendors to construct files

efficiently Enables DFEs to process files faster

• Support for ‘streaming’: PDF/VT-2 supports near-streaming ‘chunking’ workflows PDF/VT-2s supports job delivery in a single file stream

• So PDF/VT is good … but it’s not a magic bullet …


7

So your new press is installed …

• The prints look great• The finishing is configured• Your production and sales staff are trained• You’re tuning your job scheduling and pricing• You’re hitting deadlines, keeping your customers

happy …


8

Life is good!

• Jobs running through the press are like the life-blood of your business


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And then you get a “heart-attack” job

• Out of the blue that job you thought would be easy … isn’t

• Your DFE has slowed to a crawl, deadlines are looming …• It’s like a cholesterol crumb for your press!


10

You are not alone

Unpredictable delays can wreak

havoc with low margin/high volume jobs often found in

business/transactional applications

Mike Rodriguez, RR Donnelley, USA

I have experienced many challenges when

receiving badly produced PDF’s for variable data

documents, the difference can be from

days of additional processing to not

processing them at all!John Charnock,

St Ives, UK

Files that are not properly optimized result in a

significant increase in the amount of time that it

takes to print a job and can create unpredictable

results. Even the slightest glitch can result in a

tremendous amount of waste or lost time.

Andy Psarianos, FE Burman, UK


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It doesn’t take much

Sheet-fed

• 120ppm means 0.5s to process each page

• An extra 0.5s per page on a 10,000 page job adds 30 mins to the run

Continuous feed

• At 5200ppm the DFE has to deliver a page every 11.5ms

• An extra 0.1s per page on a big, million-page job adds 24 hours to the run!


12

And if each job takes longer …

• You don’t print as many jobs in a shift Your ROI is reduced

• You may miss the deadline for that job You annoy your customer There may be regulatory or contractual penalties

• It may knock-on to later jobs Disrupting your whole schedule and risking other deadlines

• You may need to move jobs to other presses May be problematic for media choices or print formats

• You may need extra expensive, expert staff on hand to troubleshoot


13

How do you avoid the heart-attack job?

• There are lots of guides on designing direct mail jobs to increase response rate, starting with: PODi’s “Digital Print Applications Workshop” in 2002; and the Digital Print Council’s “Designing for Digital” in 2003

• But a decade later there’s still nothing that helps with the actual construction of a PDF for optimal production


14

Until now!

• “Do PDF/VT Right™, how to make problem free files for variable data printing” has been published to help you and your customers avoid the heart-attack job

• Produced by Global Graphics


15

With thanks to our sponsors:


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Statins for variable data print

• Do PDF/VT Right provides• A backgrounder to understand the speed challenges in

variable print production And how press vendors respond to them in sizing DFEs

• PDF/VT at a glance to show its benefits • Actionable recommendations to make your jobs run

smoothly through the DFE


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Who’s it for?

• Introductory sections are widely relevant From brand owners and CMOs to production managers

and PSP management They explain why you need to ensure that somebody in

your workflow deals with the technical challenges• Most of the specific recommendations are applicable

to graphic designers and composition operators Depending on composition tools and workflows A short section is specifically aimed at relevant software

vendors


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The bottom line?

Don’t make the DFE swallow an elephant if you onlyneed to give it a mouse!


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Meaning …

• Don’t make the DFE work much harder than necessary to achieve your design goal

• This doesn’t mean compromising on the final appearance

• It means achieving that appearance more efficiently


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Examples …

• Using a 24 megapixel photographic image at 1” across means it’s placed at 4000ppi You press probably doesn’t benefit from more than around 300ppi So you’re sending 175x as much image data as you need And the DFE has to process all of that

• A drop shadow on a black background is invisible But it triggers live PDF transparency handling in the DFE Significantly increases processing required.


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Recommendations in 6 sections:

• Use PDF/VT• Image usage• Live PDF transparency• Vector graphics• VDP layouts• Issues for software vendors


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Where do the recommendations come from?

• Global Graphics’ Harlequin RIP has been used for high-volume digital print for ~10 years

• We get great feedback from the field• We’ve responded by:

Optimizing our own code when appropriate Working with composition vendors to improve their output

• Primary UK expert to ISO committees developing PDF and PDF/VT • We’ve shared our expertise for several years with Harlequin OEM

partners • Now we want to share our knowledge with the industry


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Where do I get a copy?

• Ask me for a copy here

• Or from:www.globalgraphics.com/dopdfvtright


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[email protected]

www.globalgraphics.com/dopdfvtright

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better ways to make pdf and pdf/vt for direct mailing

Technology

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