Prepress Processes

Prepress is the term used in the printing and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the procurement of a written manuscript and original artwork, and the manufacture of a printing plate, image carrier, or form, ready for mounting on a printing press.

The following items have been considered as parts of prepress process:

-Typesetting involves the presentation of textual material in graphic form on paper or some other medium. Before the advent of desktop publishing, typesetting of printed material was produced in print shops by compositors or typesetters working by hand, and later with machines;

-Copy-editing is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of a manuscript. A copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication. Copy-editing is done prior to the work of proofreaders, who handle documents before final publication;

-Markup. A markup language is an artificial language using a set of annotations to text with instructions regarding the structure of text or how it is to be displayed. Markup languages have been in use for centuries. In recent years have also been used in computer typesetting and word-processing systems;

-Proofreading traditionally means reading a proof copy of a text in order to detect and correct any errors. Modern proofreading often requires reading copy at earlier stages as well;

Page layout is the part of graphic design that handles the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page;

-Screening of continuous-tone images such as photographs;

-Retouching;

-Page assembly or stripping;

-Imposition, or the combination of many pages into a single signature form;

-Trapping, also known as spreading and choking;

-Separation, or specifying images or text to be put on plates applying individual printing media (inks, varnishes, etc.) to a common print;

-Platemaking, the photomechanical exposure and processing of light-sensitive emulsion on a printing plate.

In most modern publishing environments, the tasks related to content generation and refinement are carried out separately from other prepress tasks, and are commonly characterized as part of graphic design. Some companies combine the roles of graphic design and prepress production into desktop publishing.

The set of procedures used in any particular prepress environment is known as a workflow. Workflows vary, depending on the printing process (e.g., letterpress, offset, digital printing, screen printing), the final product (books, newspapers, product packaging), and the implementation of specific prepress technologies. For example, it is not uncommon to use a computer and image setter to generate film which is then stripped and used to expose the plate in a vacuum frame; this workflow is hybrid because separation and half toning are carried out via digital processes while the exposure of the plate is an analog one.

Exercise 6. Answer the questions on the text.

1. What does a term “prepress” mean?

2. What are the parts of a prepress?

3. What is typesetting?

4. Tell about copy-editing.

5. What is a copy?

6. Describe a markup language.

7. What does proofreading mean?

8. Name all the other forms of prepress process.

9. What kind of a set is workflow?

Exercise 7. Find the equivalents:

a) Printing and publishing industries, procurement of a written manuscript, original artwork, manufacture of a printing plate, image carrier, parts of prepress process, presentation of textual material in graphic form, advent of desktop publishing, prior to the work of proofreaders, handle documents before final publication, regarding the structure of text, word-processing systems style treatment of elements on a page, applying individual printing media to a common print, processing of light-sensitive emulsion on a printing plate, content generation and refinement, desktop publishing, particular prepress environment, implementation of specific prepress technologies, to use image setter to generate film;

b) елементи до друкарського процесу, представляти текстовий матеріал у графічній формі, покращувати форматування та стилізацію, точність відтворення, працювати з документами перед кінцевим друком, штучна мова, набір рекомендацій, відображати структуру тексту, мова маркування, система текстової обробки, визначення та виправлення помилок, керувати розміщенням елементів на сторінці, комбінування сторінок у єдину форму, розділення певних зображень, загальний друк, світлочутлива емульсія, певне до друкарське середовище, цифрові та аналогові процеси.

Exercise 8. Put all types of questions to the following sentences:

1) Prepress is the term used in the printing and publishing industries for the processes and procedures that occur between the procurement of a written manuscript and original artwork.

2) Typesetting involves the presentation of textual material in graphic form on paper or some other medium.

3) Markup languages have been in use for centuries.

4) The tasks related to content generation and refinement are carried out separately from other prepress tasks.

5) Some companies combine the roles of graphic design and prepress production into desktop publishing.

6) Workflows vary, depending on the printing process.

Exercise 9. Retell “Prepress Processes”. State its main idea in one sentence.

Exercise 10. Read and translate the following text. Analyze the tense forms used in each sentence of the text.

During the 1980s and 1990s, computer-aided prepress techniques began to supplant the traditional dark room and light table processes, and by the early 2000s the word prepress became, in some ways, synonymous with digital prepress. Immediately before the mainstream introduction of computers to the process, much of the industry was using large format cameras to make emulsion-based (film) copies of text and images. This film was then assembled (stripping) and used to expose another layer of emulsion on a plate, thus copying images from one emulsion to another. This method is still used; however, as digital prepress technology has become less costly, more efficient and reliable, and as the knowledge and skill required to use the new hardware and especially software have become more widespread within the labor force, digital automation has been introduced to almost every part of the process. Some topics related to digital but not analog prepress include preflighting (verifying the presence, quality and format of each digital component), color management, and RIPping.

PDF workflows also became predominant. In more recent years, prepress software has been developed which is designed to find as many efficiencies in prepress workflow as possible. These tools are accessed online, and allow different workers to work on one project at the same time, often from different locations. Key functionality automates common steps to reduce errors, reinforce quality standards and speed up production. Examples include automatically re-folioing pages, digital dummies for soft proofs, live linking with Adobe InDesign and pre-flight checking. These tools revolve around a Flatplan and are used in all sorts of prepress including book, magazine and catalog production.

Exercise 11. Write Present and Past participle of the following verbs:

To stop, to cut, to forget, to begin, to order, to study, to open, to play, to develop, to write, to give, to lie.

Exercise 12. Translate into Ukrainian:

a) asking, asked, importing imported, doing, done, reading, read, meeting, met, describing, described, losing, lost, producing, produced, giving, given;

b) walking, left, promising, invited, shown, waiting, translated, sent, closing, copied, studying, manufactured, showing, taking part, translated, copying, studied.

Exercise 13. Translate into English:

Відповідаючи, написаний, принесений, даючи, той, хто розмовляє, той , що читають, виданий, зроблений, працюючий, читаючи, втрачений, стоячи, проходячи, побудований, укладений, виробляючи, підписаний, обговорюючи, перекладений.

Exercise 14. Translate the following sentences into Ukrainian. Find the Participles and state their function.

1. The article on printing technologies published in this magazine was written by the Dean of our Faculty.

2. You can get the book recommended by our lecturer in the library.

3. He asked her to go on with her story, promising not to interrupt her again.

4. The books lying on the table belong to my roommate.

5. He left the office at three o’clock, saying he would be back at five.

6. Signing the letter the manager gave it to the secretary asking her to send it off at once.

Exercise 15. Read and study the following words and word combinations:

a) terms:

Camera-ready book	оригінал-макет для фотоформи	оригинал-макет для фотоформы
Casting machine	ливарна машина	машина для литья
Duplicating process	процес копіювання	процесс копирования
Full-size reprint	відтворення нормального розміру	воспроизведение нормального размера
Master plate	еталонний шаблон	эталонный шаблон
Out-of-print book	продані книги	проданные книги
Pagination system	система нумерації сторінок	система нумерации страниц
Photographic process	фотографічний процес	фотографический процесс

b) verbs:

Adopt	прийняти	принять
Deliver	поширювати, постачати	распространять
Expand	поширювати	распространять
Invent	виникати	возникать
Remove	видаляти	удалять

c) nouns:

Advance	вдосконалення	усовершенствование
Demand	потреба	необходимость
Evolution	виникнення	возникновение
Trademark	торгова марка	торговая марка
Fluid	рідина	жидкость

d) adjectives:

Capable	здатний	способный
Justified	вирівнювати, доводити	выравнивать, доказывать
Noteworthy	той, що заслуговує на увагу	заслуживающий внимания
Possible	можливий	возможный
Respective	відповідний	соответствующий
Spaced	на певній відстані	на определенном расстоянии

e) adverbs:

Exclusively	виключно	исключительно
Greatly	значною мірою	значительно

Exercise 16. Read and translate the text: