Margie Dana

This blog post is by Steve Boss, Managing Partner of Commercial Print Technologies up in Toronto. Full disclosure: I wrote his company’s web site content. This post of his is so important that I wanted to share it here. How to do a press OK from a printer’s point of view is good stuff for buyers.

When planning to do an on-site press approval, it’s wise to do some preparation as well as set a few expectations between yourself and your printer.

As a print buyer, you need to supply the printer with a high-quality proof to colour match to, plus a backed-up digital dylux or folded proof. The objective of any press approval is to have the printed sheet look like the colour proof. It is as simple as that. Sort of.

The first thing to do when you arrive for your scheduled approval time is to be on time. Being late throws the plant scheduling off the rails and shows disrespect for the company’s time. Printing is a capital-intensive business, the presses are expensive, and costs are factored on an hourly basis.

The printer knows ahead of time if they’re running on time for your press OK or are going to be delayed. Everything is scheduled. It’s just as respectful for your printer to call you well in advance to let you know they’re running behind. Then they can suggest at what time you should come in to see your job.

It is also the printer’s responsibility to have a press sheet ready to show you when you arrive, as opposed to just starting to “hang the plates.” So if you are on time and the plant is on time, you are off to a good start.

When you go to the press console, introduce yourself to the pressman as he is your best friend for the next few minutes. Once introduced, ask to see the colour proof he has to run colour to and the backed-up digital proof to confirm the imposition and layout. You want to make sure the pressman has these tools. If not, there is nothing to check or run colour to.

Next, confirm the paper they’re using is as you specified. Ask to see the skid tags if you need specific confirmation of stock. Also, it is not impolite to ask to see the stock run order on the floor. You just want to double check the stock is on the floor and that they are ready to run the order in one pass. Avoid the start and stop process if at all possible.

Now you are ready to preview the first sheet. Your mental expectations should be set to be ready to leave after making adjustments to no more than three passes or press sheet pulls. If you are struggling after three attempts to reach the colour proof match, there’s an issue somewhere. Never go to press with the intentions of getting to the desired colour you are looking for at the press approval. This then becomes an exercise of guessing what you are looking for. We all see colour differently, because no two sets of eyes are the same. I have always said to our clients, “If you love the colour and look of the proof, you will love the printed piece.”

On or at press is not the time to be adjusting colour to suit your needs. If there is any concern regarding the colour of the grass or the apples in the trees in the colour proof, it needs to be addressed in pre-press. All colour correction should be done in advance of the on-site press approval. The costs associated in colour correcting at the pre-press stage are small compared to TRYING to doing this at press.

Knowing the press sheet lays the ink down from the top of the sheet to the bottom is paramount. This will help explain why the colour of the pictures that are positioned above each other has a colour change together when you make a cyan adjustment, for instance. Knowing you cannot change the colour of the sky in one photo and not affect the other is a sign of an experienced production manager.

I also like to break the sheet down into three equal vertical sections and move from the left to right when looking at the press sheet colour. Isolating the press sheet into sections allows the pressman to understand your areas of concern. Let the pressman know what you are looking at or trying to achieve. If you say, “Bring the magenta down 5% here,” it does not help him understand your concern. A better approach is to ask him what he thinks of the “red ball” in the corner. It is good to have you BOTH agree the “red ball” needs to have some adjustment, and IF this adjustment is made, discuss what it will do to the balance of the sheet in that section.

This is a team effort. Pressmen are craftsmen and take pride in their work. There is no better feeling for them when a client walks away and tells them they have done a good job.

Should you be running a multiple form project of page signatures, it is reasonable to allow about 10 minutes per plate change. Therefore, if you are running a 6-colour order, be prepared for about a 60-minute wait while the pressman prepares the press for the next form to approve.

One last note: bring your own “loupe” on a press approval; the pressmen need theirs.

Steve Boss is the Managing Partner of Commercial Print Technologies in Toronto, CA. Visit them online at www.commprint.ca.

Tom Harris

April 07, 2014 at 10:00 am

Very well written, Steve. As a printer with decades of press checks under my belt; I wish that every client would follow your advice. There are far too many people who believe that it is possible to create the job on press, rather than doing the files correctly in the first place; and then become antagonistic towards the plant when this cannot be achieved to their satisfaction.

You hit the nail on the head – this is a TEAM effort!!

Jeff Dickerson

April 07, 2014 at 10:06 am

Well said Steve. I learned from the best of the best, Daniel Dejan, to put a press check kit together. Two loupes, a 10x paragon with an illumination addition. (from ), (I also carry a 10x Bausch and Lomb lighted loupe) and a 100x lighted microscope from Radio Shack. a ruler, GATF/REHM light indicator, GraCaol taget densities, our Corporate Brand approved color sample, a densitometer (a little pricey but often necessary, a homemade comparisonm template (this is a 3″ x 5″ cardstock with a diamond cutout in the middle to compare crossovers from one sheet to another), Flint ink color quiz, SAPPi’s “How to Read a Press Sheet”, Kohl and Madden’s “Pressmans Handbook”, BRIDG’s General Printing Guidelines, SAPPI’s “Onpress Troubleshooting”, EuroArts opacity tester, Postal Service postnet decoder, GT-30 Graphic Art Toolkit, Screen angle tester.

Accumulated over a 30 year career and yes, I have used all these tools at press checks. If nothing else, it let’s the pressman know you are prepared and competent.

“A prepared person is a preferred person”

rick dabagian

April 07, 2014 at 11:52 am

This description brings me back to the glory days. Perhaps a mention of viewing in proper or standard lighting should be addressed. All to often, this can become a situation that if not considered, may never acheive the desired color.

April 07, 2014 at 11:54 am

This description brings me back to the glory days. Perhaps mention of viewing in proper or standard lighting should be considered. If it isn’t, the ability to acheive desired colors may never be acheived.