Miscellaneous Stuff

Miscellaneous

These notes are taken from what I have typed up after reviewing my little red notebook. After re-reading it right before I posted it, I realised some of the stuff is probobly confidential, so sorry about the cut-out bits... I'm sorry to say they were by far the most interesting parts.

Dry offset:

• I had an interesting bit about vignettes here, but I don't think I'm allowed to talk abou this, as only one printer does it, and I don't think other printers have figured out how they do it.


• SGS is the first company to do direct-to-plate in a commercial setting.


• SGS is planning on being the first company in the US to... well, I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk about this.


• Packaging printing is moving to print facilities with 10+ color capabilities. Some in SGS think that printers without 10+ color units will (very soon) be forced to upgrade or be left behind, and lose large amounts of business. This is so packages can be more elaborate, and designers can be even more creative.


• Changing print order of inks:
  Actual example of dog food bag: yellow went down first originally, had 80% coverage, and so the light brown that printed on top of it didn’t stick to paper well. The yellow gained too much(?). Image of dog ends up looking flat.

Questions:

• When inks print physically on top of each other—what happens? How much does the viscosity, substrate, and process matter in this?


• What is cutback?

*Anilox should be a minimum of 4x the line ruling. For optimum results, have 5-6x the line ruling.

*Printers match to waterproofs, either digital or analog.
Waterproof- Analog
AQ4 - digital

That Pesky Notebook, Continued Some More

Quality Control

The 4 guys in Quality Control check traps, knockout, overprint, CT placement in the “live” file versus what we receive from the clients, UPC number, copy width, shirttail*, color separation, presence of all text and other elements, and scales. They told me that about half of the files they check on any given day are rejected, and sent back to be corrected. The QC guys have a little score sheet up on the wall with a running tally of how many jobs made it through that week on their first try, or if they get rejected, the reason why they got rejected. QC also ensures that the Bar Width Adjustment, or BWA, is set properly. This is the adjustment made to UPC bars so that they fit within a certain area, while all of the bars are still set to the proper ratio, in order to be read by barcode readers properly. They are checked to pass/fail with a UPC testing unit in the QC area.

The Quality Control group runs OS X on G4s. They use a program called FinalEye, which views un-editable EPS, Illustrator, and Barco files I’m not sure, but I think that the Barco files are GRZs. Using EPS files is a new thing, begun this month.

GRZ, GRS files: These are similar to PDFs, but with less information (perhaps they are like PDF X1a?). GRS appears to be like PS, so it has to be built into a GRZ file in order to be viewed quickly by the program. GRS files take much longer to load.

*The shirttail is the label we place on all jobs that have color keys, job number, die number, design company name, and other relevant information.

The QC guys seem bored in pretty big chunks of time, and then are swamped at others... work seems to come in fits and starts, and I wonder if there is a better way to even out the flow of work throughout the facility, as this happens to everyone, but from what I've seen, is most evident in the QC room (Well, its more of a big 4-person cubicle than a room). All of the guys in QC are older, I would say the youngest is in his late 30s. They, like many other workers there, feel underappreciated. There is a woman that works as Human Rescources (representative? mangager? administrator?), but I don't think I've known her to do any actual work. She plans social events to some small extent, hangs up posters that show you different ways not to get hurt, and sits in her office alot. I do not know how she is planning on helpin manage the human rescources at the Company. She's nice, but I don't see why she's needed, other than for the reason that the Company is owned by a much larger Company, and so positions like hers are the corporate norm.

Notes From My LIttle Red Book, Continued

Assembly

The assembly operator I sat with (Jeff, nice guy) said that he had to set all color angles for “flexo angles.” He mentioned that the RIP (which is a software RIP, and is slow compared to our nice RIPs in lab (or maybe they aren’t—the files here are much larger, and even though the computers that run the ripping program look old (for computers). He rattled them off quickly, but I think they were 7, 22, 52, and 82. Does this seem right or wrong to anyone else?

Barco (Packedge 3.x. I am not sure of exact version number) can be used to make film that has colors w/multiple angles in various places in the file (i.e, having cyan at two different angles so as to prevent moiré where yellow overlaps maybe 2 or more different colors or patterns at different places on the film). These colors with multiple angles are originally sent to the Barco operator as multiple Photoshop files. The lpis are set differently in Barco so that the program does not merge and change the separately angled instances of the color. So: if cyan is set to 100 lpi, the second hit of cyan would be set at 101 lpi.

Barco operators place the CTs made by the Color group, UPCs, vector logos, and dyes. In my notes, I have CTs described as color-corrected files, usually for precise elements such as food, faces, logos, etc.

The Barco system (used for placement, stripping, step & repeat, and some trapping) is a PC running Windows XP, and has 2 GB of RAM with a 3.06 Xeon Processor.

Questions:
Why are the angles different for flexo?
Why do the angles for flexo seem so random?

Update About Not Updating

I'm going to go hang out with another intern at our main facility an hour and a half away for the weekend, so no more posting about work this weekend, unless I get really really bored there. Expect something Sunday.

Today's Events, and a Note

First, the note:
I mentioned yesterday that I thought I knew what the problem was with OS X's slow loading of network shares. I've been reading some stuff online, and in addition to OS X's finder being really slow when browsing large directorys, OS X's built-in FTP implementation is really, really slow. So if they're using FTP to connect to their network browsers, that would be an additional source of slowness (OS X's usage of Samba isn't quite up to speed, but it apparently isn't as bad as its FTP). It is interesting to note that working from the command-line interface doesn't have this same problem. I don't expect the color people to start learning UNIX commands anytime soon, though, so I suppose they are stuck with the slowness. I still haven't talked to the color guys about working from the desktop, though

I am being slowly driven insane by the CSR that I am working beside. I have my own desk, computer, phone, etc... but I am working somewhat under her, as she keeps giving me paperwork to do. Not that I particularly mind, as most of last week was spent wishing I had something to do, to contribute. Now I am helping out, even though it is often the absolute most munndane stuff she can find. When she doesn't have any jobs to enter into the computer, or job folders/jackets to label, or small errands to run, then I venture out and ask the other CSRs if they have any work for me to do. I feel guilty sitting there and using Company time to research what computer parts I am going to buy at the end of the summer. ANYHOW, the annoying CSR. We will call her M. M feels that it is a good idea to blurt out whatever pops into her head, which is usually monosyllabic nonsense words, such as "cool", "shoot", and "ding-dangit." While the first two aren't really nonsense words for most people, they are in her case, as she says them in reaction to everything. She walks by my desk. "Cool." She gives me a stack of folders. "Cool." She sits down. "Cool." Something bad happens."shootshootshootshootshootshootshoot." Nothing new happens, but the bad stuff hasnt been fixed 45 seconds later: "shootshootshootshootshootshootshootshoot." Something new bad happens: "ding-dangit!" Rinse, repeat, for 9 hours every day. Also, when I ask her a question, she feels the need to explain it 5 times, but rewording it slightly each time. Which might be helpful is she was describing how to perform open-heart surgery. But instead, she is describing where she wants some folders to go, or how to imput them in the computer.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I am really frustrated so far with this internship. In lab, I felt like pretty hot shit because almost eveyrone (even TAs) came to me with questions, and I would be able to either answer them, or figure them out pretty quickly, or at least be helpful in some way. I was the go-to guy for a lot of prepress stuff. Now, however, all of my talents are unutilized. Now, I never imagined interning to be glamarous, and I am indeed very lucky not to be working at a plant that would have me move stacks of paper around for 8 hours a day. It is just that the internship was presented, sold almost, as this wonderful package, where I would get to utilize my computer and technical knowledge, and use it to help other people understand the new system. I would basically be able to continue what I do, and enjoy doing, in lab: help other people, and learn through doing it. I thought this would be a great way to learn, and to be appreciated. So I suppose I am saying that I'm not feeling loved, not being used anywhere near my full capabilities, not being respected for my ability to "add value" to my workplace, when I thought I would be. I wanted to Make A Difference. Or Be All I Could Be. Or something to that effect.

Ah well.

The Saga Continues

NOTE: I should probobly note that the Company deals almost exclusively in packaging. The few things they handle that aren't packages are related to selling or promoting those packages. That I know of, at least... this company has other locations that do work for some of the same (and some different) clients.

Still posting notes from my week of observing the various departments. Today we will take a look at color, where the coolest people are. The department currently houses three guys, the youngest probobly about 30, who are dirty, funny, and underappreciated. It seems almost everyone at this facility feels unloved and underappreciated, because they all have the hardest or most unthankful or most important job. Its a trend I 've noticed , having had the opportunity to be a fly on the wall in each department.

Color Department:

These are the Photoshop guys. They've got awesome computers: 21" Apple flatpanel screens, the latest Apple G5s with 3 GB of RAM and dual 2 GHz processors. These computers are sexy, if one were to look at technology in that way. And I do, sometimes. Also, they use the latest version of OS X, but it seems to be giving them some network trouble. Network transfer is very slow, which is aggravating due to their having to frequently save files that are 100s of megabytes big. I wonder how competent the IT people are at this plant, as this is the only plant (that they know of) to encounter this problem. [[GEEK MODE ON]] I think it may be the different filesystem being used on the server, but I can't be sure. If its windows-based (like IIS), then they probobly have a bad SAMBA setup. Even if what I just said is completely wrong, I'll still bet its a bad setup for connecting to a non-UNIX server, since OS X is based on BSD. When I was not doing anything that day, I remember wishing I could Google their problem and try to fix it for them. Hahaha, the intern who thinks he knows everything. I'm sure the IT people are very good at what they do, and I was just in know-it-all mode.[[END GEEK MODE]] The network used to the company with people that do "real work" (i.e., actually editing the files) is gigabit ethernet. If you were in my GC 310 class, that means they use category 5e cabling to hook up their computers. For those of you that weren't, that means anywhere from 10-100 times as fast as what you are probobly connected to on a LAN on-campus or at home. Also, backups to the server are performed nightly.

Most of the packaging they work on now is just large Photoshop files, with logos, ingredients, and instructional information later placed in with Illustrator by the Assembly (Barco) Department. For days, people were talking about "CTs," which turn out to basically be these picture files that the Color group works on. The CTs are what they have to adjust colors for (as they are typically the important parts of the package, if not the whole package) and sometimes trap. I had never seen (or even really thought about) trapping in Photoshop before this, but I am told this is what the Color department spends most of their time on now. It was fascinating to watch them work, and it was amazing to see how much work goes in to trapping, for instance, a carton of orange juice. One of the Color guys, Bob, said he would spend about 8 hours on one carton: masking, contracting/expanding selections, smudging, cloning, correcting color. And he had three or four to do.

Instead of saving as EPS files (it was interesting to note that they worked over the network-- I just realised now that it would be easier for them to save to desktop and then upload the file once it is done, like we do in lab; I may ask them about it tommorow), they use DCS files, which are apparently much like EPS files. In fact, I just looked it up:

DCS stands for Desktop Colour Separation. It is a file format that is based on the EPS file format. In fact, you could regard DCS files as a collection of EPS files.

The Company uses these files so that they can have more than just CMYK colors (channels). Cyan, magenta, and yellow are hardly ever used, but close fascimilies are substituted.

Besides trapping, the Color department spends alot of time trying to "fix" what designers thought would be cool, but in reality is difficult at best to print. Many jobs have large amounts of color that are hard or impossible to print with the available colors (anywhere from 4-11 print units are available, depending on the printer) Gradients for flexo and dry offset* jobs are the bane of their existances, and are still used very frequently by designers. Color also works on adding more shape and depth to CTs, especially for items like food or people's faces. Nobody wants to eat a piece of pie that looks like it has stamped-out play-doh for filling. So, in addition to doing difficult but relatively straightforward work like trapping, the Color department also gets to take the occasional creative liberty in making a file more pleasant, or even making some things from scratch, which is apparently where the most fun and rewarding part is.

I think I enjoyed the Color department most of all the departments. I may revisit my experience there in the future.

* I had never heard of dry offset before coming to work here. I will talk more about it later.

Some Photoshop tricks I learned from the Color boys:

• When working with masks and layers, if you want to add that layer's image area to a mask, go to Select>Load Selection


• Quick Masking is your friend in PS trapping-- almost all selection is done using masks, and the magnetic lasso... Much time is spent at 1600% zoom


• When you want to trap a selection, go to Selection>Contract, then contract by X number of pixels to get thousandths of an inch. I believe they used 6 pixels for .0015", but I havent done the math yet to see what resolution they were working at

Wow... thats way more than I had in my little notebook. Sorry for the length: I hope somebody learned something. I guess I remembered alot that I had only hinted at in my notes. In any event, feel free to post cool computer or Photoshop-related tidbits you may have learned recently. I think I learned more in that one morning in Color than I did in any one month, ever.

In the Beginning...

For the past week and a half, I have been carrying around a little red flip-up notebook to take notes in. These first few posts will be basically me just writing out anything that I think might serve as helpful or interesting. The grammar probobly won't be very good, I'm going to copy them with minimal editing from what I have written down. I will try to keep personal comments to a minimum, but will try to throw them in for flavor in later posts ;)

"?" means I am not sure of whether the information is correct, but is surmised from conversational context.

Methods of transporting files to other plants being used at the Company:

• MassTransit - Apparently a dedicated? connection to other Company locations for fast and secure transfer of files. Basically a corporate WAN setup. This is what is used by the preflight operators (aka the Mac department) to load fonts and images for the jobs we will be working on. (amusing note- I originally assumed MassTransit was a courier just hopping on a bus to deliver film or other materials to the platemaking plant downtown)


• UPS - Used to send film, plates, and/or CDs.


• FTP - Used frequently to share files with printers and the customers.

I sat down with each department (except for proofing) for half a day to watch someone in their group do what they do on a daily basis. Here are some of my notes from this experience. It was interesting to see what I do in lab seperated into clearly defined roles, and how these specialists do things differently (and far more quickly) than I do them.

Preflighting Department:

Get fonts and images (CTs) from MassTransit, copy to a folder on the desktop. Remove unnecessary layers and colors. Check the font specs and make sure that the regular and reverse-type do not go under certain limits, i.e., 8pt and 10 pt, respectively. The Mac operators ususally use the top part of the "o" to check the text in any given file. They zoom way into the file and use a ruler tool to check these measurements in Illustrator. Most of the computers used in this department are G3s. A proofreader is also housed in the Mac dept. (I was originally (before they figured out what they were going to do with me) supposed to spend my time with the proofreader, gathering printer specs (file requirements) from the miscelaneous places around the office they were hiding, such as previous jobs, notebooks, printouts, post-its, and hidden in employees' brains. I lucked out of this because I did not get a desk and a computer until yesterday, almost a week and a half after my arrival.) After making sure all of the files and fonts are in place, the folder is put on a local server and the job jacket (a numbered and dated plastic pouch that holds all the documents relating to the job) is placed on the wall in the main office area.

Rolling Out The Red Carpet

Welcome to my weblog, or blog, of my experiences at a certain large graphics company in northern Kentucky. It is meant to be a record of what I have learned and done over the course of my summer interning here, so that fellow interns and my GC peers can keep tabs of what is happening at my facility, how things are done, and what I think about all this. Please feel free to comment, as I want feedback on many of the things I see here, and I am sure that I will have questions about some (or even many) of these things.

In short, I think it will be an interesting and fun way for everyone that reads it, and myself especially, to learn.