InSite, our online soft-proofing and collaboration tool, automatically runs a preflight on all files submitted to Lane Press. This preflight process checks for potential problems, such as low-resolution images, RGB graphics, missing fonts, and ICC-based color graphics. Once the preflight is completed, InSite displays an on-screen report. Since the function and report are automatic, users often don’t expect the report and aren’t sure how to fix the indicated problems. 

 

Here's how it works: When a PDF workflow customer uploads files to our server via the InSite interface, the files process and become available for review/approval through the InSite interface (this all happens automatically). A cursory preflight is automatically performed on the files at this stage. Upon completion, InSite presents the user with an on-screen report. When the InSite processing report indicates an error, it can be difficult to locate the page element responsible for the error (image, font, illustration, etc.) if the page is relatively complex.

The easiest way to locate the errors is to use Adobe Acrobat Professional's built-in preflight function, which is typically located in the ‘Advanced’ menu (the location of the function has varied between versions). In the Acrobat preflight report, you can double-click on any error, and a red dotted outline will appear around the page element in question. The report also gives you a reading of the 'effective resolution' of the element—that is, the resolution of the element at its current scale on your page file. You then have a choice to either replace the image with a higher resolution version or scale the existing image down to improve its quality.

IMPORTANT: Please note that when InSite’s preflight indicates a “low-resolution” error, the affected page will continue to be processed for printing by Lane Press unless you take action to replace it. In other words, there is no automatic safeguard to keep a file with a low-resolution image from being approved. When you see this error, use Acrobat's 'effective resolution' reading, together with the screen representation of the graphic on the PDF file, to gauge the gravity of the problem and determine whether you need to take action.