Quality control: production manager's art

Quality control: Production manager's art Perhaps the single most valuable service a production manager can render to his or her magazine is the maintenance of an acceptable, predictable level of quality. Each step in the production cycle must meet a certain quality level in order for the final product to be acceptable. Ad pages will be judged by the advertisers; editorial pages will be judged by the editors and art directors. A balance of high quality between these two kinds of pages is what a production manager strives to achieve.

To reach and maintain his quality goal, a production manager must operate on many different levels. He must judge costs in terms of time and money; maintain a strong level of communication with suppliers, art directors, editors, advertisers and publishers; evaluate artwork in terms of in-line needs and color separation requirements.

Through all this, he must remember that getting the best quality does not always mean going for the highest bid: Knowing how to spend his production dollars can be far more effective than the amount of dollars he has to spend.

The cost of quality: Balancing

time and money

No article on the control of quality can be written without a discussion of the price paid for quality--a price that must be looked at both in terms of dollars and time.

Speaking in terms of dollars, whatever you pay--$200 or $800 for a color separation, $0.30 or $0.50 for paper, or $100,000 or $1,000,000 for printing--you will not be guaranteed the level of quality that has been set for your magazine. In the quest for quality, two concepts must be kept in mind. First, the careful spending of budgeted dollars is more important than the amount of those dollars. And second, the suppliers you choose must understand the parameters of your spending power and produce good quality within those guidelines.

Remember also that most suppliers depend more on a customer's repeat business than on a few scattered jobs each month. Establishing a relationship with your suppliers based on a steady flow of work will help you achieve your goal of producing a quality product.

There are other important factors that can influence the cost of quality--particularly if you are choosing a supplier. The type of equipment a supplier has to offer and the location of the supplier's plant are very important. For example, an out-of-state color separator may not meet your immediate needs for quick turnaround or offer the personalized service of the service representative.

Equipment lists, plans for future expansion and equipment purchases, and the level of the craftsmen's expertise are key elements that the production manager must review and study before choosing a supplier. The better matched a supplier is to your particular needs, the better chance the production manager has of producing a quality magazine.

Once a supplier has been chosen, regular evaluations of quality, costs and timing must be done to ensure that all your needs are being met.

Next to cost considerations, time may be the single most limiting factor in achieving quality. Schedules must be met at each point of the production cycle in order to deliver the magazine to the newsstand or mailbox on time. The production manager sets the schedule for editorial, art and advertising materials. The size of the magazine, number of copies printed, number of color pages and the kinds of printing forms run all affect the schedule. Money may buy you more time, but more time does not always buy better quality.

Extensions are the bane of every production manager's existence, whether it is an art director requesting more time to submit color pages for separating or an advertiser asking for a two-week extension on advertising material. Here the production manager must use caution, judgment and a little common sense. Should overtime dollars be spent to give the art director extra time to submit his color pages for a feature article? Can overtime be avoided by shortcutting some of the steps involved in color separating? Should the ad material on a two-week extension have its inspection process forgone to make up the time?

Taking shortcuts or forgoing a part of the process often costs more in terms of quality than the amount of overtime dollars. What if the advertiser's material is inferior and causes severe in-line problems while on press? Inspecting the material could have flagged the ad as a potential press problem.

The production manager needs to have a firm handle on the state of all ad and edit pages at each point in the production cycle to be able to juggle the schedule as necessary. A large number of late ad and edit pages may force the creation of a later closing form--but this is not always possible because of positioning requirements. Quality can suffer greatly if the production manager is unable to work around a certain number of late pages.

Time also plays a critical role in the achievement of quality when your magazine is on press. What if the printer must color correct some pages in order to match the supplied proof? Should the press be held while the printer's quality control department works to correct these pages? Is there time to submit new films?

The cost of quality is most important here. If substandard edit films were supplied by the color separator because of lateness or cost factors, correcting them on press can be extremely expensive in terms of both money and time. Spending a little more money on color separations that are made correctly and to standard is, in comparison, a very affordable luxury.

Communication: Speaking

everyone's language

It is the production manager who must translate the nontechnical wants of the editors, advertisers and art directors into terminology that the various suppliers can understand.

Industry standards provide a common language for production managers and suppliers. Standards set certain guidelines for the variables involved in color separating and printing/proofing stocks, ink rotation, ink density, screen angles, gray balance, dot values, etc. Industry standards provide a measuring point to go over or under. Although these standards do not necessarily determine the level of quality that can be achieved, they do offer direction for achieving the desired level of quality.

The production manager uses the mechanics of the magazine under his control--make-up, color separations, proofing, printing, paper--to control quality. The degree of efficiency with which he orchestrates these areas ultimately equates with the best possible quality he can buy.

Make-up: Putting the

pages together

The joining of ad and edit pages begins with the make up of the magazine. To do this, the production manager needs many pieces of information from both the editorial/art staff and from the advertising sales staff.

How many pages of advertising were sold for the issue? It is this number that determines the size of the magazine.

How many color pages does the art director have? Can this number be cut to accommodate more color ad pages?

How many spreads, singles or partial ads are scheduled? How many ads and edit pages will be late? What kind of printing forms does the printer have to offer based on the book size and print order?

By putting all the various pieces of the puzzle together, the production manager creates the magazine. In doing so, he must accommodate the needs of both the editorial and advertising staffs. Can in-line conflicts be avoided by moving certain ad or edit pages? Here, knowledge of the printer's equipment and imposition choices facilitates the make-up of the magazine.

An imposition is the actual layout of each page on an eight-page film flat. The type of press and folding equipment determines the type of imposition used. The printer supplies all the possible layout configurations that are suited for the equipment you will be using. The layout of the ad and edit pages on the imposition can be used as an early indication of potential in-line conflicts.

Certain positioning requirements of both the ad and editorial departments will limit the production manager's flexibility to move pages around to minimize color conflicts. At times, compromises must be made on both sides, but the final make up of the magazine must meet the needs of both art/edit and advertising. In many cases, advertising is given preferential treatment because of the revenue it generates. But editorial should not always be sacrificed for the ads, since the total level of quality of any magazine is determined by the total look of all the pages.

Artwork: Conferring about choices

A magazine's color quality will be affected by the choice of artwork. For example, it is not always possible to use an original transparency or piece of art. And photos purchased through stock houses are often dupes, two or three generations away from the original.

Some supplied artwork is reflective art (that is, not transparent--e.g., paintings). This type of artwork can either be scanned or shot by a camera. But it can be scanned only if it is mounted on a flexible substrate, allowing it to be wrapped around the scanner. If the mounting is not flexible or is too large for the scanner, the separator can either make a transparency of the artwork or separate the piece using a camera. A camera separation is more expensive, but affords better quality.

The production manager can guide and offer valuable advice to the art director when artwork is being chosen for the issue.

Once the art director makes his final choices of artwork for the issue, the artwork and layout should be submitted to the production manager. The production manager then evaluates each layout and sends it out to the color separator.

Many publishers use more than one color separation house, for various reasons. If a piece of color is submitted late, for example, faster turnaround time is needed. Some separation houses, because of the type of equipment in their shop, provide better quality on reflective art than others. Scheduling is also an important factor, particularly if 70 to 100 pages of color go out on the same day to the same separator. Dividing pages between two or three separators permits the production manager better flexibility in turnaround time.

Pricing is another factor. The level of quality you wish to achieve will determine the price you pay for the separation. A good quality separation is far less expensive than a poorly made separation--no matter what the final invoice is.

Color separator: The lowest

bid is not the highest

recommendation

The color separator is a key link in the quality chain. Although cost is certainly an important factor when a color separator is being chosen, it is not necessarily the most important factor: Choosing a color separator who understands the level of quality you want to achieve is perhaps more cost effective than opting for the lowest bid.

It is the production manager who nurtures the relationship between the art director and the color separator. Each time a new art director or new color separator comes on board, a new relationship begins. It can take two to three issues before the color separator understands and can maintain the quality the art director wants.

Before any piece of art is scanned or shot by the camera, the separator should have some idea of what the art director wants from the transparency or artwork. Should the separator shoot for high or low contrast? Is the out-of-focus mood of the picture intentional, or should the separator sharpen the images? How important is the background? Does the art director want natural flesh tones or ruddiness in the face? What will happen to the art after it is blown up 114 percent?

The more the color separator knows about any one piece of color and what the art director is looking for, the better the separation will be. Although time constraints may make it impossible for the art director to review every piece of color with the separator, he can give the separator instructions by writing them down on each layout. This is a wise step to take even when the separator has talked directly with the art director because it assures that there will be no misunderstanding.

The production manager advises the separator of the schedule for all color. It is now the separator's responsibility to give the art director what he wants, and to give the production manager the final film on time.

Proofing: Proving the

value of communication

The type of proofing methods used is a function of time, cost and quality. The production manager must understand each method and how it will relate to the printed page. Any proof, whether an off-press proof or a press proof, can be a useful tool as long as it is made correctly to the standards and as long as the viewer understands what it is he is looking at.

Art directors may first view an off-press proof. Depending on the match between this proof and the original piece of color, corrections or an okay are made by the art director and the production manager. At this time, certain press conditions are discussed before corrections are made. Should the red be pushed, or will dot gain on press take care of this? Are the highlights so blown out on the proof that the dot will be lost on press? Should yellow be removed so the red will pop, or will the face go orange on press?

If corrections are to be made to the proof, directions must be clear and very explicit. Rather than tell the separator to plus or minus a color, the art director should describe what he wants to see: more contrast between the background and the subject; cleaner whites; brighter colors.

Unless an art director fully understands what it means to plus or minus a color, and what effect this has on the other colors, it is wiser to tell the separator what he likes or dislikes about the proof in relation to the original art. The color separator can then translate the art director's corrections into the color separator's language. Here the separator is the master craftsman; he fully understands what his shop can and cannot do to better match the artwork. The production manager must be certain that the separator fully understands what the art director wants, but must also explain to the art director what may or may not be possible to achieve.

The second proof that is viewed may be a press proof: ink on paper. The first proof is compared to the second proof. Were all corrections made? Is the art director satisfied with this final proof? Do any minor corrections need to be made before the final film is pulled? Do the colors trap well? Are the colors in register? Is there time to make further corrections? The production manager must review all final proofs in order to answer these questions.

Sometimes minor corrections can be made without going to a third proof. The separator makes these minor corrections and marks the corrections on the second proof, which will be used by the printer to match on press. At this stage, the production manager must make all decisions based on the quality of the final piece, the amount of time left in the schedule, and the additional cost involved. If it is necessary to go back and make further corrections, a third proof will be pulled. The third proof made can be an off-press proof, and final film is made at this time.

Some art directors will okay the second proof. This is possible because of the interaction between the separator and art director during the process.

Although the art director need not be proficient in all the technical aspects of these processes, a basic knowledge of certain key areas can be invaluable to the publication. An art director who understands the process and his part in it can achieve better results than one who does not.

Prep: Getting it

ready and right

At this stage, three elements are combined: four-color film, type and ad pages. The type of film a publication supplies to the printer is again a function of quality, time and cost. Many publishers use the services of the printer for the preparation of final plate-ready film. Others choose to use the services of preparation houses to supply either plate-ready film for the printer or single composed pages to be stripped by the printer.

Working with an outside prep house can give the production manager better control over the pages of the magazine. The typesetting facilities of the prep house can be utilized to combine four-color film and type. Computer hook-ups between the publishing offices and the prep house can be used to facilitate the flow of type.

However, not all publishers use this method of type transmission. Many publishers supply the prep house with camera-ready boards with all type and illustrations pasted into page position. The boards are shot for type and combined with the supplied four-color edit film from the separator. Ad materials are processed through the prep house and are combined with the edit. Pages are then stripped into an eight-page film imposition and a set of blue. The blue lines are reviewed by the art, editorial and production staffs. Corrections are made, and final film is made with a final set of blue lines.

The prep house offers a valuable service to the production manager. Because a prep house is in the business of making film, the production manager is assured that he is receiving a quality product. The prep house inspects all four-color film, both advertising and editorial. Any deviance from the standards is reported on an inspection report. Replacement films can then be gotten either from the supplier of the advertising films or the supplier of the editorial films. This step further ensures that the film sent to the printer is within the prescribed standards for offset printing. A final color proof can be pulled from the eight-page flats. This proof can be used to evaluate in-line conflicts, film registration, trapping, positioning and film deficiencies (holes, scratches).

The production manager must communicate to the prep house exactly how the film is to be supplied to the printer. The prep house should use a master film guide supplied by the printer to indicate the position of punch holes, crop marks, color bars, etc. The final film flats can then be shipped to the printer with the appropriate color guides for each page.

On press: When it all

comes together

The printer is the last step in the process. Again, it is the production manager's job to communicate to the printer the level of quality expected.

There are many variables that affect the level of quality of the final printed page. In-line conflicts between two ads or between an ad and edit page are perhaps the most difficult variable to control. Judgment calls must be made by the printer and the production manager. Compromises need to be made.

Whether the production manager should be on press side with the printer for each issue and for each form is again a function of time and money. Can the production manager afford to be out of the office and at the printer for as long as one week each month? Many publishers feel that if the production manager is not at press side, the printer may fail to meet the quality expectations of the magazine.

A quality printer can give you a quality job whether the production manager is present or not--if the production manager has set guidelines for the printer to follow. The production manager should spend as much time with the printer as necessary to establish the quality level. But once this level is clearly understood by the printer, it should not be necessary for the production manager to be at press side.

A quality review of every issue should be done to keep the printer aware of how well he is achieving the established level of quality. Input from the art director is critical. Input from the advertisers is also critical, as it is usually in the form of an ad complaint.

Paper: Getting

the chemistry right

No matter how well made a separation is or how efficiently a certain printing press runs, the wrong choice of paper can severely undercut quality.

Often editorial needs dictate the type and weight of paper used. For example, an upscale fashion or home-furnishing magazine may print on a high-gloss, heavy basis weight stock. A medical or law journal with little four-color might print on a lighter weight stock with little gloss but good opacity to ensure legibility. For many subscription magazines, the weight of the paper is a determining factor because weight affects postal rates.

Understanding the paper-making process further enhances the production manager's ability to choose paper stocks wisely. Input from the printer on the runnability of paper and an analysis of gloss, opacity, brightness and smoothness also aid this learning process. The chemistry between the printing variables (ink, water, fountain solutions) and the paper is critical to a well-run form. The type of screen angle used for color separations and advertising materials is determined by the weight of the paper stock.

Running low on paper or mixing different stock weights and types can affect the quality of the magazine. Consequently, a production manager must not only choose paper stocks wisely, but also know when and how much to order. This is true even if the paper is bought through the printer. The final responsibility for how well paper runs is the production manager's.

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