Automating Preflight with MassTransit Enterprise and Enfocus Pitstop Server

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1 Automating Preflight with MassTransit Enterprise and Enfocus Pitstop Server October 17, 2004

2 Automating Preflight with MassTransit Enterprise and Enfocus Pitstop Server Introduction This whitepaper describes how to set up an automated preflight workflow using Group Logic MassTransit Enterprise and Enfocus Pitstop Server. MassTransit Enterprise is the file exchange solution-of-choice for businesses that purchase or provide graphic arts services. Enfocus Pitstop Server is a robust, automated preflighting solution for PDF files that can verify, validate, autocorrect and certify PDF files for quality-assured prepress output. The scope of the solution described herein relates to PDF files only. PDF files are the industry standard format for production quality output. Using PDF as the standard format of exchange reduces the complexity of automated preflight and helps ensure consistency of printed results. Preflighting is the process of verifying that complex documents will output properly when passed through a prepress workflow chain that generally includes trapping, imposition and film or plate imaging. A fundamental preflight routine checks for document issues that pertain to font inclusion, color space, missing placed elements and document geometry. If missing elements are found in a PDF file during the preflight process, the PDF must be created from the document source. We acknowledge that not all workflows can be completely automated and in many cases, manual file inspection cannot be avoided, however, preflight automation still has many desirable benefits. The Benefits of Automated Preflight Faster turnaround times: When files are preflighted immediately upon submission or receipt, a notification will enable a CSR or artist to catch the problem right away. In many cases, preflight takes place hours or days after the files are received only to reveal problems with the job that take more time to sort out. Tighter communication between customer and service provider: When a service provider supplies preflight specifications to a client, the spec helps to mediate technical expectations for submitted files. This gives the client a target specification to qualify their work for print. Improved Efficiency for Content Creators: The criteria for successful print work vary between print vendors. If PDF jobs fail basic preflight when submitted for a specific print provider on a tight deadline, you will know right away before the file is sent. Improved Customer Service for Print Providers: ed reports resulting from the automated preflight process help to define what is wrong with the file, sometimes without the need to manually diagnose complex files manually. Customer service representatives can explain what needs to be changed to their customers. This saves time and in some cases decreases the need for deep prepress software expertise. ed notifications let you know if there is problem right away. Improved Efficiency for Print Providers: In addition to preflight verification, Pitstop can validate that PDF/X files conform to specifications required for advanced prepress systems. Often PDF files may contain all that is needed to print, but may not conform to specifications used for specific workflow systems. 1

3 Automated Preflight Workflows Workflow 1: Client Side Preflight using MassTransit Satellite Server This workflow allows a creative organization to preflight PDF files locally at their site before forwarding the PDF on to production. Enfocus Pitstop uses PDF profiles to set preflight rules. These can be supplied by the service provider to ensure only conforming files are sent via MassTransit. Pitstop also uses action lists to fix PDF files. This rulebase can help to automatically make adjustments to the file for common issues such as adding crops and bullets or converting color spaces. Be sure to obtain the action lists and PDF profiles from your service provider and load them into Pitstop Server. Sequence of Events 1. Creative personnel complete page design and distill a PDF file. 2. PDF files are dropped in a server share that is watched by Pitstop Server 3. Pitstop Server automatically checks the file against the PDF profile provided by the service provider. 4. If the file fails the preflight process, Pitstop places the file and the failure report in a Preflight Failed folder for pickup. The file will not be transferred to the print provider. 5. If the file passes preflight, the file and the report are forwarded via MassTransit to the service provider. 6. A notification is sent upon receipt of the file to a configurable address. 7. The PDF can then be put into production by the printer. System Requirements For the client side preflight workflow, MassTransit Satellite Server must be installed at the client site. The MassTransit application client cannot be used for this workflow. Enfocus Pitstop Server must also be installed. Please see the Enfocus Pitstop Server User Guide and the MassTransit User Guide for more information. Both products run on Mac OSX and Windows 2003 Server. The configuration is the same for both platforms except where noted below. Both MassTransit and Enfocus Pitstop can reside on the same server if needed. Depending on the number of files to be processed and throughput requirements, each may reside on a separate tier for optimal performance. The configuration instructions below assume that both products are installed per the instructions in the respective user guides. 2

Workflow 1: Configuration MassTransit Server: Service Provider Site 1) Create a client account in the Server address book. This will create the folders used for transferring files.

4 Workflow 1: Configuration MassTransit Server: Service Provider Site 1) Create a client account in the Server address book. This will create the folders used for transferring files. 2) Create a configuration file for the MassTransit Satellite Server. To do this, select the address book account and choose Build Client Installers from the File menu. Configure the setting in the next window and click Build. Save the.cfg file and it to the client. 3) Create a notification action. To do this, click Setup. Go to the Actions tab and click Add. In the next dialog box, name the action. Under When, choose Files are received. Under Who, choose your client s account. Click the icon and enter the To and From address(es) for your CSR or prepress operators who will receive the notification. Configuration is complete. MassTransit Satellite Server: Creative Site 1) Install the Group Logic MassTransit Satellite Server 2) Copy the configuration file to the root of the installation directory. Edit the address book entry by clicking Edit Enter the parameters for each tab; General, Outgoing, and Mailbox Note for Mac OSX users: It is recommended that you move the mailboxes from the default location in the MassTransit installation directory to the \\Public\Drop Box folder to avoid folder permissions issues. To do this go to the Mailbox tab and select Use Custom Mailbox. Navigate to; then choose the Drop Box folder. This folder will be shared with write permissions by default. 3

5 3) Share the root Mailbox folder so that your local network users can access the folder set and copy files to preflight into the folder. 4) Add a folder in the Mailbox root folder called To Preflight and one called Preflight Failed. These folders will be used by Pitstop Server. MassTransit configuration is complete. Enfocus Pitstop Server Configuration: Creative Site This configuration assumes that the Pitstop Server application and the MassTransit Satellite application reside on the same server. An additional note for a two-tier configuration is provided below. 1) Install Pitstop Server on the same server. Launch Pitstop Server to show the Pitstop Control Panel. 2) If your service provider supplied a PDF profile, import it by choosing PDF Profile Control Panel from the Setup menu. Click import and choose the file. 3) Click New and configure the following items: a. General Tab : Give the hot folder a name such as Preflight for ABC Printing. b. Action List and PDF Profile Tab: i. Select the imported PDF profile from list or choose one of your own. c. Folders Tab i. Under Input Folder, Choose the To Preflight folder in the MassTransit Mailbox folder. ii. Under Output Folders on Success 1. Put processed documents in, choose the MassTransit To Send folder. Do this for both the preflight report and the PDF file. The default is recommended for Put Original Document In. iii. Under Output Folders on Failure, 1. Choose the Failed Preflight folder for both the file and its report. Failed files can be picked up from this folder. The default is recommended for Put processed document in. iv. Click the Advanced button and select the To Send folder for Non-PDF files. This will ensure that files are sent to the service provider for other file types. 4

6 Note: You may wish to simply have the original and the processed document deleted upon failure since a copy still resides on the client workstation for editing. In this case, only the report destination folder may be configured. d. Notification Tab i. Check on to Send notification if a document generated errors. ii. Add the name and address of the recipient where the error notification will go. Note that Pitstop Server only support one address in this field. iii. Configure your mail server (default is port 25) under Edit Preferences Configuration is now complete. 5

7 Test Your Configuration You can test the workflow by producing two PDF files. One file should be a PDF that passes the Pitstop preflight process and the other should fail. Connect to the preflight server and drop the PDF files into the To Preflight folder. After the processing is complete, check the Preflight Failed folder. The incorrect PDF file should be there with a report that has the same name as the failed PDF file. The report contains hyperlinks to the PDF for items identified as problems by Pitstop Server. The correct PDF file should have transferred to the remote MassTransit Server. You can verify this by checking the Satellite Server log. notifications should also be received in your mail client inbox. To check the Satellite Server log, Click Log in the Navigation bar or choose Log from the Windows menu. Workflow 2: MassTransit Server Side Preflight using Mass Transit Server This workflow allows a service provider to preflight PDF files sent to their location by their clients using MassTransit. Enfocus Pitstop uses PDF profiles to set preflight rules. These can be used on a per client basis to verify PDF files for production. When files are received by the service provider, regardless of type, a notification is sent from MassTransit. In many cases print providers receive more files types than just PDF. However, when PDF files fail, a notification is sent to the CSR so they are alerted to a problem. Files are sorted by Pitstop Server and they can be picked up in their respective folders in the MassTransit mailbox. Sequence of Events 1. Creative personnel complete page design and distill a PDF file. 2. PDF files are transferred using MassTransit Satellite, Web Client or Application Client. 3. The file is received by MassTransit in the Received folder for the client mailbox. An notification is sent. 4. PDF files are preflighted by Pitstop Server 5. If the file fails the preflight process, Pitstop places the file and the failure report in a Preflight Failed folder for pickup and Pitstop s a failed notification. 6

8 6. If the file passes preflight, the file and the report are placed in a Preflight Successful folder for pickup. 7. If the file being transferred is not a PDF, it will be placed in the folder called Non-PDF Files Received. System Requirements For the production-side preflight workflow, MassTransit Server must be installed. Enfocus Pitstop Server must also be installed. Please see the Enfocus Pitstop Server User Guide and the MassTransit User Guide for more information. Both products run on Mac OSX and Windows 2003 Server. The configuration is the same for both platforms except where noted below. Both MassTransit and Enfocus Pitstop can reside on the same server if needed. Depending on the number of files to be processed and throughput requirements, each may reside on a separate tier for optimal performance. The configuration instructions below assume that both products are installed per the instructions in the respective user guides. Workflow 2: Configuration MassTransit Server: Service Provider Site 1. Create a client account in the Server address book. This will create the folders used for transferring files. 2. Add the following new folders to the Mailbox root folder: Preflight Successful Preflight Failed, and Non-PDF Files. 3. Create a notification action. To do this, click Setup. Go to the Actions tab and click Add. In the next dialog box, name the action. Under When, choose Files are received. Under Who, choose your client s account. Click the icon and enter the To and From address(es) for your CSR or prepress operators who will receive the notification. Note for Mac OSX users: It is recommended that you move the mailboxes from the default location in the MassTransit installation directory to the \\Public\Drop Box folder to avoid folder permissions issues. To do this go to the Mailbox tab and select Use Custom Mailbox. Navigate to; then choose the Drop Box folder. This folder will be shared with write permissions by default. Configuration is complete for MassTransit. Client users can now transfer files to the service provider. Enfocus Pitstop Server Configuration: Service Provider Site This configuration assumes that the Pitstop Server application and the MassTransit Server application reside on the same server. An additional note for a two-tier configuration is provided below. 1. Install Pitstop Server on the same server. Launch Pitstop Server to show the Pitstop Control Panel. 2. If you use custom PDF profiles, import them by choosing PDF Profile Control Panel from the Setup menu. Click import and choose the files. 3. Click New and configure the following items: a. General Tab : Give the hot folder a name such as Preflight for Creative Designs, Inc. b. Action List and PDF Profile Tab: i. Select the imported PDF profile from list or choose one of your own. c. Folders Tab i. Under Input Folder choose the MassTransit Received folder. ii. Under Output Folders on Success 7

1. Put processed documents in, choose the MassTransit Preflight Successful folder. Do this for both the preflight report and the PDF file. The default is recommended for Put Original Document In. iii.

9 1. Put processed documents in, choose the MassTransit Preflight Successful folder. Do this for both the preflight report and the PDF file. The default is recommended for Put Original Document In. iii. Under Output Folders on Failure, 1. Choose the Preflight Failed folder for both the file and its report. Failed files can be picked up from this folder. The default is recommended for Put processed document in. iv. Click the Advanced button. Under Put non-pdf files in choose the Non-PDF Files folder. d. Notification Tab i. Check on to Send notification if a document generated errors. ii. Add the name and address of the recipient where the error notification will go. Note that Pitstop Server only support one address in this field. iii. Configure your mail server (default is port 25) under Edit Preferences Configuration is now complete. Test Your Configuration You can test the workflow by producing two PDF files. One file should be a PDF that passes the Pitstop preflight process and the other should fail. Log on to the preflight server and drop the PDF files into the Received folder. After the processing is complete, check the Preflight Failed folder. The incorrect PDF file should be there with a report that has the same name as the failed PDF file. The correct PDF should and its report should be in the Preflight Successful folder and the other file type should reside in the Non-PDF Files folder. notifications should also be received in your mail client inbox. 8

10 Extending the Workflow: Using Acrobat Distiller Server to Automate PDF Creation Creative Site PDF Creation, Preflight and File Transfer Print vendors often supply PDF Distiller settings that create PDF files that meet their prepress requirements (PDFX1a or PDFX3 for example). It is possible to configure the Distiller Server output folder to use a Pitstop source folder. You can print a postscript (.PS) file to disk and copy it to a Distiller Server input hot folder. Distiller will create the file based on service provider settings, Enfocus Pitstop will verify the file that was just created and upon passing preflight, forward the file to the print provider and notify an administrator that the process was successful. Distiller Server Configuration Using Workflow 1 above, a few changes to the hot folder structure are needed. Distiller Server creates its own In and Out folders when you point to a given source folder. 1) Start by creating a new folder in your MassTransit mailbox folder called To Distill. 2) In Distiller s Settings menu, choose Watched Folders 3) In the next dialog box, click Add Folder and select the To Distill folder in your MassTransit mailbox. Distiller will create an In and an Out folder. 4) You can also optionally choose in this dialog box to delete the postscript file after the Distiller creates the PDF. Click OK 5) In Distiller s main window, Choose PDFX1a from the default settings dialog OR load a settings file supplied by your print provider. To load settings, choose Add Adobe PDF Settings from the Settings menu. 6) In Pitstop, change the Input folder to the Distiller Out folder using the Hot Folder Properties window, Folders tab. The output folder, Non-PDF files folder and the notification settings should remain the same per Workflow 1 above. The folder configuration for Pitstop Server Advanced... has the setting for non-pdf files set for the MassTransit To Send folder. This insures that non-pdf production files are sent to your service provider regardless of preflight processing. Test Your Configuration You can test this setup by placing a postscript file in the In folder in the To Distill folder. After processing, you should receive an notification, a PDF file and PDF log file in the MassTransit Received folder on the MassTransit destination server. You can access the 9

11 MassTransit logs to be sure the file was delivered. Note that you need to be sure that your Distiller settings file and your Pitstop PDF preflight Profile settings are compatible. Other Recommendations for a Successful Implementation The following are tips and to help make your implementation a practical one. Simplify your preflight settings at first. When settings are set to a high threshold, it is likely that a high number of jobs will not be sent. Start with the most common preflight issues such as checking for missing placed elements, RGB color space or missing fonts. Pitstop Profiles and Actions can correct files before forwarding them. If you take the time to analyze failure reports when they occur, you can identify common problems that might be able to be corrected automatically. Be sure, however, to communicate these issues to the creative team. See the Enfocus documentation for more information on Pitstop Actions. Reports don t contain instructions: If you attach a failure report to an notification, be sure that the information in the report can be interpreted correctly by the recipient. Reports tend to provide many useful details but don t actually contain information about how to fix the file. In this regard, reports cannot substitute for good person-to-person communication for customer service. Enfocus error reports provide links to additional information about the error on their website for your reference. Two-Tier Configuration: If you are installing MassTransit and Pitstop each on their own server, place the MassTransit mailboxes on the Pitstop Server. This will speed up PDF preflighting for large files since Pitstop will not have to read the file over the network to process it. In many cases, MassTransit is set to move files only periodically. Forward Successful Files to a Another Workflow: If your prepress workflow system supports hot folders and the specifications are well defined and consistent, successfully preflighted PDF files can be forwarded by MassTransit to the In Box of another system. MassTransit actions can be used to configure your custom scripts to run after a file is received or other MassTransit events happen. For More Information: Group Logic, Inc North Glebe Road Suite 450 Arlington, VA Tel: or Fax: or info@grouplogic.com Recommended Resources Group Logic, Inc Enfocus Adobe 10

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