Click the Print Info button to reveal the Print Info section.
The Print Info area will display the document’s Print parameters based on the settings originally chosen in the application’s Page Setup window including the print resolution, line screening, the output quality, data format, if separations or spreads have been turned on, registration or printer marks setting and bleed value. Additionally, the Print Info area will indicate whether or not the document is to be printed in color or black & white, if there will be a reduction or enlargment scaling, as well as the orientation and paper size (if known). If any of the Print Info items appear in red, then FlightCheck has determined that there is some sort of problem.
Resolution
The output resolution (displayed in dots per inch) will be obtained from the document’s Print record. In some cases you may consider the resolution value to be a mere “recommendation” to the final output device, as it may not yet be determined if the device is capable of outputting at the requested resolution, but more importantly, the output resolution can often be manually changed at print time. Therefore, FlightCheck will usually ignore this value and will post no resolution error (unless the value is unknown).
Line Screen
The line screen value (displayed in lines per inch) is obtained from the document’s Print record (but can be overridden by the PPD).The line screen, also known as screen ruling or screen frequency, refers to the number of rows or lines of dots used to render an image on film or paper. The relationship between the output resolution (dpi) and the screen ruling (lpi) determines how fine or coarse a bitmap image appears on the printed output. The screen ruling to employ depends on the resolution of the imagesetter, the paper stock and the type of press used to print the publication. A newspaper, for example, is commonly printed using a low screen ruling of about 85 lpi because of the paper stock’s high absorbency of ink and the high speed of the press. A higher screen ruling would saturate the newsprint with ink and make the images look muddy. On the other hand, a four-color magazine printed on coated paper might use a screen ruling of 133 lpi. A lower screen ruling would make the images coarse and less detailed.
Output
The output type chosen for the document will be displayed as either Normal, Low Resolution or Rough. Sometimes there is a need to print a low quality or quick proof version of a document, and some applications even allow printing images as gray boxes in order to save time. But, should you forget to change the Output setting back to Normal, FlightCheck can be depended upon to remind you.
Data Format
The data format for printing the document, either ASCII or Binary, will be displayed. The data format refers to how data (such as the pixels of an image) should be sent to the output device. Some output devices can only accept ASCII data, whereas sending ASCII data to an output device which is capable of handling Binary data might simply increase the amount of time it takes to print the job.
Separation
The separation setting for printing the document will be displayed as either On or Off.
Spreads
The status for printing spreads, either On or Off, will be displayed.
Registration Marks
If print registration marks has been turned on for the document, the words “Centered” or “Off Center” will be displayed, followed by the offset value (if known), otherwise the word “Off” will be displayed.
Bleed
The bleed value (if known) will be displayed. This value represents the amount of distance an object should be extended beyond the edge of the page in order to account for any misregistration when cutting the paper.
Print
The color printing type, either Color, Colors to Gray or Black & White, will be displayed. Often one might print a quick draft of the document by selecting Black & White, then forget to change this back to Color when going for a final output, in which case FlightCheck will be able to alert you of this fact.
Scale
The scaling factor, Enlarge or Reduce, which has been set for printing will be displayed. Many times one may not have an in-house imagesetter capable of wide printing, and therefore one might elect to reduce the printout to have it “fit” on a Laser printer, but fail to remember to readjust the scale factor back to 100% before the final output, and this is the type of obvious mistake FlightCheck can be counted on to remind you about.
Orientation
The orientation for printing the document, either Portrait (upright) or Landscape (sideways), will be displayed.
Paper Size
The paper size (if known) which has been selected for printing will be displayed.