Full Speed Ahead

What is Full Speed Ahead?
Full Speed Ahead is a guide about how to make variable data PDF files what won’t slow down digital presses. It explains how everyone in the digital print supply chain can influence the efficiency of variable data print jobs. It’s an independent guide, written by Martin Bailey, the CTO of Global Graphics Software, and the primary UK expert to the ISO committees maintaining and developing PDF and PDF/VT. It’s in a practical format for easy reference with helpful illustrations, photos and explanatory diagrams. It shows real examples and looks at new sectors where VDP is used such as industrial inkjet. It is supported by a number of industry sponsors, inlcuding Delphax Solutions Inc, What They Think, Digimarc, Racami, HP, Kodak and Hybrid Software.

Who is it aimed at?
Anybody with a stake in variable data printing: graphic designers, print buyers, production managers, press operators and users of composition and other prepress tools.

I thought the Elan had a scalable RIP Architecture?
It does. The Elan product line uses our in-house developed RIP Farm build upon Global Graphics Harlequin, and it can be upgraded to solve very high complexity or poorly created files with “brute force”, but this guide provides for best practices that could save the additional expense of adding processing power to your RIP farm through education.

Why has it been written?
The impact of poorly constructed PDF files on production schedules has increased as press resolution, colorant count, speed and width rise, greatly increasing the data rate required to drive them. Yet there is a paucity of information to address the important question of how the internal structure of VDP jobs should be optimized for efficient processing. The main aim of the guide is to provide practical recommendations that help ensure that VDP jobs don’t slow down the print production workflow, without affecting the visual appearance that the brand owner, buyer or marketeer is trying to achieve.

How do I get the guide?
You can download it by clicking On This Link (no registration required – we want this to be freely available), or you can contact us to request a hard copy mailed to you free of charge by e-mailing sales@delphaxsolutions.com