Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Some presses, especially the modern computer driver models, are very
stable not only from day to day but throughout the entire press run. Some
newer presses can compensate for changes over the actual sheet on which
it is printing. There are, however, many older presses producing excel-
lent quality but only after a skilled pressman does the work necessary to
get that press behaving properly. By the way, that “correct” behavior can
be just about any condition the print shop feels is optimized for their
needs. That is, some printers go out of their way to make their presses
behave in a standardized behavior discussed later, whereas others feel the
need to exceed these standards. There are many variables in keeping
presses in a consistent behavior. Consistency is a key factor in success-
fully profiling any device. Therefore, for most users who are simply pro-
viding files for output to a print shop, aiming for the contract proof is a
more viable option. Press profiling is best left to those people who own
and control their presses.
SWOP and TR001
Do you know the old joke about the three biggest lies in the world? It's
too dirty to reprint here but one of the lies most people don't know about
is the one involving
SWOP
(Specifications for Web Offset Publications).
The SWOP committee came together in 1974 when a group of printers
formed this organization to provide some standards for web offset presses.
The web in this case shouldn't be confused with the Internet (World Wide
Web), but rather a printing process using large rolls of paper instead of
the alternative, which is a sheet-fed press (printing onto cut sheets). The
large rolls of paper were known as webs. In 1977, the SWOP committee
produced standards for printers to follow and have published updates
over the years. To clarify the goal of the SWOP committee, the following
quote from their mission statement follows.
SWOP Mission
The mission of SWOP is to continually raise the level of quality
of publication printing by setting forth specifications and
tolerances.
The SWOP committee is attempting to produce reasonable goals and con-
sistent expectations for print vendors to follow. The SWOP organization
publishes very detailed specifications about aim points that when fol-
lowed, produce SWOP press behavior. The bad news, and that big lie, is
that many printers tell their customers they conform and print SWOP,
when truth be told they are not anywhere near this condition. Ask a
printer what conversions to use for their printing process and they will
likely tell you, “we print SWOP.” More often than not, this isn't the case.
Many printers feel they need to modify the press behavior because either
they have no incentive to match a specified aim point or they feel that
