Printing projects in the business world continue to be an important tool for the marketing department to use. Even in today's digital world, business cards, brochures, posters and other forms of print still take their place.

Given the mechanical nature of many of today's printing processes and compatibility issues when working with digital files, printing quality control is vital. Here is a summary of the steps involved:

Preparation

You could argue that quality control starts with years of training by staff members and the experience that print workers have gathered during their work. For many print runs, the first real step in the quality control process is to verify the technical details of the print run with the customer and print management company. The offer will cover the number, size and expected completion date of any print runs. Any mistake here will be costly later.

Compatibility

The files must be converted to the correct file type, the colors must be in CMYK format, and all images and fonts must be accessible to the printing system.

Resolution and readability

The resolution of the images is checked to make sure there is no blur or pixelation in the finished product. The printers will also determine whether the text will be readable when printed.

Sorting, margins, bleeds

The layout and order of the pages must also be thoroughly checked before printing can begin properly.

These controls are very important in digital printing and represent perhaps the most important area of ​​quality control in 21st century printing projects.

Sample (Proof)

For everything but the smallest impression numbers, a proof is generated to give the customer an accurate idea of ​​what the final result will look like. While digital proofs are often used to check text, alignment, and layout, "wet" or "print" proofs are actually short runs on the press itself, using the type of paper that will eventually be used in the full run. This means wet proofs can be used to check color, but they are also much more expensive than digital proofs. Additionally, if you perform such a sample and you are not satisfied with an aspect of the print other than color (such as text size), the patterns will need to be changed.

Machine maintenance and controls

Professional printers carry out routine maintenance on their printers, ensuring that the machines always work efficiently. During each print run, the results will be checked periodically to make sure nothing is wrong. Although today's printers are much more reliable than machines used in the past, this type of quality control is still important.

Final test and delivery

Final products are usually inspected by the supplier before they are delivered to the customer and make sure that the customer's specifications are met.

As Matsaş, we work closely with all our suppliers and customers to make sure you are satisfied with the final result.