Preflight checks a print PDF before it goes to press: fonts, image resolution, colour spaces, ink coverage, bleed, small text, thin lines, overprint and more. It checks the file against a profile and gives you a report with every problem it found, where it is on the page, and a fix for the problems that have one.
Where preflight runs#
- On upload. Every new version of an approval artwork is checked as soon as it is saved, with your team's default profile. The artwork list in Approvals shows the result as a badge.
- When a PDF arrives in Files. New PDF versions in Files are checked with your team's default profile, and the file shows the result. See Running preflight.
- On the Preflight page. Run preflight checks a PDF you upload or drop on the page (it is kept in Files), an approval version you pick, or a PDF you choose from Files. See Running preflight.
- In the 1-up editor. The Preflight tab of an imposition artwork runs a report on the file in use. Once the artwork has a report, a new one starts by itself whenever the file in use changes (bleed, trapping, a revert).
- Through the API. See Preflight API.
A report checks the file as it is when the check starts, and keeps its result: a later version of the artwork gets a report of its own.
Profiles and presets#
A profile says which checks run, how strict each one is and whether a problem is an error, a warning or a note. Preflight comes with five built-in presets, one per kind of work: Digital print, Offset commercial, Wide format and signage, Packaging and folding carton and Flexo and labels. A team profile starts from a preset and keeps only what you change, so improvements to the preset still reach it. See The five preflight presets and Preflight profiles.
When you don't choose a profile, preflight uses your team's default profile. Without one it picks a preset that suits the artwork:
| Artwork | Preset |
|---|---|
| An approval version, a file in Files, or an uploaded PDF | Offset commercial |
| An imposition artwork with a die (die paths or a die ink chosen) | Packaging and folding carton |
| Another artwork of an offset imposition job | Offset commercial |
| Another artwork of a digital imposition job | Digital print |
What a report tells you#
Each report ends with one result: Pass, Warnings, Fail (at least one error) or Error (the file could not be checked). Each problem found is a finding with a severity, a message such as "Image prints at 150 ppi (1200 × 900 px); at least 300 ppi is needed.", its page and its location, outlined on a preview of the page. See Reading preflight results.
What counts as artwork#
Preflight checks what will print on the product, not everything on the page.
- The product edge is the die outline when the page has one, else the TrimBox, else the visible page. An imposition artwork brings its die; for other files, preflight looks for closed cut lines in the file (on up to 30 pages), so each side of a two-sided carton is measured against its own die.
- The artwork area is the product plus 9 pt (about 3 mm) all round, grown to take in the BleedBox when that holds the product. Slug text, colour bars and registration marks wholly outside it are left out of the artwork checks and the ink coverage.
- Technical inks and layers (die, cut, crease, perforation, score, fold, glue, dimensions, keyline and similar names) and finishing inks (varnish, spot UV, foil, emboss, white, braille and similar) are not artwork. They don't count towards ink coverage, text size, line width or tints. On an imposition artwork, the inks its line types mark as technical count as technical too.
- Hidden layers and registration colour are not artwork either.
Results are reused#
When the same file is checked again with the same settings, the report is filled from the earlier result without running the checks again. It still waits its turn in the background, so it can take a moment. A change to the profile, to the artwork's die, or a new version of the checks (the engine line on the report, the version of the checks) means a fresh check.
Words used here#
- Profile
- A preset plus your team's changes to it: the checks that run, their severity and their settings.
- Finding
- One problem found, with a severity, a message, a page, and up to 25 locations. Repeats of the same problem on a page are counted in one finding ("× 12").
- Severity
- Error, Warning or Info (shown as a note). Errors make the report fail; warnings make it end with warnings; notes are for your information.
- Fix
- A change preflight can make to the file for you, such as setting its page boxes. See Preflight fixes.
Sizes in preflight settings are in points: 1 pt is 1/72 in, and 9 pt is about 3 mm. See Units and measurements.