Every job checks its settings against its pages as soon as it is created, and again after every change. The results are listed under Checks at the top of the job's settings, errors first, and each separation with a problem shows the icon next to its name.
Errors, warnings and notes#
Every check has one of three levels, and only errors stop a job.
- Errors block the job: Screen plates stays greyed out until they are fixed ("Fix the errors first."). The Screening page shows how many a job has.
- Warnings point at something likely to go wrong on press, such as moiré or missing fonts. The job can still be screened.
- Notes are for information, such as an unusual ruling or a page that takes longer to screen.
The same rule for several separations is listed once: "Cyan, Magenta: 65 grey levels per halftone cell…". Warnings and notes are kept in the job's report.
Every check#
The messages below use example values.
| Message (example) | Level | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Cyan: the ruling is too fine for 2400 dpi. | Error | Lower the ruling, or raise the resolution: dpi ÷ lpi must be at least 4. |
| Cyan: 65 grey levels per halftone cell at 300 lpi and 2400 dpi. Flat tints stay accurate (supercells), but long vignettes may show steps; 150 levels or more avoids them. | Note | Raise the resolution or lower the ruling if the job has long vignettes. |
| Cyan: 300 lpi is outside the usual 120–200 lpi for this press. | Note | Check the ruling is what the press and paper need. |
| Cyan: 45° is a multiple of 15°, which risks moiré with the anilox. | Warning | On flexo, move the angle off the 15° steps (the flexo presets use 7.5°, 37.5°, 67.5° and 82.5°). |
| Cyan: an FM dot of 11 µm needs a plate and press that hold it (20 µm or more is usual). | Warning | Use a larger FM dot unless the plate and press are made for it. |
| Cyan and Magenta are only 10° apart (at least 30° avoids moiré). | Warning | Spread the angles: 30° between two of Cyan, Magenta and Black, 15° to Yellow. |
| PMS 185 C shares its angle with Magenta where they overlap on page 2. Use FM or another angle. | Warning | Give the spot another angle, or screen it FM. |
| Choose at least one separation to output. | Error | Tick at least one separation in the Separations table. |
| 2000 dpi is not a common platesetter resolution. | Note | Check the resolution matches the platesetter. |
| Platesetter A images at 2400, 2540 dpi only. | Error | Choose one of the platesetter's resolutions. |
| Curve Press 150 is not made for resolution 1270 dpi. | Warning, or Error when the curve blocks jobs outside it | Choose a curve made for this job, or change the curve's Made for settings. |
| The first problem with the file names, for example “The file name needs {sep} or {sep_short}”. | Error | Fix the File names template (see the message for what is wrong). |
| The page's own error, for example a damaged page. | Error | The page could not be read. Fix the PDF and create the job again. |
| A warning about the source, for example “Postcard A uses a generated bleed file.” | Warning | Check the source before screening, as the message says. |
| Page 2 uses 12 spot colours; at most 10 can be output. Mark die lines, glue and similar inks as technical, or leave spots out. | Error | Mark die lines, glue and similar inks as technical, or remove spots from the PDF (an unticked spot still counts: it is still rendered). |
| Page 2 is too large for a TIFF at 2400 dpi. | Error | Lower the resolution, or screen a smaller page. |
| Page 2 combines transparency, spot colours and page rotation, which cannot be screened yet. | Error | Remove the page rotation in the PDF, or flatten its transparency. |
| Page 2 combines transparency with spot colours: it takes the slower contone path. | Note | Nothing to do: the page just takes longer to screen. |
| Ghostscript reported problems reading the PDF: … | Warning | Check the PDF: the plates may not match what the file shows elsewhere. |
| Fonts not embedded: Brand Sans. Ghostscript substitutes another font, so text may reflow or change shape. | Warning | Embed the fonts in the PDF and create the job again. |
| Standard fonts not embedded (Helvetica): Ghostscript uses metric-compatible replacements. | Note | Usually fine; embed the fonts to be sure of the exact shapes. |
| 3 RGB images will be separated with the default colour conversion. | Warning | Convert the images to CMYK before screening if the colour matters. |
| Not enough disk for this job (12.4 GB needed, 3.1 GB free). | Error | Screen fewer pages or at a lower resolution. If it keeps happening, contact support. |
| The file has no trap layer: traps must be made in the 1-up editor before screening. | Warning, or Error when the press or profile requires traps | Add traps in the 1-up editor, or choose another trap layer setting. |
| The file is marked as trapped by another application: its traps print as they are. | Note | Nothing to do: the file's own traps print. |
| Page 2 has no margin of 6 mm outside the artwork and bleed, so registration marks are left out. Use the media box extent or a larger sheet. | Warning | Use the Media box extent or a larger sheet, or switch registration marks off. |
| Page 2 has no margin for plate labels outside the artwork and bleed. | Warning | Use the Media box extent or a larger sheet, or switch plate labels off. |
| Page 2: the margin is too narrow to set the plate labels side by side, so they share one position (each plate reads correctly; on the printed sheet they overlap). | Note | Nothing to do: each plate still carries only its own label. |
| Page 2 is rotated: registration marks and plate labels are not added to it. | Warning | Remove the page rotation in the PDF if the page needs marks. |
| Page 2 declares PMS 185 C, but Ghostscript made no plate for it: its colour space may be broken, so it would print in CMYK instead. | Warning | Check the spot's colour space in the PDF. |
| White is not output but still knocks out the plates underneath. Mark it technical if it is a die line, glue or white ink. | Warning | Mark the ink technical if it is a die line, glue or white ink. |
How the screen checks decide#
- Resolution and ruling: an AM ruling needs at least 4 device pixels per line, or the job can't be screened. Under 150 grey levels per cell, there is a note.
- Usual rulings per press type: offset sheetfed and web 120–200 lpi, newspaper 65–120 lpi, flexo 85–200 lpi. Custom isn't checked.
- Angles: of the process colours screened AM, any two of Cyan, Magenta and Black should be at least 30° apart, and Yellow at least 15° from each of them. Angles are compared every 90°, or every 180° when one of the two uses a line dot.
- Spots: an AM spot with more than 5 % of its area on a page under another AM ink, at an angle within 2° of that ink's, gets a warning for that page.
- Flexo: on a flexo profile, an angle that is a multiple of 15° gets a warning.
- FM: an FM dot that comes out smaller than 20 µm on the plate gets a warning.
- Resolution: anything but 1,200, 1,270, 2,400, 2,540 or 4,000 dpi gets a note; a resolution the job's platesetter doesn't list is an error.
- Curves: a curve used outside what it is made for warns, or blocks the job when the curve says so (see Plate curves).
Checks that come from the file#
The preflight's findings are checked too: more than 10 spot plates on a page, a page too large for a TIFF at the resolution, rotated pages that combine transparency and spots, fonts that aren't embedded, RGB images, spots the file declares but never renders, and whether there is disk space for the job. Imposition sources add their own warnings, such as an artwork that uses a generated bleed file.
The trap layer check follows the job's trap layer setting (see Output settings), and the mark checks its registration marks and plate labels (see Output settings).