Apps for the printing industry are few and far between, as we mentioned in a recent Bindery Success article. Two new ones were just introduced by Manfred Breede, Professor Emeritus of Ryerson University’s School of Graphic Communications Management.
The first deals with the problem of ‘creep’ or ‘pushout’ when designing and laying out saddle stitched books. As folded signatures are inserted inside one another, the book gets thicker. Images printed on the inside signatures will creep closer to the trimmed face and images on the outside will appear to move closer to the spine. To compensate for creep, the images are re-positioned or ‘shingled’ according to where they fall in the book.
The old school way of doing this, and probably still the most accurate, is to fold, insert, stitch and accurately trim a dummy book made from the actual production paper. Open the book flat and you can then measure the amount of creep per page. To avoid compensating for very small amounts on each and every page, especially in a large book, the prep person will often select a target distance before making an adjustment. For instance, “we’ll adjust every time creep hits another 1/16”.
Most design programs will do this automatically but unless you know your paper thickness (caliper) and your program accepts such an input, the error could be substantial. Breede’s Creep (Pushout) App will make the creep calculation for you, based on caliper and page count.
The Gate Fold Template app helps designers or prepress workers plan a gate fold. Enter the gate fold’s final folded size and the desired gap between the gate panels. The app calculates each panel size and the total flat sheet size needed.
A third related app, the Gatefold Maker calculates buckle plate adjustments and panel sizes for a four-panel gate fold. Enter your Sheet length and the gap needed between the gates and it tells you where to set your fold plates.
Stay tuned for his next app, now in development, which is intended for calculating folding machine productivity. We’ll keep you posted! You can find a complete listing of Breede's apps here:
http://sites.google.com/site/iphoneappsforprinting/what-is-new
As always, feel free to share your comments and insights below.