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Volume 8, Issue 3 When You Wish Upon a Star: Proteus Upgrade is a Dream Come True
For Proteus users, it’s pretty close to a dream come true. With several brand-new features, as well as a variety of user-friendly enhancements, this powerful software tool has just been turbocharged. What could be better than free publication-planning software to simplify the process of dummying your magazine? How about free publication-planning software with lots of powerful new features? Originally developed nearly 10 years ago and first offered to United Litho customers in the fall of 2000, EFI Proteus® was designed to permit editors, art directors, production managers and other publishing professionals to collaborate on the assembly of a publication. The end result is a digital “map” of an issue, taking into account insert positions, color imposition and ad/edit ratios. A great alternative to producing a magazine dummy with paper, pencil and a lot of eraser dust, Proteus provides a simple, elegant way to track advertisers’ requests for special position, manage different regional or demographic editions, streamline the process of making the last-minute changes every publisher struggles with and generate an error-free ad index. It’s been a tremendous time-saver for dozens of customers over the past five years. And its built-in conflict-checking makes it easier for harried editors and production managers to sleep at night. Beth Moorman, production manager for the National Glass Association, speaks for many when she says, “I love Proteus. I can finish a dummy in about half the time it used to take me on paper. I can’t imagine what I’d do without it!” But version 4.7.1, expected to debut in mid-August, goes well beyond what current users have come to expect. It includes more than a dozen usability enhancements—including the ability to create new items directly from the Master List, define different colors for ad items, access impositions directly from the Dummy window and modify all preferences within a single window. Even better: The new release makes it possible to export list window data (such as individual ads from a previous issue) from one file and import it into another, track up to nine levels of sales and production status, attach PDF images to the dummy (on Mac OS X and Windows 2000 and XP) and export accurate page geometry into either InDesign (on OS X, Windows 2000 and Windows XP) or Quark XPress (on OS X only). “We’re excited to have the resources and commitment to take Proteus to the next level,” says Marc Olin, vice president and general manager of EFI Commercial Print Systems. “We have a very loyal base of users who will finally have the enhanced functionality they've been clamoring for.” The new, customizable fields for tracking sales and production status are a welcome addition, especially for those customers who aren't already using a sophisticated ad tracking system. “These fields give publishers a way to consolidate this information and produce a variety of different reports,” Olin says. “This latest release has truly raised the bar on functionality and integration of features, both of which are critical to meeting the changing needs of our publishing customers. More than ever, Proteus streamlines the complicated process of publication planning and management, allowing our customers to focus on providing excellent service to their customers.” ULI Proteus Liaison Rebecca Hoeckele, who’s been “flight-testing” the new release since mid-February, is delighted that EFI has begun incorporating new functionality. “It’s very exciting to be able to quickly and easily display digital content on the dummy,” she says. “This is the first time it’s been possible to attach images on the PC at all, as well as the first time PDFs could be displayed on either platform. And to have those images placed automatically in InDesign or Quark when the page geometry is exported is just icing on the cake! With today’s PDF-based workflows, the PDF integration should be a real time-saver. “The new release takes even more of the headaches out of magazine production,” Hoeckele says. “And since ULI provides installation, training and ongoing support to its contract customers at no charge, the cost-benefit analysis is pretty straightforward. Really, the only investment the customer needs to make is setting aside the time for the training.” Wayne Peterson, ULI’s vice president of sales and marketing, shares Hoeckele’s enthusiasm for 4.7.1. “There are a lot of really neat features in this release—features that we think will be very attractive not only to current Proteus users, but to those customers who haven’t yet incorporated Proteus into their workflow. We’re really excited about it!” New adopters will train on 4.7.1 from the outset, while current users will get a chance to come up to speed at one of several 90-minute sessions at ULI’s Ashburn training center in late August and early September. “It’s not a matter of re-learning what you already know,” Hoeckele emphasizes. “Existing features may have some added polish, but the only substantive changes have to do with brand-new functionality.” She adds that v. 4.7.1 installers and updated user guides will be available to current users on ULI’s web site by Labor Day. More information about special supplemental training for version 4.7.1 will be provided to current Proteus users via email. To schedule first-time training, contact Rebecca Hoeckele at rhoeckele@unitedlitho.com. Diagnosing and fixing PDF errors If you’re having trouble placing a PDF in your document, here’s a quick list of symptoms and remedies: • Make sure the PDF has no security enabled. Load the PDF into Acrobat and look for a padlock icon in the lower left hand corner of the main window. You can disable security by going to File > Document Properties > Security and choosing “No Security.” You may or may not need a password. This happens all the time with PDFs generated from PageMaker. • If you get an error message like this — "The PDF file 'kk.pdf' cannot be imported because it is an unrecognized version" — check the version of the PDF. Quark 6.5 cannot place PDFs created by Acrobat 6 or 7. Either save the PDF as an EPS or use the Advanced > PDF Optimizer command to save the document to an earlier version. • This message—"Array length is out of range"—almost always occurs when the PDF was made with OPI enabled, and is the result of an exceedingly long pathname embedded in the file (e.g., “Macintosh HD/Magazine/2005/More/Art/ HugeFileName...”). Either remove OPI information with tools such as PitStop Professional or disable OPI altogether. Go into your Quark XTensions folder and move the file OPI.xnt to your XTensions (disabled) folder. • Quark users may get this cryptic message—"The file 'QuarkXPress 6.0' already exists in the specified destination. OK to replace it?"—when exporting PostScript or PDF files, even if their document is not named “QuarkXPress 6.0.” The cause is an output file name that is longer than 32 characters, including the extension (“.ps” or “.pdf”). Remember that the output name can be created automatically based on the layout or project name (which can be modifed under PDF preferences). If you get this message, no PostScript or PDF file has been created. Using shorter file names is a good idea anyway, since it lets you see more in dialog boxes. Be sure to avoid using slashes or colons in your artwork or PDF file names, as they will not be portable to another platform without changing the name and may keep Distiller from successfully creating a PDF. 100 C + 100 M ≠ Blue! We see this error a lot. In most desktop publishing programs, there is a built-in color named “Blue,” which is defined as an RGB color. Converting it to CMYK usually results in a color that is defined as 100% cyan and 100% magenta. Unfortunately, when printed, it doesn’t look very blue. The bottom line is that it doesn’t take much magenta to turn a color purplish. A good rule of thumb: If the color you’re defining has more magenta than cyan, it will look purple. A true blue is 95 cyan, 80 magenta and 10-35 yellow. A true red is 10-35 cyan, 95 magenta and 80 yellow; a true green is 80 cyan, 10-35 magenta and 95 yellow. Of course you can always pick out your favorite tint from a Pantone solid-to-process guide. Avoid using your screen to decide on a color. Ad-size calculator For those customers who need some help creating their media kit, we now have a new resource in the Production Tools area of this web site: a simple Excel spreadsheet to calculate ad sizes based on your magazine's trim size, margins, gutters, etc. Keep in mind, though, that a strictly mathematical calculation goes only so far. In general terms, you’ll want to make life easier for your advertisers by adopting sizes that are comparable to your competitors’. If our calculator produces dimensions that are significantly different from those of your competition, consider adjusting your margins or gutters instead. A faster OS X delete Stop wasting time clicking on and dragging your items to the trash can: simply press Command-Delete. Internet archive The internet is unbelievably large—and constantly changing. Imagine how much disk space and power you would need to create an archive of the net. Well, stop imagining. The free internet archive wayback machine lets you browse web sites of the past. See how the world reacted on 9/11. Or investigate how your association’s or competitor’s web site has evolved over the years. Cleaning LCD screens If you’re one of the lucky ones with an LCD/flat panel screen, be sure to use a cleaning solution specifically made for them, available at any office supply store. Solutions that contain ammonia will cause permanent damage. Cheri Gulius: Several Steps Ahead With 11 years in United Litho’s customer service department under her belt, Cheri Gulius has seen just about everything: every conceivable request from customers, tremendous technological advancements to keep up with those requests and a steadily evolving concept of what it means to provide extraordinary service. When she started out, Gulius says, ULI’s customer service representatives didn’t do much more than make phone calls to relay information. But over the years, their role has been redefined several times—and each time they’ve taken more responsibility for the customer’s satisfaction. These days, she explains, “there’s definitely more thinking involved. It’s like chess ... you always have to think two or three steps ahead of everyone else, looking for things that could go wrong, or things that could go even better with a little extra effort.” That extra effort has just propelled Gulius into the role of senior account manager, where she’s charged with strengthening the Client Services department through one-on-one training and coaching, as well as improving the internal resources available to the account managers. Client Services Manager Shannon Marzolf says Gulius’ proven technical competence, together with her energy and enthusiasm, made the job a perfect fit. “The account manager role is incredibly complex,” Marzolf says. “We have to be experts in so many areas that even the initial training is very time-consuming, and things change so often that it’s an enormous challenge to keep up with all of it. With Cheri stepping into this new role, I think that not only will we improve our performance internally, but our clients will benefit from having AMs who are better equipped to respond to their needs.” As the senior AM, Gulius will be revamping the existing training program, improving and expanding the Account Manager Intranet to make it easier to respond more quickly and effectively to customers’ concerns, providing ongoing coaching in the Toolbox order-entry software, developing and implementing new processes within the department, and researching and documenting “best practices” to improve both the quality of work delivered to manufacturing and the quality of the customer’s experience overall. And if that weren’t enough, she’ll serve not only as a “floating” account manager to assist any team that needs extra help on any given day, but as an honorary member of the Blue Team. Noting that Gulius has been “the glue that holds the Blue Team together,” Account Executive Dave Lageman adds that in her new role, she’s in a unique position to improve consistency across all three teams by sharing the benefit of her experience. “I believe that if we do our jobs well, we can help retain customers,” Gulius explains. “The bonds we create with them are incredible, and that’s what makes this such an important job.” Gulius herself says, “I think attitude makes a big difference in your job. If you enjoy your work, it shows. For me, job satisfaction comes from putting a smile on the customer’s face. It makes my day to make their day.” An Extraordinary Service Experience: Presstime What causes two companies with a good relationship to go their separate ways? For the Newspaper Association of America, it was a desire to move to a CTP workflow six years ago, before ULI had the technology in place. A nonprofit organization representing the $55 billion newspaper industry, NAA includes among its members newspapers and newspaper groups that account for nearly 90 percent of the daily circulation in the United States, as well as a wide range of nondaily U.S. newspapers and a number of Canadian and international papers. NAA’s flagship publication, Presstime, reaches over 20,000 newspaper executives and management staff. Computer-to-plate workflows were advancing quickly in the newspaper industry in 1999, and ULI Account Executive Dave Lageman recalls that the editor at that time was anxious to experience CTP first-hand. “We told him ULI was two years away from a CTP workflow,” Lageman says, “and he felt that was too long to wait.” In May 1999, after eight years together, NAA left ULI and moved to Banta. “The irony is that we ended up moving to CTP six months later,” Lageman says with a rueful chuckle. Today, Rebecca Ross Albers, a veteran staff member who formerly worked for The Miami Herald, is Presstime’s editor, and the magazine is once again being printed at ULI. “NAA had a great relationship with ULI,” Albers says, “and it was a tough decision to leave, but we wanted to be on the cutting edge. We wanted to move the magazine forward and go CTP.” Albers notes that Banta was responsive to Presstime’s needs and helped them transition to a CTP workflow, but “we felt like a little fish in a big pond.” She explains that their production schedule had to be juggled a bit and that logistics got more complicated, both for shuttling materials and proofs and for scheduling press checks. When the bid process came up at the end of the contract with Banta, the relationship Lageman had worked so hard to maintain—together with the investments ULI had made in technology—stood him in good stead. “We were happy to see ULI was right up there with their technology advancements,” Albers says. By April 2003, Presstime was back in the fold—with lots of new faces. “All the players were new, except for Rebecca,” Lageman says. Despite the new faces, Albers says the transition was very smooth. “The New Title Start-Up Meeting was great,” she says. “It was a new experience for a lot of people. It gave us a chance to meet people and put faces with the names. Things couldn’t have gone more smoothly —there were no issues at all.” Lageman says that “with NAA, it’s always been about the relationship,” and Albers agrees. “I think NAA and ULI have a strong partnership,” she says. “We don’t feel like we’re sending our job to faceless names. We don’t feel like just another number.” That’s due in large part to the kind of attention they get from their ULI account manager, Albers says, noting that she really likes the way her account manager troubleshoots when an issue of Presstime hits her desk. “She catches things all the time and calls me,” Albers says. “If she doesn’t understand something, she finds out—and she always gets back to me.” Art Director Pamela Higbie agrees. “We really receive excellent service,” she says. “ULI is always willing to answer questions and find solutions. Just recently, we had an issue where half of our staff who needed to see the proof was in Dallas. United Litho stepped up to the plate and made two proofs—sent one to NAA and FedEx’d one to Dallas. We were a day late getting the proof back, but everyone who needed to see it had a chance to!” That sense of partnership is also a result of the personal connection that Lageman maintains, from providing advice to sending rave reviews on their recent redesign. Higbie and Albers cite one example after another. “Recently I talked to Dave about changing paper,” Higbie says. “He got back to me with several samples, as well as a spreadsheet including different papers and their cost—I couldn’t believe it! I like that Dave gets excited over our paper upgrade … that’s really cool!” Albers says he’s emailed her to tell her how much he loves one of their covers, and Higbie adds that he also sent email after their redesign in April of this year. “The fact that he’s looking at our magazine consistently and emailing us about it makes us feel like ULI is really paying attention,” Higbie says. Lageman emphasizes that that level of attention throughout the process is a hallmark of United Litho, and makes possible the kind of print quality the Presstime staff expects. “First-rate print quality is the price of a seat at the table,” he says. “If we can’t provide excellent mechanical print quality, it almost doesn’t matter what kind of communication and service we offer.” Albers says that, obviously, it’s important to NAA, too. “Our readers are looking at print quality as closely as they’re looking at the editing and design. We strive for high quality in the reporting, writing, design, prepress—all the way through to the printing. With our readers, we have to be very careful. We can work and work and work on our end, but it doesn’t do us any good if the printer is not working towards the same quality outcome.” Higbie adds, “It’s comforting to know that when we finish on our end, we’re sending the magazine to professionals who know us and are going to take care of us.” And Albers sums up the relationship in two sentences: “We have a strong bond with United Litho because of the service we receive. It’s comforting to know that someone is backing you up.”
Copyright 1997 - 2009, United Litho, Inc. All rights reserved. |
