Organization of the Automation Engine Pilot workflow of the Esko company for the labels packaging products pre-print preparation

The article describes the organization of the Esko company work flow for the pre-press preparation of label and packaging products. A workflow is defined as a set of steps from receiving an order to producing finished products. At the same time, this process includes conducting negotiations regarding the order agreements, costing, planning the execution of the order, and monitoring the use of various equipment, software tools, employees’ working time, and much more. The analysis shows that placing an order, pre-press preparation, as well as post-press and finishing work processes together lead to a greater expenditure of time and money than the actual printing. As a logical consequence, the effective transfer of work from one stage to another is necessary, in other words, organization of the work flow. In modern conditions, this becomes one of the decisive factors for the success of all operational activities and, as a result, the profitability of the company. The printing industry has been constantly changing in recent decades, the progress increased in the second half of the nineties of the last century, and it almost does not decrease even now. At the same time, important structural changes are taking place. Currently, pre-press operations are separated from actual printing and are in many aspects a separate group of operations performed outside the printing house. This means that printing houses have new clients they serve – prepress companies. In our country, the functions of prepress companies are also performed by prepress services of publishing houses, printers, design studios, advertising bureaus, etc. Taking into consideration the existence of organizationally independent prepress companies, printing houses serve them and their new customers-affiliates. Prepress companies now are dealing with direct customers, hence the customers receive the completed work (usually a print run) from such companies, and they present all claims to them. As a result, pre-press companies in a certain sense control the work of printing houses. Effective cooperation and organization of the end-to-end work flow at various stages of the printing business become a guarantee of both speed and quality of operational execution.

Keywords: work flow, software, digital photopolymer plates, flexographic printing form, flexographic printing, label and packaging products.

doi: 10.32403/1998-6912-2023-2-67-32-41