About Schumann Printers, Inc.


On-line Services Pre-press Services Pathway / Remote File Formats Proofs Digital Proofs Color Separations Computer-to-Plate The Pressroom The Bindery Stitchers Perfect Binders Polybag Machines Special Inserts List Preparation Fulfillment Fulfillment Schedule The Boss	Customer Service Your first contact is the account executive. This person is well trained and has likely been with our company for many years. Your account executive along with the Customer Service Representative (CSR) work as a team to serve you. Your account executive, or CSR is easily reached by voice mail, E- mail or phone. On-Line Service At our site, in addition to e-mail, we have a forms section. Here you will find the forms to place an order or estimate, create a fulfillment schedule or view soft proofs. We also have a special information section. This section is reserved for customers viewing only and requires a password. Pre-press Services At Schumann Printers, Inc. we are very proud of our pre-press facility. Kent Eilenfeldt heads this department. He is on top of new technology as soon as it is released. As files are received, they are loaded and preflight begins. Two Duo Core processors create files for pre-flight, proofing, back-up, imposition and for reviewing on Remote in minutes. We provide fast turnaround by making use of the best and newest hardware and software. Keeping up with technology is very important in our electronic pre-press department. As our demands increase, we need to surpass our customers’ expectations. We have installed new ProCurve switches and software to accommodate additional network traffic. Our network is now supporting a larger SAN (storage area network). Making sure your orders are produced quickly is very important to your “on-time” needs. Common Problems to Avoid Incorrect page size. The document size should match the trim size of the job. Type near trim. Type that is placed near the trim could be trimmed off due to mechanical variance. Be sure that type or any other object not meant to bleed is at least 3/16" away from trim. Insufficient bleed. To ensure that an object prints to the end of the page, extend anything that should bleed 1/8" further than the trim on the top, bottom and face of the page. Poor RGB to CMYK conversion. In some cases, RGB images are converted to CMYK when a PDF is made. The results can range from good to very poor. It's a good idea to convert images to CMYK in Photoshop to avoid any poor conversions. Low resolution or low quality images. Because images come from many different types of media, the resolution and quality can vary. It's a good idea to open the PDF's you create and check the quality of the images. If an image looks poor in the PDF, it will also look poor when printed. High ink density. SPI recommends no more than 280% total ink density. Cyan + Magenta + Yellow + Black = ink density. Faded or washed out black. A "rich black" should be used whenever large text, graphics, boxes or backgrounds are to print as black. Use the values of 40% cyan, 30% magenta, 30% yellow and 100% black, to create a rich looking black. Spot colors. Unless printing a 5th channel, spot colors will be converted to CMYK when processed. This means that the color will change and the printed piece will not match the PDF that was created. The color difference should be minimal, but there will be a difference. To avoid this, only use "process" colors. Fonts not embedded. Even though fonts may appear correctly in a PDF, if they are not embedded, they can not be processed. If you need any further explanation on any of these common problems, contact your CSR. (Customer Service Representative) PATHway/Remote Although we support many file formats including native applications. Most of our customers are providing PDF files from either QuarkXPress 6.52 or InDesignCS2. When providing PDF files, it is important to use the proper settings detailed in the download section of this website. When these settings are utilized and your files pass to our system, they become certified as PDF/X-1a. The pinnacle of pre-press automated file transfer and approvals systems is our new PATHway/Remote. This is a single page PDF remote workflow system. As you create your pages in the PDF format, you simply print them as easily as you would print to a Laser Printer. The file (page) is recognized in PATHway. Now the fun begins. PATHway has been previously set-up to provide you a custom specific workflow to meet your needs. The page is automatically pre-flighted and will either pass pre-flight or reject pre-flight. If it is rejected, you will be immediately notified by e-mail, containing the pre-flight report. Our pre-flight will automatically make structural corrections to your file, such as RGB to CMYK and many other repairs. You pay only for the accepted files. When the file is accepted, it proceeds thru the workflow to provide the characteristics to meet your specific needs. Your CSR will be notified via e-mail of all accepted files. Our system automatically saves your submitted PDF a PATHway PDF/X-1a and a 1 bit Tiff and a 2400 DPI remote proof file. These files are kept for a period of 90 days. Remember we have a Rip once, output many workflow, so all files are absolutely matching. For your security, we automatically mirror all files and send via fiber-optic to our other company building. All pages passing thru PATHway will be automatically uploaded on remote for your viewing, within a short period of time. Once a page is up on Remote for you to approve, you will automatically be sent an email. If you wish to submit a new file for one that has been approved, be sure to name it the same as the original file, and it will be overwritten at every aspect. Once we are notified by remote, that you have approved your pages, they are imposed for plating. Before the plating stage, we create an imposition color-calibrated proof for the use of our press personnel. There is no charge for this proof. All hard proofs are created at 300 dpi. Soft proofs on remote can be viewed at 2400 dpi. Because of our Gracol 7 technology, calibrated presses assure automatic color settings. There is no need for you to produce a proof for us. If you wish, Remote will allow you to download data for proofing at your site. When you use PATHway/Remote, you will be using the most economical digital technology for fast turn-around. No more saving your files on disc, no more FedEx charges, no more delays for proofs to pass back from our location to yours. It’s all done on the internet. Proofs SPI supplies both digital, hard or soft proofing over PATHway/Remote. PATHway/Remote lets you view resolved pages over the Internet, 24/7 anywhere in the world. Our new system places page proofs on-line the moment they are completed. With PATHway/Remote you can make annotations on screen and download accurate color proofs at your office. Digital Proofs We provide two versions of single-page digital proofs. Because our workflow creates a "rip once, output many" system, you are assured that the proof will match the file you have submitted. All proofs are created under the new Gracol 7 profile, SWOP. Color matches at press are assured by use of CLC (Closed Loop Color) press controls. Color Separations High-end color separations are provided as a same day service. Subjects are received and scanned. Your high resolution images are available via our FTP site. If requested, your images are recorded on CD for shipment via FedEx. Economical scatter proofs depicting exact color may be provided. Our color separations are inspected, color corrected and cleaned electronically. We guarantee excellent quality and economical pricing. Computer-to-plate All publishers are now taking advantage of CTP. CTP is economical and has gained a reputation for the best quality reproduction. Register and color are exact. Turnaround time is shortened. The Pressroom We have four web presses. The pressroom is under the direction of Mark A. Schumann. Under his guidance, we have the most up-to-date press technology in place. CTP plates are digitally created using CIP 3 technology. This technology creates a ppf file to carry color space settings for the press fountains at each press. Color-up is completely automatic and extremely accurate. Both time and paper are saved using this new technology. All presses are equipped with new CLC (Closed Loop Color) controls. SPI was the second printer in the world to have installed Closed Loop Color on all its presses. Every four impressions, color bars are electronically scanned and interpreted. Computers translate this information and set the color. SWOP density standards are consistent throughout the press run. All presses are equipped with automatic computer controls to assure paper guiding, tension and cutoffs. We provide, flat work, Varnish and UV cover coating with our press sheeters. All presses have folders to provide, 4 page, 8 page, 16 page and 32 page signatures. We specialize in magazine, tabloid and digest size publications. SUNDAY 2000 PRESS. One Sunday morning a couple of Heidelberg (former Harris) engineers met for breakfast, from inspired scribbles on a napkin, the new Sunday Press was born. Our new Heidelberg (Goss) Sunday 2000 is really on the cutting edge. Some of the unique features of the Sunday press are: tube-type blankets, auto-plate changers, and full JDF computer controls. This 8-unit press cruises 2000 feet per minute. Versatility is unsurpassed. Utilizing a double-former folder and a combination folder, we can produce four 4-page signatures, two 8-page signatures, two 16-page signatures, one 32-page signature, one 64-page digest signature and other special products, including the popular slim-jim catalog. The auto-plate allows us to change all 16 plates in less than four minutes. The cylinder blankets can be changed in less than a minute. Our Sunday 2000 is the most productive and competitive press in its category. The Bindery Our bindery is equipped with six saddle stitchers, two perfect binders, two auto-polybag machines, a tipper, two cutters, folders, autodrills, and an Auto Belly Band machine. Stitchers Two of our stitchers are new 18,000 per hour automatics. All stitchers are equipped with ink jet mailers, R packs, 2 auto-strappers and bundle loading. We have the correct saddle stitcher for both short and long runs. All stitchers have auto-load log feeders. Two of our stitchers have demographic capabilities. ST-400 Heidelberg Saddle Stitcher. We call it a stitcher, but it is actually a production system for binding and mailing magazines and catalogs. JDF (Job Description Format) is the protocol computer program which automatically configures and readies this system for production. Using our new Infinity Pre-press Work Flow, this system is programmed from the Pre-Press Department. The ST-400 is especially designed for short to medium runs utilizing the JDF programming. Running speeds are expected to average 10,000 per hour, top speed is 14,500 per hour. The computer-controlled system allows us to set up an additional job while the present job is running. Utilizing 12 bundle stream feeders, magazines can be bound and mailed with a minimum staff of an operator and 2 helpers. Downtime between jobs is expected to consist of less than 20 minutes. Our new Heidelberg stitcher will keep us price competitive. Perfect Binders We have two new Heidelberg UB 1 & 2 perfect binders. These binders are equipped with auto-stream feeders. Both tabloid and magazine configurations are daily fare. All binders are equipped with the newest technology. All binders are configured with R packs and strappers. Heidelberg UB-2 and UB-1Perfect Binder. Many new high-end perfect bound books are being ordered by our Publishers. In fact, our product mix is now nearly 35% perfect bound books. UB-2 is a high-speed (up to 18,000 per hour) 20-pocket binder. The UB-2 is a companion binder to our 24-pocket Heidelberg UB-1 (12,000 per hour) perfect binder. Both binders make it possible to keep our fast turnaround commitment. Polybag Machines Both polybag machines can bag, ink jet or label on the magazine or polybag. Both can automatically insert up to six pieces. Special Inserts We have two automated MBO off-line folding machines. We can provide almost any type magazine insert, or card. As a matter of fact, most publishers, prefer having us print, cut and fold their inserts. List Preparation At SPI we will prepare your mailing list to make sure you get all the postage savings you are entitled. Our "Postal-Soft" software is the most respected in America. There will be no delay, we'll make sure your list is ready at the right time. We fax for your approval. Digital information flows directly to the correct binder from our Postal-Soft department. Fulfillment Our shipping department makes extensive use of pool shipments. Plant load mail leaves every day for the Chicago sectional center. Shipments are easily tracked using our web-based Fulfillment Report. Just click on the tracking number and our software will immediately open UPS etc., to your exact package information. Fulfillment Schedule Now you can track your shipments over the Internet. The last and all-important service Schumann Printers, Inc. can offer is making sure all our customer's shipments are made in a timely manner. It's important to be able to know when a shipment was made, by which method and vendor and which employee, date and time SPI made that shipment. Our new Fulfillment Schedule does all that and in real time. You can fill out the form on the Internet. Our CSR will double check it and make any additions etc. You will be able to view it at any time. Our employees will view this information and make entries. You can track a UPS or FedEx shipment, by simply clicking on the tracking number, taking you to the exact package information on the vendor's web site. If you want delayed shipping, our software will track this and warn us of the shipment date. This Fulfillment Schedule will make your job easier and best of all shipments are verified. The Boss Daniel C. Schumann is the second-generation president of Schumann Printers, Inc. Dan is available at any time, for all our customers.