The word "workflow" has been used so far, so I believe many people do not know what it really means. I always think that printing is not a "single" workflow but a complex of a series of workflows. Now let me explain to you:
A workflow is a process consisting of a series of discrete tasks; a series of processes that produce a product or a behavioral network that implements something.

The production process of each print job begins with the fact that creativity has finally come true. Between these two points, different people need to use different technologies to complete different jobs at different times and places. Some may say that all these steps can be added to a workflow, but the prerequisite for this is that each job can use the same steps. Of course, we can define macro operations, but each job is composed of many micro operations, and the final result of each micro operation is input to the next macro operation.

Marketing workflow

When people decide to use print or other media to promote a product or service, inform or educate viewers or produce products that are about to be sold, then what they use is the marketing workflow. This process is designed to budget, media selection and channel decisions. The end result is getting a product that people want - brochures, flyers, ad inserts, or postcards - that will work with TV, Internet advertising, and other media. All marketing workflows started as people wanted to sell something to others, and their end result was the development of marketing materials and activities.

Creative workflow

To transform marketing goals into reality, graphic designers, writers, photographers, and illustrators must cooperate with marketers to create the ideal print. At the beginning, people can use computer programs to make thumbnails or sketches. Then the designer spends a lot of time modifying these patterns to bring them closer to the finished product, allowing marketing and corporate decision makers to see the end result of the product. In the past, the authoring workflow was only related to operations such as typography, color separation, data statistics, and collage. However, today, designers have to control the entire process. In addition, they need to output preview previews through the digital printer so that customer pages can be viewed. Inspection and signature approval. The end result of the creative workflow is a document that can be printed - this document will be sent to the printing service.

Business workflow

From the creator's point of view, they can select services through some bidding activities and must issue purchase orders and set work rules. In addition, they also cooperate and coordinate with warehouses, packaging centers, postal departments, and other service departments.

In terms of services, people need to plan jobs, order paper and consumables, coordinate with other service organizations, evaluate costs and prices, and arrange working hours. Job information includes metadata, specifications, and performance indicators in the production process; while enterprise information includes production-related data, non-production information (such as sales reports, credit information, billing, accounting, and tax information, etc.) and supply chain Information, including inks, plates, paper, chemicals, lubricants, etc. People want to list and purchase all the necessities, and store and manage them. In most cases, all job-related information is collected in a work order or folder, but some information is stored on the computer. The goal of many MIS systems is to integrate these two steps together.

Prepress workflow

The prepress workflow is a document preflight service provided by a printer or prepress company that allows people to discover any problems with the document. This is a very important step, and it requires a lot of tools. In a strong contractual relationship, people usually use PDF files. In other cases, it may be a folder containing applications, fonts, images, and reports. The first product obtained from the pre-press workflow is a proof sheet, which is mainly used by customers to sign the sample. Therefore, it is referred to as “the same sheet”. As customers change the proofs, this workflow will also be interrupted several times. Therefore, the pre-press service department can produce a page proof so that customers can check and send the contents. After the sample is signed, the final document will be sent to the platesetter and the plates will be exported. Some people think that the final product of the prepress workflow is this file, which is part of the printing job. But I always think: The product of the prepress workflow is to be printed.

Printing workflow

Plates, paper, ink and other materials are sent to the press, and printing preparation can begin. Sample sheets can be used as reference points. Depending on the configuration of the press, the paper may have to pass through the press once or twice. The final product of sheetfed printing is a series of printed single pages. The final product of web printing is usually a folded signature. For digital printing, documents are sent to the front-end system, stored and assigned to a paper tray for subsequent operations. Setting the lithographic ink with the prepress data enables the three areas of prepress, platemaking and printing to communicate.

Postpress processing workflow

Printed pages are sent to the bookbinding department for processing such as cutting, folding, stapling and packing, and are transported to the discharge or mailing area. If the signatures are output from a web press, they can be bound directly because they are already folded. Sheet-fed pages must first be folded unless the final product must be cut. Postpress systems can be integrated with digital printers.
Delivery workflow

The printed product is sent to the internal mailing department, mail service organization, or packaging service organization. In the printing of journals, catalogs, and direct mail products, address information was added primarily to the last operating step of the gutter. If you want to use external mail, people must write the address in the mail box. Then, the materials that need to be mailed are sent to the post office. Of course, some products need to be sent to the customer's office or warehouse.

Billing/Archive Workflow

The job folder is sent to the billing department to check if the operation meets the order requirements. This information can be obtained by collecting the content of each person who has contacted this order and fed back to the MIS system. The quotation given by the billing department must be based on the original valuation plus the costs of modification and additional operations. In addition, the document that has been processed to be erased can be archived so that it can be readily used when reprinting.

It should be pointed out that many of the existing workflows are irrelevant to the printing process. Most of them are the product of workflow automation and can simplify and integrate the operation steps. All work processes are proprietary products. No matter what others say, sticking to the real standards is the most important.
The Internet is a network of all networks, and printing is a workflow that integrates all workflows.