Sample Job Jackets workflow

This topic describes a suggested workflow for Job Jackets. Note that this is not the only possible workflow; it is just an example to show how Job Jackets can be used. The following definitions are used:

  • Job definer: The person who knows what the print job is supposed to consist of — for example, number of pages, size, colors, and so forth.
  • Output specialist: The person who knows how a print job must be created and configured to print correctly on the target press.
  • Layout artist: The person who actually creates the layout in QuarkXPress.

The intended workflow for Job Jackets is as follows:

  1. An output specialist and a job definer work together to define the output specifications and rules that are appropriate for a print job (or for a set of related print jobs), including things like page size, page count, list of colors, trapping settings, style sheets, line thicknesses, and valid color spaces for imported pictures.
  2. The job definer uses these specifications and rules to create a Job Ticket template in a Job Jackets file. The Job Ticket template describes a particular project, and may include different specifications and rules for each layout in that project (here, we’ll assume only one layout is defined in the Job Ticket template). When the Job Jackets file is complete, the job definer gives the file to the layout artist.
  3. The layout artist creates a project from the Job Ticket template using the command File > New > Project from Ticket. QuarkXPress automatically creates a Job Ticket from the Job Ticket template, and associates the Job Ticket with the project. QuarkXPress reads the Job Ticket and automatically inserts all of the Job Ticket’s Resources into the project (such as colors, style sheets, and color management settings). QuarkXPress also automatically creates any layouts defined in the Job Ticket.
  4. Using the Job Ticket as a set of guidelines, the layout artist builds the layout. Periodically, the layout artist chooses File > Job Jackets > Evaluate Layout to verify that she is staying within the guidelines defined in the Job Ticket. When she does so, a dialog box lets her identify and navigate to any design elements that violate the rules defined in the Job Ticket. This lets the layout artist fix problems as they arise, rather than leaving them to be found at prepress.
  5. When a layout is complete, the layout artist sends it to output through any of several methods, including direct printing, Collect for Output, or export to PDF or PDF/X. If the Job Jackets file includes Output Specifications, those Output Specifications can be used to send the job to output to specific formats and with specific settings. Because the layout has been developed within the specifications provided by the Job Ticket template, the layout is correct when it arrives at the press.

Sample Job Jackets workflow