Open source software in operational printing

There are a lot of holivars and separate articles on this topic, but I would like to tell you how I use only open source software in my company.

It all started with the fact that I had a KM Bizhub C220 printer and a cutter with a laminator. I was then involved in administration and software development (only under Linux), and also taught programming (C / C ++), and decided to try to make at least business cards in inkscape with rare use of Gimp, I already knew these applications. Difficulties began with the output to the printer, the Bizhub C220 then only came out and the PS driver for it was very raw. In order to adequately print, I had to use either Scribus or Evince (if it is a pdf) ...

A little bit about iron:

Server rack contains:

• Internet gateway, based on Celeron 2GHz, freepbx for telephony also runs on it;
• The server, based on AMD 6 cores at 3.2GHz, the file server and sometimes processes large images, also stores images for client machines;
• A couple of switches, voice gateways and a wifi access point.

Client machines:

• 2 pcs. based on Intel G860 with 2Gb of RAM and no HDD;
• 1 PC. based on Intel Athom, for web surfing.

Soft:

• OS - Ubuntu 12.04;
• Client machines are loaded via LTSP - Thick clients;
• Vector editor - Inkscape;
• Raster editor - Gimp, Krita;
• Layout - Scribus;
• Gluing pdf - pdfshuffler;
• Build pdf into brochures - psutils;
• Console utilities for working with raster - imagemagick;
• Joomla order management has its own ticketing system.

Typical duty cycle:

1. The customer creates a request in which he describes his wishes. This can be done using the application form on the site, or by regular e-mail. Allowed to attach images that I would like to see in the product, or a finished layout.
2. One of the employees is processing the order. If necessary, the layout is drawn, if the customer does not have it. The compliance of the layout with the requirements is checked (mainly the dimensions, so that they are proportional to the required after printing and the resolution is not lower than 300dpi).
3. The layout is loaded into a “calculator”, in which the percentage of color is filled, the circulation, the type of product, paper, etc.
   Calculator view

   
4. Every new letter is a new ticket. True, the problem arises that customers sometimes strive not to respond to tickets, but to create new ones. So far, we are trying to deal with this problem with a reminder about this at the end of each letter; we have not yet found another method.
5. Orders are created for this application.
   
   
   Order type with orders

   
6. The order is coordinated with the customer at the price, terms, etc.
7. Another employee, the one who is a printer, receives an agreed order that needs to be delivered before the others. And prepares it for printing.
8. The file is converted to the printer color space (krita or imagemagick), placed on a sheet in Scribus (for different types of business cards there are ready-made templates, you just need to select an image in the block, and duplicate the block as many times as necessary), send to print by selecting print options (thickness paper, chromaticity, 1- / 2-side).
9. After receiving the prints, the necessary post-processing activities are performed and the order is ready.

The main problem at startup was to learn how to use the maximum capabilities of open applications, while on the network there are mostly only instructions and tutorials for Corel Draw or Photoshop. It turned out to be even more difficult to teach employees to do the same; in this question, Michael Gerber’s book “The Business Myth” and Eliyahu Goldratt, “The Goal” and “Goal 2”, help.

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And so, operational printing using open source can exist, and even compete with the owners of Corel Draw, Adobe Ilustrator, etc. For several years, this market has created the impression that all advertising agencies and printing houses use only Corel, and they do it not very well, but this is something like a continuation.



PS: In the following articles, more detailed coverage of my order management system, analysis of examples of creating layouts for different products, as well as features of working with laser color printers are planned.