After formatting a working file, the Preview function allows you to accurately display the file on the screen. Previewing allows you to see an exact simulation of how the file will reproduce when printed.
- You can choose to hide or display the trap area to see how the design will appear when printed.
- Due to variations between printing presses, the tool can be used to see the different percentages of the minimum dots. Preview will show all of the screen dots that are smaller to the set percentage value of the minimum dot in the Illustrator file. If dot loss is a problem, this function can locate problematic areas before printing, and dot gain compensation can be applied.
- The Maximum Dot tool will show all of the screen dots that are larger than the set percentage value of the maximum dot. If there is dot expansion in printing, using this function helps you locate these dots before printing and apply dot gain compensation.
- The Total Area Coverage function will show all of the areas that are greater than the set percentage value of the total area coverage. If the printing ink layer is too thick, problems like incorrect hue, paper adhesion might occur. By using this tool, error-prone areas can be located and modified.
- The Opacity Preview is convenient for checking objects containing keepaway trapping areas where dark areas are not distinguished from other areas.
- The Zoom magnification (up to 100000%) can preview the smallest detail of the file.
- With the Show trapping layer function, you can check the trapping result conveniently by toggling the trap layer's show and hide icon.
- If your workflow includes comparing new prepress work to previous samples, the Comparison function can compare the current file opened by Illustrator with another file and display the differences. Under the Comparison function, most preview functions are allowed.
- The Calculate Ink Area function can calculate the ink area coverage of each ink channel after the file is saved. A .txt file can be exported and then input directly into an ERP system, which is useful for predicting the ink cost.
Limitations
- If there are more than 27 spot colors shown in the Adobe Illustrator color panel, the preview window will not display.
- The Preview window will not display objects on non-printing and hidden layers.
- Images in DSC1.0 format cannot be displayed.
- The Compare File functionality can be applied only to working files in Illustrator, PDF, TIFF, or EPS formats.