April 28, 2003 - Digital Directions shows what should happen to a customer-created file as it moves through a printing organization and into production. Written for small commercial and quick printing companies, Digital Directions describes the standards a printing company should use when accepting files and how customers should prepare the files before they arrive in the desktop publishing department. Giles outlines the procedures printers should use that will assure the files are correct when received from the customer. He summarizes the roles of the customer, the sales staff, production manager and desktop publishing staff in the workflow as the file moves through the organization. The book also offers suggestions on pricing customer-created files to keep companies from losing money when fixing file problems. Digital Directions explains what software applications printers should support and why; the importance of the production manager in the work flow; what graphic formats work; special programs that help customers preflight files before sending them to the printer; and what tools the desktop publishing staff need to avoid customer-created problems. According to Giles, most printers accept any customer-created file and become victims to customer mistakes. Errors in customer-created files can cause production delays and lost revenue. Since many printers have no standards for customer-created files, they feel they can't refuse files or charge to correct the customer-created errors. To most printers, customer-created files are a money-losing inconvenience. Digital Directions gives printers a set of guidelines that will help identify problems before they reach production and allow the printer to charge the proper fees for correcting files. "Digital Directions provides a printer with procedures for accepting customer-created files than are easily understandable," said Giles. "Once the staff understands and implements the standards, it will be easier to train the customers to follow the procedures." For the sales staff, Giles focuses on the key information they must understand to communicate with the customer. Giles outlines the core information that a sales person must know to increase their comfort level when dealing with customers about digital files. Giles also explains the important role the production manager has in the digital workflow. The production manager serves as the key filter between sales and the desktop publishing staff to make sure the DTP staff has the information they need to output the file properly and that the work can be completed profitably for the price charged. Digital Directions clarifies the systems and procedures the desktop publishing department should use to meet the needs of the customer and the profits needs of the company. It also outlines the staff training requirements that the DTP staff will implement for the organization. The new book builds on the information Giles published in his book the Digital Original. This manual teaches printers how to teach their customers to create Postscript files, the basis of a PDF workflow. Digital Directions goes further and explains how to merge Postscript training with a complete digital workflow. Digital Directions will be released in mid-May and cost $40 plus shipping. For more information, visit Giles' web site at www.johngiles.com or call 304.586.3548. Giles is the owner of The Giles Group, a consulting company specializing in desktop publishing in the quick and small commercial printing industry. Based in Winfield, West Virginia, Giles provides consulting on desktop publishing productivity, issues for quick and small commercial printers. He also conducts onsite digital reviews for companies to assure they are meeting the ever-evolving industry standards for accepting customer-created digital files and have procedures and training in place to make file transfer easy. He is the author of The Digital Original: How to handle customer files without becoming a service bureau; Digital Dialog: How to talk with quick printing customers about computer files, and The DTP PriceList on Disk, a desktop publishing pricing guide for quick printers. Giles is a consultant and technology director for PrintImage International, a printing association for quick and small commercial printers. He is also a contributing editor for Quick Printing magazine and has published articles in other industry trade publications. He was awarded the Industry Award of Distinction by National Association of Quick Printers in1995. The award is presented to a non-quick printer who has supported and consistently contributed to quick printing as a whole. He is a graduate of Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, with a degree in Journalism.