“OPI” literally means Open Prepress Interface, a name given to a specification developed in 1989 by Aldus Corporation. The goal of the specification was to establish a structure for linking existing high-end color systems to desktop publishing systems. Today, OPI has assumed a much broader role than the narrow focus of the original Aldus specification. OPI now refers to a general image-swapping procedure for page layout. Low-resolution image files—called “proxies,” “previews,” or “FPOs”—are used for page design. Subsequently, at print time, the low-resolution images are replaced by corresponding high-resolution files needed to obtain quality reproduction on press.
Image swapping then opened the door to what has become a second important function of OPI—managing high-resolution output with print services. Print services physically separate layout from output: the output can be in a different room, a different department, or miles away. It also enables layout and output be to scheduled independently. The two components—print services and image swapping—are bound tightly in the informal understanding of the term OPI. An “OPI server” has become synonymous with a client/server solution that offers this mix of functionality.
Recently, a variety of additional services have been added to the OPI framework, including links to ISDN, relational databases, and server-based image manipulation systems. It is clear that OPI provides the foundation for a family of client/server prepress applications that serve the printing and publishing industry as a way to automate production, and transform what traditionally has been an artisan activity into a manufacturing activity.
The purchase of an OPI solution is a business investment. Accordingly, the purchase decision is based on return on investment (ROI) considerations. The size of the investment in an OPI solution can range from $10,000 to $30,000. The return on this investment comes from these sources.
- First, OPI permits more productive work from the same number of design workstations. This benefit is most significant in environments where layout workstations are the bottleneck in the workflow. The effect is so strong that some advertising agencies and graphic design shops cost-justify an OPI solution even though they only have color printers and not imagesetters.
- Second, in some situations, OPI solutions enable prepress organizations to get more output out of the same number of printers and imagesetters. Prepress sites that are not able to organize the output function effectively benefit the most from this return. With OPI, they are able to queue up jobs and leave the scheduling and load balancing to the server software. In sites that do not have 24-hour staff, OPI servers offer the means to queue up jobs to run in the evening or overnight. This return accrues to sites where printing is the bottleneck.
- Third, in large sites, OPI is the basis for job specialization. It separates scanning from layout and both scanning and layout from output. Each of the three functions can be a separate department. This benefit is reflected in more work from the same number of staff.
- Fourth, when combined with database structures, OPI contributes to the direct automation of a myriad of prepress tasks.
- Fifth, OPI reporting functions, the job logs and error reporting are the feedback loops in a production workflow. They enable managers to monitor and measure productivity. They are the key to keeping control of the business.
These sources relate to improving output from a given number of workstations and output devices. Their impact is greatest where there is more work available than the business can handle. Typically, in these environments, the OPI solutions cost-justify themselves in just a few months. In fact, it is this high level of return on investment that justifies the rather high price of OPI software, compared to other prepress software applications.
OPI solutions have achieved prominence in professional publishing because they provide a productivity gain and expand market opportunities. The customers are satisfied, and many have reorganized their production workflow to take full advantage of task separation and specialization.