Print: The Final Frontier
Channel: Linux.conf.au 2011 -- Brisbane, Australia
Date: 2014-11-23

Presenter(s): Jon Cruz
URL: http://2011.linux.conf.au/programme/schedule/view_talk/142

Linux and open source in general have made great inroads into the graphics art world in the past decade. Their adoption in the movie industry is unquestioned, with the likes of Pixar, Weta Digital, Digital Domain, Disney, Dreamworks, ILM and others all embracing them. However, there is still an area that remains largely unconquered. This industry is long overdue to see the benefits others have long enjoyed, and it is the next frontier: print and pre-press.

Proprietary vendor-locked standards, heavy inertial, and fairly arcane knowledge have let this area lay fallow for far too long. Complicating the hold of traditional methods, is the lack of awareness that abounds. Both those in the industry being unaware of the potential for alternatives and also the people who could bring improved open source solutions being unaware of the complexity and requirements of the field are slowing adoption.

This situation, however, is ready to change. Those in the open source community have been working on collaboration across the board, including solving technical issues and enhancing workflows for many areas. Color management and proprietary color standards are just a few of the issues being addressed. At the same time, those in the industry including different ink and paint vendors are now aware of a looming paradigm shift, and have been taking proactive steps to move with the times. Additionally, even some nations have stepped up to promote and enhance the use of Linux and other open solutions.

This talk will first cover an overview of the history and some issues that need to be addressed for the print industry, including how items such as lack of support for color management and proper CMYK have been blocking people from moving to open solutions. Though much now has changed, the artists and users in the pre-press world still perceive things to be just toys and not ready for real work.

Following that groundwork will be a shift to touch on some of the author's experiences of being pulled into implementing, supporting, and championing the use of open source solutions for the pre-press arena. The collaboration between projects such as Inkscape, GIMP, Scribus, Krita and others have spurred significant improvements in many areas needed for professional pre-press work. The latest of these has spurred the author to collaborate with others in different projects and create Viaduct to help manage assets and workflow and fill in the gaps.

Finally the talk will cover what needs to be done to help Linux and open source be taken seriously for professional work. From developers, through to artists and even end users, anyone who might have any reason to be interested can help make a significant impact. Efforts such as those underway in Brazil and elsewhere will be touched on. From joining such efforts, contributing code, or even talking to those in the print industry, most anyone can help spur adoption in this graphics frontier.

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