Illustrator Preflight

Illustrator Preflight Check

Comprehensive pre-press quality check workflow for Illustrator documents.

Workflow

Execute these 3 tool calls in parallel, then analyze results together:

Step 1: Parallel Data Collection

Run simultaneously:

1. preflight_check — core checks (RGB, links, resolution, fonts, overprint, transparency, spot colors)
2. get_overprint_info — detailed overprint analysis (paths, text, raster images) with a heuristic label per item
3. check_text_consistency — dummy text, notation variation detection, and full text dump for LLM analysis

If user specifies a target PDF profile, pass target_pdf_profile: "x1a" or "x4" to preflight_check. If user specifies DPI threshold, pass min_dpi to preflight_check (default: 300).

Step 1b: Conditional Follow-up

If preflight_check reports spot_color warnings, run get_separation_info to get detailed plate information and usage counts. preflight_check flags every spot swatch defined in the document; get_separation_info tells you which ones the artwork actually uses (separations with usageCount / hiddenUsageCount) and which are only leftover swatches (unusedInks). Its scope lists what was not scanned (placed files, patterns, symbols), so an unused ink may still be used there.

Step 2: Analyze and Classify

Read references/preflight-rules.md for severity levels and judgment criteria.

Before classifying, check what was actually inspected:

• coverage (in preflight_check): each check is checked, partial, skipped or not_applicable. A partial or skipped check is NOT a pass — its note says what was not inspected (e.g. symbol contents, linked files whose resolution cannot be measured, live effects under PDF/X-1a). List these in the report.
• Capped results: preflight_check keeps at most 20 entries per category and folds the rest into one summary entry (details.totalCount, details.omittedUuids); truncated: true is set when this happens. Use categoryCounts for real totals when counting issues — do not count the entries in results.
• scope (in get_overprint_info): overprint inside placed files, symbols, meshes and Appearance-panel fills/strokes is not inspected, so overprintCount: 0 does not guarantee the file is free of overprint.

Merge results from all 3 tools into a unified report, grouped by severity:

1. Critical — Must fix. Blocks submission.
2. Warning — Review recommended. May or may not need fixing depending on context.
3. Info — Awareness items. No action required unless relevant.

For overprint results, cross-reference the heuristic label from get_overprint_info. It is inferred from color values only and cannot know the designer's intent, so recommend confirming with Separations Preview:

• k100_overprint: Suppress from report (standard practice)
• rich_black_overprint: Include as warning if ink coverage exceeds the limit for the paper type (uncoated: 300%, coated: 350%, newspaper: 240%). If paper type is unknown, ask user or use 300% as default.
• spot_overprint: Info — usually intentional (e.g. varnish or special-ink plates); ask if unsure
• likely_accidental: Escalate to critical
• no_effect: Info — overprint is set on a side with no paint; harmless
• raster_overprint: Warning — overprint on a raster image; needs manual review

For text consistency:

• Dummy text hits → critical (must replace before submission)
• Notation variations (katakana, fullwidth/halfwidth) → warning
• Use allTexts from check_text_consistency for LLM-driven deeper analysis: look for typos, version mismatches, inconsistent terminology, and any other anomalies that regex patterns would miss.

Step 3: Report

Present results as a structured summary in this order:

## Preflight Results: [document name]

### Critical Issues (X items)
[List with object UUID, description, and recommended action]

### Warnings (X items)
[List with context-dependent guidance]

### Info (X items)
[Brief notes]

### Not Fully Checked (X items)
[Checks marked partial/skipped in `coverage`, and what was outside the scan scope]

### Summary
- Total issues: X critical, X warnings, X info (use `categoryCounts` totals)
- Submission ready: Yes/No (never "Yes" while a relevant check is partial/skipped — say what still needs manual review)

For each critical issue that is auto-fixable (e.g., white overprint), offer to fix it immediately.

Context-Dependent Decisions

Some checks require asking the user before acting:

• Non-outlined text: Ask whether the print shop accepts font-embedded PDFs before recommending outlining
• Spot colors: Ask whether spot colors are intentional (special ink printing or should be converted to CMYK)
• Transparency with PDF/X-1a target: Flag as critical; with X-4 or no target, flag as warning. With target_pdf_profile: "x1a", coverage.transparency is never fully checked (it becomes partial) because live effects (drop shadow, glow, feather) are invisible to scripting — tell the user to check Window > Flattener Preview
• Fonts with PDF/X-1a target: preflight_check raises a pdfx_compliance error only for fonts that are not installed (they cannot be embedded). Installed live text is embedded at export and is not an X-1a violation — whether to outline it is the print shop's call (see Non-outlined text)
• DPI threshold: If user hasn't specified, use 300 for print, 72 for web/screen