WORKFLOW: XPS Is In The House. So What?

Have you noticed that the prepress department has become boring and predictable? Compared to those white-knuckle days a decade ago, when imagesetters would spit out 20´ of PostScript error messages without warning, there seems to be little left to worry about. PDF/X, Web-to-print, workflow RIPs, JDF—all of these technologies have matured to the point where operator intervention is the exception rather than the norm.

But wait: Microsoft's XML paper specification (XPS) is about to crash the prepress party. JDF? Microsoft's never heard of it, and doesn't care how much you've just spent to implement it. Color management? XPS is the new expert, guzzling down your existing ICC profiles but then “improving” on the “inflexible workflow” of a technology the printing industry has worked on for more than 15 years.

PDF? Forget about it! XPS is Microsoft's “PDF Killer,” a new file format that's launching a turf war with Adobe for the hearts and minds of content creators—provided, of course, that they're using Windows Vista or an enhanced Windows XP.

There's no doubt that graphic artists laboring under previous versions of Windows have had it tough. The limitations of Microsoft's Graphics Device Interface (GDI) made it inferior to Apple's QuickDraw, and while users of Mac OS X have benefited from Apple's Quartz rendering system, PC artists have been stuck with only minor improvements to the original GDI model introduced in 1985. Microsoft Vista introduces a new approach, the aptly named Windows Color System (WCS). Much like the XPS file format itself, WCS color management profiles are written in XML code. WCS offers some measure of compatibility with ICC version 4 color-management profiles, but converts a single ICC profile into three separate WCS profiles (one each for device, gamut and color appearance).

To gain all the benefits of this new Windows Color System, you'll have to print directly to an XPS capable printer. (Akin to the relationship between PostScript and PDF, XPS functions as both a portable file format and a downloadable printer language).

Anticipating a wave of interest in these new capabilities, established graphic arts vendors (including Global Graphics and Monotype) are stepping up to provide XPS compatibility for a new generation of PostScript RIPs. These XPS interpreters will also be able to read Microsoft's new XPS Print Ticket, a method by which users can specify document and page-level output settings.

Given the XML nature of XPS, it's not surprising that output device capabilities can be described using Microsoft's Print Schema framework—a concept remarkably similar to (but not compatible with) established JDF specifications.

For print service providers, the compelling question is whether to extend a welcome to this boisterous new guest at the high-end graphics party. XPS is the default Windows Vista print workflow, so some pundits have declared XPS will have a major impact on the printing and publishing industry. I am not among them.

XPS will have zero impact on print workflows where design and output both occur on Apple Macintosh computers. Windows content creators who submit documents for offset and flexo printing are likely using Adobe's Creative Suite or QuarkXPress tools, which come with their own simple methods for exporting PDF documents. If XPS adoption among the large installed base of corporate Acrobat users begins to threaten PDF's popularity, Adobe could easily release a free print driver for PDF document creation with a feature set identical to the limited capabilities of XPS.

For the occasional XPS document that might be submitted to high-speed digital print engines, we'll soon see the arrival of XPS-to-PDF conversion utilities that should provide an adequate solution.

As Vista grows in popularity, XPS is poised to replace GDI and various printer control languages (such as HPPCL) as the way that PCs connect to desktop printers. Bill Gates' ability to extend this into the world of document communication is much less certain. Today, you can download hundreds of white papers in which Microsoft's business partners breathlessly predict the future success of the XPS and the imminent demise of Acrobat—and nearly all of them are in PDF format!