Offset Printing (The Prepress)

Printing is still a very important industry, even though electronic media has taken some of it’s role in spreading knowledge through Internet and e-documents in today modern world. Printing items such as books, brochures, fliers, calendars and much more, however are still needed in their old fashion way.When we talk about off-set printing most people will think that it only involves the process of transferring images from printing plates to paper (press) using the printing machine, however, the actual printing processes that we have to consider start from receiving manuscript or draft making until the final finish products. It can be divided into three parts, that are, prepress, press and post press. In this article as an introduction, I will try to elaborate the first part of the printing processes.

The Prepress

Prepress processes include the work of draft layout, typesetting, graphic designing, proofreading, copy editing, page assembly, color separating, film producing and plate making. In modern printing technology this process is also known as Desktop Publishing (DTP). Typesetter or graphic designers who are responsible in carrying out this job usually have good skills, knowledge and talent in manipulating some of the commercial graphic or image editing software for instance Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign (of the Adobe Creative Suite), Adobe Pagemaker, QuarkXPress, CorelDraw, Microsoft Publisher or the free open source software such as Inkscape, (with capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand and CorelDraw) and Scribus, program that brings professional page layout to Linux/Unix, MacOS X, and Windows desktops with a combination of press-ready output and new approaches to page layout and also supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.

Nowadays, the images created in the Desktop Publishing (DTP) application can be output directly to printing plates and are called Computer To Plate (CTP) output - such as Suprasetter thermal CTP system from Heidelberg, Elantrix H CTP system from Agfa etc. Whereas in older technology, images are firstly produced to films - Computer To Film (CTF) using the imagesetter, and then it will be contacted and exposed to plates in an exposing machine. The resolution on a typical image setter is 1270 or 2540 dpi with a maximum dpi of 4000.

In a single color printing items such as a text book content, only one plate will be produced using one of the above plate making process, where as in full color items such as colorful brochures, color images will be separated into 4 colors that are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black and abbreviated as CMYK to produce 4 printing plates. Even in some printing items, additional plates (for spot colors – such as gold, silver or customized colors) are needed.

Plate making processes have a very important role in determining the quality of the item to be produced. The machine has to be professionally calibrated, because a slightest different in images screen or density of one of the plates, may result in bad printing outputs.

The good produced plates will be used in the second part of the printing processes, that is the Press.

Global Warming, Desalination and Marine Life

"A world without fresh water would be a world bereft of humans, and yet one in five people lacks regular access to this most basic of life-sustaining substances. By 2025, fully a third of the planet's growing population could find itself scavenging for safe drinking water".


"One third of the planet will be desert by the year 2100" say climate experts in the most direct warning yet of the effects of global warming".

"More and more countries facing extreme drought conditions are looking towards desalination as a last hope for a source of freshwater".

"Untreated sewage is a big problem that leads to the loss of coral reefs but global warming has created difficult conditions for marine fauna and flora, the rising sea levels and the effects of seaward development" say conservationist.

From these statements from four different experts we some how have to admit that they are referring to the problems that the world are facing now.


Two things are clear about fresh water in the future: There will be less of it and we will pay more for what much of the world now takes for granted. The Global Environment Facility, an environmental fund, has said that water crisis is now a global concern with water scarcity the dominating issue of discussion amongst relevant institutions throughout the world.

Is the Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) desalination contribute to global warming?

A major advantage of desalination of sea water is that water is always available even in the most severe droughts. Extracting salt from seawater to make it drinkable is the wrong way to handle water shortages around the world and could exacerbate climate change, a leading conservation group said however independent scientists disputed the findings and said desalination plays a minor role in global warming.

Some country like North Africa and the Middle East which is the world's most water-scarce region, has to turn to seawater as the source of fresh water through desalination process. Desalination has become a growing trend particularly in Australia, the Middle East, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, India and China.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer of desalinated water with 27 desalination plants provide drinking water to major urban and industrial centers through a network of water pipes running for more than 2,300 miles. Desalination meets 70% of the Kingdom's drinking water requirement and several new desalination plants are under construction by the French utility services group Veolia, worth 702 million Euros and expected to be completed by 2010. Once completed, the Kingdom's network of desalination plants will have a capacity of 800 million gallons a day however there are power plants which produce energy and do desalination at the same time.

China, which is severely hit by water shortages, will turn to the ocean as it has announced recently it would utilize directly around 50 billion cubic meters of sea water each year by 2010 and plans to use desalination to produce 800 million to one billion liters of fresh water per day to cover about 20 percent of the demand gap in coastal areas.

The Ashkelon seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant in Israel– the largest in the world – with a capacity of 320,000 cubic meters per day, produces around 13% of the country's domestic consumer demand – equivalent to 5–6% of Israel's total water needs.

South East Asia country like Singapore which already have a long term raw water agreement with their neighbor country Malaysia, also have a SWRO desalination plant in Tuas – one of the world's largest desalination plants and is paying Dutch experts tens of millions to devise ways to protect their island – ranks among the most energy efficient ever constructed, enabling it to achieve the lowest desalinated seawater price in the world.

Global warming and desalination pose a threat to marine fauna and flora?

The rising of marine temperatures (which most scientists blamed on the emission of greenhouse gases), influence all kinds of ocean conditions, including sea levels, marine ecosystems and the circulation of the deep ocean between the poles and the tropics.

The species affected range from plankton, which forms the basis of marine food chains, through to polar bears, walruses, seals, sea lions, penguins, various seabird species and coral reefs. Global warming could be the knock-out punch for many species which are already under stress from over-fishing and habitat loss. Even the coldest, darkest depths of the world's oceans can't escape the harmful effects of global warming - and that includes deep-sea corals and 'living fossil' fish. They've outlived the dinosaurs and a whole lot more, but global warming may yet kill off the coelacanth. Scientists fear the coelacanth - a "living fossil" fish that has been swimming the seas for an astonishing 400 million years - will be threatened if changes in ocean temperatures leading to the destruction of life - nurturing coral reef systems.


Coral reefs are delicate, yet they are one of the most important ecosystems in the marine world. They are home to thousands of marine species including clams, lobsters and other marine life and are a biological source for drugs. They have the highest primary productivity of any coastal ecosystems and are the breeding ground for over 3,000 species of marine life.

What you can do to help switch off global warming?

How desalination effected marine life?

1-As the seawater is taken in during SWRO desalination process, small life forms such as plankton, eggs and fish larvae are also removed.

2-The brine — the highly concentrated saline water — discharged from the plants is mostly sent back into the sea where it increases the salinity of the water, posing a threat to sea life and disrupting the ecosystem.

How to minimize the environmental impact?

Discharge the brine far enough from the coast so that it can dilute or finding alternative uses for the saline discharge in other industrial processes might minimize the environmental impact especially to marine life.

Free Radicals

Several years ago while waiting for my lunch being served at the Sushi King near Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur, I was approached by a young Malaysian Indian asking me whether I know about a so called free radicals. So as not wanted to be disturbed assuming that he is a salesman trying to sell products, I said that I have heard about it even though I had not the slightest clue as to what it meant.

Now, after recalled it, I realized how stupid I was for not giving him a chance to explain about it. If you are concern about you health, you should know this too.

What is free radical?

Free radical is any atom or molecule that is highly reactive and unstable because they contain unpaired electron in their molecular structures. In order to become stable, they attack and steal electrons from other molecules. This attack spontaneously generates another unstable free radical molecule, starting a chain reaction that damages cellular function, eventually leading to the cells' death.

Scientists call free radicals the underlying cause of many chronic diseases. Dr. Bruce Ames, Ph.D., a well-known scientist in the field of antioxidants, estimates that just one cell in the human body is hit about 10,000 times a day by a free radical. If that’s multiplied by the trillions of cells in our body the magnitude of this activity is tremendous.

Do you know how they destroy your health?

Free radicals kill cells, damage body tissues, destroy enzymes, attack DNA and produce toxic chemicals.

A wealth of scientific evidence has determined that the body's formation of unstable oxygen molecules (free radicals) is the cause of various diseases such as heart diseases, strokes, diabetes, arthritis (joint pain), sinusitis, vision problems (cataracts), neurological impairments, high blood pressure and cancers.

How are free radicals formed?

They may formed through one of these:

1- Unhealthy food - fatty diet made up of processed food, fried food, barbecued and charbroiled food.

2-Alcoholic beverages.

3-Cigarette.

4-Stress - all chemicals and some endocrine hormones create free radicals.

5-Toxic chemicals in pesticides and insecticides.

6-Ultraviolet (UV) rays.

7-Environmental pollutants and contaminants.

8-Endurance exercise.

How to prevent or minimize the damage done by free radicals

Antioxidants were found to be the best solution in solving free radicals problem. Antioxidants are compounds that help to inhibit the many oxidation reactions caused by free radicals thereby preventing or delaying damage to the cells and tissues. They neutralize free radical by donating their own electron and don't turn into free radicals because they are stable in either form, ending the electron-stealing reaction.

It is well known that fruit and vegetables (Vitamin C and E) are good sources of antioxidants. Anthocyanins (natural substances that provide pigmentation-[color] to fruits and vegetables) serve as a powerful natural antioxidants. That is why health experts recommend strongly for us to consume at least 5-9 servings of colorful fruits and vegetables a day to replenish our body's antioxidant supply.

Here is the rank of antioxidants by potency

1-Anthocyanin

2-Grape Seed Extract, Pine Bark Extract

3-Coenzyme Q-10

4-Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA)

5-Vitamin E, Beta-Carotene

6-Vitamin C

As well as eating more fruit and vegetables, antioxidant intake can be topped up by drinking more tea (which also has been found as a natural resources of antioxidants), helping to promote overall health and well-being.

Free Your Computer From Viruses For Free

Free Virus Scanners

Virus scanners operate by searching your harddisk(s) for files which might be infected by a virus. This method is never 100% secure, since only known viruses (or known virus patterns) are detected. If an infection has been detected in a certain file, the virus scanner might be able to clean the file, but very often this is not the case. In that case, you can try another scanner to clean the file.

Antidote Super Lite version - VINTAGE SOLUTIONS, INC offers the simplest virus check program. This program is very easy to use : Download the file and just execute it. It is the self-extract program and can run without any system setup. So you do not need to install and alter your system. It will not destroy your current anti-virus program either. This program contains the same virus database as the standard ANTIDOTE package so that it is capable of checking all viruses registered in their latest virus database. However there is no update module provided for this program. They will revise this program when they generate weekly updates. (Interval between 7 - 10 days) Users are strongly recommend to revise the program copy every week in order to catch new viruses.This program operates under : Windows 95,98,Me,NT4.0(sp3 or later),2000,XP

AVG Free edition - Grisoft Free edition of the AVG anti-virus program for Windows and Linux protects you against viruses, worms and trojans. AVG Free is the most popular free solution available at no cost to home users and provides the high level of detection capability that millions of users around the world trust to protect their computers.

- Easy to use, low system resources
- Automatic update functionality
- Real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run
- AVG’s Virus Vault for the safe handling of infected files

Other free product offered by Grisoft are:
Anti-Spyware - Protects you against spyware, adware and identity-theft.
Anti-Rootkit- Protects you against sophisticated rootkit attacks.Tested and recommended.

PC Tools Antivirus - Free anti-virus program + firewall for Windows. PC Tools AntiVirus Free Edition feature highlights

- Protects your PC as you are working, surfing and playing
- Detects, quarantines, disinfects and destroys Viruses, Trojans and Worms
- OnGuard™ protects your computer against threats in real-time
- Automatically checks for frequent updates against the latest threats
- Best of all it's FREE. No catches, limitations or time-limits.

Free Online Virus & Trojan Scanners

The virus and trojan scanners in this section do not need to be downloaded or installed, they run from inside your Webbrowser.

GFI online Trojan Scanner - Freeware online Trojan scanner. This program runs in your browser (Internet Explorer only, Windows), no explicit installation is required.

PC Pitstop - A large number of online computer and Internet related tests, including a virus scan and spyware test. The free virus scanner installs itself as an ActiveX control inside your Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.

Free Email Protection

SpamDel - This very useful freeware program enables you to delete virus emails and spams directly on the mail server before download. This not only saves costs and time, but also reduces the risk of virus infection.

Free Anti-spyware product

Lavasoft Ad-Aware Free - Ad-Aware Free remains the most popular anti-spyware product for computer users around the world, with nearly one million downloads every week. Their free anti-spyware version provides you with advanced protection against spyware that secretly attaches and takes control of your computer, resulting in aggressive advertising pop-ups, sluggish computer activity, even identity theft through stolen bank details, passwords, and credit card account numbers. If you want real-time scanning capabilities, consider upgrading to Ad-Aware Plus (not-free) for real-time protection against spyware, all the time!

Spybot-Search & Destroy - Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software.
Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove a multitude of adware files and modules from your computer. Spybot also can clean program and Web-usage tracks from your system, which is especially useful if you share your computer. Modules chosen for removal can be sent directly to the included file shredder, ensuring complete elimination from your system. For advanced users, it allows you to fix Registry inconsistencies related to adware and to malicious program installations. The handy online-update feature ensures that Spybot always has the most current and complete listings of adware, dialers, and other uninvited system residents.

EAV Antivirus Suite Free Edition by Your-soft.com. EAV Antivirus Suite can detect and eliminate spyware, Trojans, keyloggers, adware programs, browser hijackers, cookies, spybots, trackware, and other malware, even new and unknown ones, on your PC. EAV Antivirus Suite will scan all running processes, local files in real time automatically once you run the software. Once spyware or other malware appears, even if it hides in other programs, EAV Antivirus Suite will display a signal for warning and eliminate it consequently. Meanwhile, this software will clear all spyware-system-linked files as well as relative registry files. EAV Antivirus Suite can recover all damages with Internet Explorer caused by JavaScript viruses and ActiveX viruses. And it can also help you fulfill anti-hacker Windows settings.

Good Luck.

Free Online Publication

I have found and like to share with you an interesting site that can publish your works such as articles or essays, books, magazines, journals, newspapers, reports, catalogs, presentations, portfolios, photo albums and so on to the world stunningly, this is the place and its free. See the video below..

The flipping action seems to simulating the reading experience of paper-based publications but now its on our computer screen and of course we can put it on our site or blog like mine. Some commercial sites like flipviewer also use this kind of e-browser features for impressive 3-D looks.

However for my uploaded document, since it is in Arabic, it supposed to flip from left to right. Issuu should look into this issue since some publications like in Arabic or Japanese should flip from left to right.

GPS Navigator

Thing get much, much easier today. Now we need not to bring along a printed map (Atlas) when we are traveling to any place on earth without getting lost. With the help of GPS (Global Positioning System) we can rest a sure that our journey to a destination are on the right direction. What we need is only a GPS receiver.


This Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S. space-based radio navigation system that provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to civilian users on a continuous worldwide basis -- freely available to all. For anyone with a GPS receiver, the system will provide location and time. GPS provides accurate location and time information for an unlimited number of people in all weather, day and night, anywhere in the world. GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, and hobbies such as treasure hunting.


These days GPS is finding its way into cars, boats, planes, construction equipment, movie making gear, farm machinery, even laptop computers. Soon GPS will become almost as basic as the telephone and may become a universal utility.


Last month while preparing to attend a marriage ceremony at the place which I have never been before, my relative has introduced me to a personal navigator. I found it is very useful.




I have reached my destination without any problem. The voice assistance prevented us from taking any wrong direction since it reminds us about up coming junction or route that we should take in advance. The view of the upcoming roads, junctions, roundabouts and sharp bends give us as an early warning so that we can drive carefully and safely. The time of arrival to our destination is also shown according to our speed.

Coming Back

I have been blogging seen 2005 through my blog namely Roshidan's Cyber Station at http://roshidan.blogspot.com/. Unfortunately my blog has been removed by blogger.com because there were malicious codes in it probably came from the affiliates or the advertisements (I'm not sure of it) since I tend to put so many of them on my site.

When it was removed I have tried several time and ways to get it back from blogger.com but failed may be because I did it the wrong ways. If anybody out there who has experienced the same problem and has recovered their sites, please teach me how you did it.Now I am coming back, leaving my frustrated feel behind with a new blog.

See you around!