Prepare print-ready layouts

The print production deadline is Tuesday morning. Send the final print-ready layouts to Priya in prepress and to Marco in procurement for purchase order, in that order, after you confirm bleeds and embedded fonts are correct, color profiles set to CMYK, and all images at 300 ppi. Set a hard Friday lunchtime review so I can fix last-minute trapping issues if they appear.

Before this goes to the printer, make the file impossible to reject: surface any RGB or spot colors converted to CMYK on the first page, list fonts that had to be substituted and why, show trimmed dimensions and bleeds prominently, and flag any images below 300 ppi or with transparency flattening that will change appearance on press.

We shipped proofs and now Priya says the embedded font failed on the RIP. I need to reply to her, tell Marco whether to delay the PO, and decide whether to relink a converted outline version or substitute the font. Priya fears color shifts if I re-export; Marco fears missing the order cutoff. I do not know if the file used any variable font features or live effects. What is the most likely cause and the best next move to get a corrected, print-ready PDF by Tuesday morning?

Over the last six jobs two things keep burning us: images supplied under 300 ppi and assets in RGB or spot colors that only show up at prepress. I want to stop firefighting at 2 a.m. Which habits should I change in our handoff and asset checklist so files arrive print-ready more often, who should I force to sign off earlier, and what three checks save the most rework time?