Software

Caldera has teamed up with Alwan Color Expertise, the colour management and standardisation specialist, to create an innovative ink saving module for the latest edition of the Caldera RIP (v9). Named InkPerformer, the option promises users the power to monitor and optimise their ink comsumption, offering commercial printers a significant environmental and economical advantage over their competitors.

Caldera InkPerformer harnesses Alwan's award-winning profiling technology within the context of the adaptable and powerful Caldera RIP engine to provide an average 20 percent reduction in ink consumption across all types of wide-format production. At a time when raw materials costs, and therefore ink prices, are rising dramatically, this significant saving allows all types of wide-format digital print house to decrease their expenditure significantly, typically achieving ROI within weeks.

InkPerformer sits in the workflow before the file is RIPped and does not require the creation or adjustment of output profiles to implement cost savings. The intuitive user interface allows for the control of two key variables: the BlackStart level, which is the threshold at which black is allowed to replace other ink colours, and the level of ink economy required. The operator can choose the desired setting from Low, which offers a modest ink saving with practically unnoticeable effect on the colour reproduction, Medium, and High, which provides a considerable reduction in lay-down. There is also a Maximum option to prioritise economisation completely over colour, which, while losing some gamut in shadows, is nevertheless suitable for applications to be viewed at distance.

The module, which can be provided with licenses for three, five or more than five devices, calculates a new combination of colours for ink lay-down to retain visual fidelity within the user's chosen threshold. A supplementary feature in InkPerformer allows the user, if desired, to RIP and then compare the original image with the adjusted, ink-saving image, and even send both jobs to print. This working mode allows for the rapid comparison of jobs and calculates the percentage of ink saved, giving businesses the power to decide for themselves how much lay-down is required for each job.

"With the strong development of digital ink-jet printing systems and applications, we decided that it was time to extend our technology in this market, where we see ink consumption and costs becoming a critical matter for print service providers," explains Elie Khoury, President and CEO of Alwan Color Expertise. "Caldera is an undisputed leader and innovator in the wide-format print sector and already incorporates very powerful technology in its software, such as the Adobe Print Engine. This collaboration allows Caldera users to join Alwan customers in saving tons of ink and millions of dollars every year for the benefit of the planet and of their profits."

"InkPerformer joins EasyMedia, EasyColour, CostProof and CostView as one of the many optimising functions offered across the Caldera suite," adds Joseph Mergui, Caldera's CEO. "Alwan's leadership and experience in the field of colour management and ink optimisation is the perfect complement for Caldera users who are seeking to control their overheads and improve their margins."

For more information, please visit www.caldera.com

X-Rite Incorporated is helping customers to streamline their workflows with the next generation of its NetProfiler software that can verify, optimise, and certify handheld and benchtop spectrophotometers used at locations worldwide on a regular basis.

With the new NetProfiler 3.0, companies can calibrate spectrophotometers in design departments, on factory floors and in test labs to a single virtual standard, ensuring that colour measurements taken at distant locations are accurate and reliable throughout the supply chain.

Over the past few years, X-Rite's earlier version of NetProfiler has become the standard in textiles, plastics, packaging and coatings industries to optimise the performance of benchtop spectrophotometers that all experience some data drift over time due to age and use. NetProfiler 3.0 now extends the power of profiling to handheld devices with embedded profiling capabilities. 

"We are particularly excited about our new NetProfiler solutions for handheld spectrophotometers, extending the benefits of profiling to new category of devices and customer workflows." said Richard Knapp, product manager for the software. He says all versions of NetProfiler 3.0 have improved speed and stability on personal computers and can be run offline to store profiles on portable USB memory sticks.

Another feature of NetProfiler 3.0 is its capability to profile new families of devices such as sphere-based instruments like the Ci52 for industrial applications. For companies in the graphic arts industry that use the SpectroEye spectrophotometer, NetProfiler 3.0 provides a profiling solution for graphics arts workflow. 

NetProfiler 3.0 can help customers by providing:

• confidential reports that detail instrument performance, compliance status by location and instrument, relationships between colour partners, and local auditing and certification;
• ways to exchange comparative colour data easily anywhere in the world with business partners that may have various types of colour-measurement instruments; and,
• new cost-effective ceramic calibration media providing equivalent performance to BCRA-II tiles.  With two formats optimised for benchtop or handheld spectrophotometers, the new calibration media offers significantly improved spatial uniformity, consistent targeting, and improved performance – particularly for smaller aperture devices.  The improved calibration media allows the number of colour standards to be reduced, streamlining the profiling process.

For more information on NetProfiler 3, please visit the X-Rite website at http://www.xrite.com

Shiraz Software has announced a new generation of its RIP Server, Signature and Focus solutions which will allow users easier management of an unparalleled range of functions designed to streamline production and improve revenue. Fronted by a sleek, accessible Dashboard, the Shiraz V8 release has focused on creating an unbeatable, accessible user experience for wide-format printers.

A full-scale rebuild of the underlying architecture sees the entire Shiraz range updated with faster and smarter RIP functionality, as well as an enhanced customer service module with sophisticated remote access and extended support for machines from several manufacturers. With native support for the latest Windows 7 and Mac OS X Lion operating systems, Shiraz V8 includes a Live Update facility which checks automatically for software upgrades, new media profiles and performance-enhancing tweaks, installing them with minimal interferences to the software's operation.

The new Dashboard facility in Shiraz V8 makes switching between frequently-used components a matter of seconds, not minutes spent loading different modules. This extremely intuitive interface enables novice users to learn control of their print environment quickly without compromising on the extended functionality expected of Shiraz by advanced operators. Meanwhile, across all versions of the new Shiraz programs, the powerful new RIP Buffering and Hyper RIP features deliver multi-threading in the print queue, allowing multiple jobs to RIP and print while others RIP ahead ready for immediate print, thereby increasing production efficiency.

Shiraz Server V8, Shiraz's complete solution for RIP workflow management for environments with multiple users and devices, sets new standards in speed, stability and ease-of-use, reducing management and processing times and improving throughput and accuracy. Server V8 now includes a HPGL/2 engine to support rendering and printing of vector and raster files. Developed especially for use in design, graphic arts, engineering, architecture and GIS mapping environments, the new HPGL/2 engine allows for large-format printing without the need for costly specialist solutions for individual applications.

For smaller wide-format facilities which nevertheless require a top-flight RIP solution, Shiraz Signature V8 promises a number of significant improvements, whilst retaining the powerful RIP capabilities that have made it Shiraz's leading production option. Alongside the redesigned user interface, it incorporates new developments in image management for smarter printing. Signature V8 is now available in single-user Solo or multi-user Server editions.

The faster, more instinctive user interface of Shiraz Focus V4 (also available in Solo or Server editions), for fine art and photographic output, offers a host of innovative features for printing even complex gallery wraps with ease. Users now have the ability to split and visualise an image over any number of rows and columns for complex, triptych-style presentation ideas, and can also use the unique Ruby Gallery Wrap feature to arrange images for canvas wraps in an eye-catching diamond formation.

Also included in V8 release are the latest printer drivers for all the leading manufacturers such as HP Latex L26500 & L28500, Epson R3000, Seiko H2 series, Mutoh ValueJet 1324/1624 and Mimaki UJF3042, as well as many others.

"Many of the improvements we have made across the whole Shiraz V8 suite came from talking to our customers and finding out what they wanted, taking into account the work they are producing and working out how we can make it easier for them," says Ramin Shahbazi, business development director, Shiraz Software.  "That's how we know that Focus V4 and Signature and Server V8 are offering what users really need: a clean, intuitive and fast interface with the powerful underlying architecture which delivers perfect prints every time."

The next generation of Shiraz's RIP solution suite will be commercially available in January 2012.

For more information, please visit www.shiraz-software.com

Color-Logic has announced that its Process Metallic Color System will ship with a new tool at the start of 2012, enabling graphic designers and brand owners to visualise the complete array of Color-Logic metallic and special effects on their designer workstations.

Announcing the new visualizer tool, Color-Logic's director of sales and marketing, Mark Geeves, commented, “Until now, Color-Logic users had no means of accurately visualising Color-Logic metallic hues or special effects, because the Process Metallic Color System creates five-colour files for printing with metallic inks or with white inks on metallic substrates. Our new FX-Viewer creates the metallic look and special effects of Color-Logic files right on the desktop workstation monitor, enabling brand managers and designers to verify visually how their designs will appear when printed. Costly design iterations and expensive proofing to verify design effects are thus eliminated."

He adds, "Color-Logic customers who are current with their maintenance agreements will receive one copy and may buy additional copies at a deeply discounted price.  Early in 2012, the FX-Viewer will be included with the Color-Logic design software, and the price will be adjusted to reflect the new capability.”

For more information, please visit visit www.color-logic.com

Enfocus is to release Enfocus Instant PDF 10, a major upgrade to the company’s popular application for creating high quality, press-ready PDFs, in Q1 2012. The most frequently requested feature, annotated error reporting (or, easy problem identification), is the highlight of this major upgrade.  Instant PDF 10 will also offer new support for OSX 10.7 Lion, Adobe CS 5.5 Illustrator, InDesign, and Acrobat X/Distiller. Instant PDF 10 additionally utilises Enfocus PitStop Library 10, the latest version of the underlying technology supporting the entire PitStop line.

With immediate effect, users purchasing or upgrading to Instant PDF 09 now will be entitled to a free upgrade to Instant PDF 10, until the actual release date. For those using a version below Instant PDF 08 upgrades are only available until the release of Instant PDF 10.

Enfocus Instant PDF 10 makes production of press-ready PDFs easy for creative professionals. Using award-winning Enfocus Certified PDF technology, Instant PDF has become known around the world as the simplest and most reliable way to create PDFs that comply with print and advertisement specifications.

Customers ask for reporting with links to errors: requested and delivered

Enfocus Senior Product Manager, Andrew Bailes-Collins, credits an in-depth Instant PDF customer survey for giving the company critical information regarding market needs. “Instant PDF users have made it clear that they trust and rely on Enfocus’ error reporting, but don’t want to waste time searching for identified errors,” he says of the request for improved reporting. “They want to see the problem areas through an annotated report, so that the problems can be quickly resolved, allowing them to move on to the next job and save valuable time.”

PitStop Library 10 and support for major standards and popular applications

Building Instant PDF 10 on the latest PitStop Library means that operators enjoy the same level of error identification and correction as highest-end Enfocus application sites. Other Instant PDF developments have turned it into one of the most robust tools in a designer’s arsenal. These advancements include support for the latest Apple OS; the latest Adobe applications as well as Acrobat/Distiller; and previous updates including support for the latest PDF/X standards, preflight checks, colour engines, and integration with Enfocus’ Switch automation solution.  Together these combine to substantially elevate the capabilities of organisations using Instant PDF. 

In fact, the price of a single Instant PDF license often costs less that a single “make good” on a print job -- where the “make good” could have been avoided by using Instant PDF in the first place.

Survey returns high levels of satisfaction among instant PDF users

Analysis of the aforementioned customer survey, administered earlier this year, highlighted the fact that more than 90% of those participating believe Instant PDF is easy to use and easy to understand, and that 86% believe Instant PDF to be a “very good value for money”.

“You get Enfocus’ full preflight and error correction for a fraction of the cost,” says Bailes-Collins. “Users now can remedy problems faster, with reports linking precisely to identified areas. Survey respondents already like Instant PDF -- the release of Instant PDF 10 could increase their satisfaction, if that’s possible!”

 

Following its agreement with Enfocus to license the PitStop technology, ONYX Graphics has launched the SmartApps PitStop Pro plug-in for Adobe Acrobat.  Available in December, this plug-in gives wide-format shops the ability to optimise productivity by eliminating the time-consuming steps required to correct client-supplied PDF files that have colour, font or other problems that cause incorrect output.

“The new SmartApps PitStop Pro plug-in gives operators the ability to move to a dependable PDF workflow, regardless of the file source,” explains Danielle Mattiussi, Director of Product Marketing for ONYX Graphics. “SmartApps PitStop Pro plug-in is a wide format PDF preflighting solution that catches many specific trouble areas and problems and provides quick solutions, so print shops will no longer have to waste valuable prepress and production time managing this lack of predictability around issues such as transparencies, colour or other print related issues.”

Mattiussi says that design applications can create uncertainty in print production due to special effects such as drop shadows, spot colours and fonts. Client files that must be made print-ready by the print shop add time and cost to any given print job – time that can’t always be billed back to the client.

“This exciting collaboration between Enfocus and ONYX Graphics brings Enfocus’ market-leading technology to the wide and large-format graphics market segment, which is beginning to embrace PDF workflows,” says Alex Hamilton, Director of Business Development, Enfocus. “There are few, if any, manufacturers better positioned to bring PitStop’s renowned advantages – in use by over 100,000 organisations worldwide - to this market segment, than Onyx Graphics.”

Key features

The SmartApps PitStop Pro plug-in helps fix troublesome client PDF files quickly and efficiently without ever leaving Adobe Acrobat software. Key features include:

 

• only seconds until the PitStop Pro plug-in checks all aspects of wide format PDF files to create certified print consistency.
• a wide format-specific preflight checklist that creates a reliable “digital master” so PDF files print correctly, with the highest quality and optimal printing performance.
• automatic highlighting of spot color and color management issues; also provides quick options for correction.
• automatic detection of file issues such as missing or bad fonts, missing bleed and more.
• tools to quickly edit PDF files from inside Adobe Acrobat software, without damaging the integrity of the original file.
• Action Lists that enable automation of many tedious changes to multiple PDF files, such as color conversions and adding finishing marks.

The ONYX SmartApps PitStop Pro plug-in is the second in the new SmartApps toolset that cuts production time and costs by optimising workflow using existing design applications. Designed to help those who prepare files for wide format printing, SmartApps plug-ins are application specific, operating system independent, easy to use and affordably priced. They are complementary to any wide format RIP software – ONYX RIP software is not required to use the plug-ins.

Availability

The SmartApps PitStop Pro plug-In will be  available as a 30-day, full-version trial and for purchase by December 2011 through ONYX dealers worldwide. For more information, visit www.onyxgfx.com