Software

BARBIERI is proud to announce the world’s first portable spectrophotometer for professional digital printing. This professional measurement device is built to measure a variety of different media used in professional digital printing including large and wide format printing. Thanks to its independence from a computer it can also be used directly on the printer. The integrated touch display facilitates interaction with the device and gives immediate feedback about the measurement results. It is the ideal tool for all digital print professionals for use away from the desk.

Spectropad is the new portable measurement device for all professionals within digital printing including large and wide format printing. Thanks to its large measurement aperture it is able to accurately measure a wide range of different, reflective media. Banner, cardboard, textiles, canvas, PVC, Fine Art Paper, vinyl and Paper are just a few of them.

This new wireless, battery powered spectrophotometer can be operated without a computer and therefore directly at the printer, even without cutting the media. Jobs can be stored in the device and measurement results (if requested) sent through WiFi to the computer.

The Spectropad is the first measurement device with Barbieri “qb-technology” inside. This new technology is based on D50 illumination and contains the next generation of highest precision spectral core. The D50 illumination used is based on LED technology by Just Normlicht. It fully matches the new measurement condition M1 introduced with the ISO standard 13655-2009. Thanks to the Barbieri “qb-technology” most precision measurement results will be reached.

The touch display makes the operation and job selection a breeze – no matter whether measuring a control bar, a linearization or profiling chart or just a simple spot color. The measurement results will immediately be displayed or sent to the computer for further processing.

With this portable measurement device BARBIERI targets all professionals in digital printing, color management consultants as well as technicians for printer installation. It finally allows using the well-known BARBIERI measurement quality away from the desk or at the customer site.

The new BARBIERI Spectropad will be formally launched and demonstrated at FESPA Digital 2011 in Hamburg (May 24 – 27, 2011), in Hall A1, Booth C30.

Further information can also be found on the Barbieri website.

The full range of BARBIERI colour management and profiling tools are distributed in the UK by IGSUK Ltd, and is available from resellers including Tech8.

Fujifilm today announces the launch of a new web-to-print solution, XMF Print Centre. Taking advantage of the company’s expertise in online print services such as photobook creation, XMF Print Centre allows print service providers of all sizes to maximise the opportunities provided by the internet to create, produce and fulfil many different types of print and ultimately drive new print revenue into their businesses.

Suitable for both B2C and B2B environments, XMF Print Centre is a fully-featured web-to-print platform that builds on the renowned flexibility and ease-of-use of Fujifilm’s XMF Workflow. It allows a print service provider to easily create single or multiple e-commerce portals tailored to the requirements of individual or multiple customers, and supports a wide variety of printed products including brochures, posters, booklets, point of sale items, calendars, photobooks, newsletters and business cards, to name but a few. XMF Print Centre also features a comprehensive back office administration system for managing all aspects of the online print environment.

The addition of a web-to-print front-end to XMF not only provides print service providers with an online ordering system for their customers that is available 24/7, but streamlines the way many different print services are ordered and fulfilled. This includes the creation of new print jobs, reprints of existing jobs or complementary services such as print distribution. In particular, when coupled with Fujifilm’s XMF Workflow, XMF Print Centre takes full advantage of XMF’s in-built Pure PDF technology and automated print production capabilities, allowing print jobs to be quickly and easily routed to whichever output device is appropriate.

XMF Print Centre has been designed from the outset to be a cloud-based system and is suitable for many different types of print business, from digital sign printers wishing to add an e-commerce platform to help drive a local digital print business, to much larger print businesses utilising a number of different print technologies that wish to add web-to-print capabilities to their armoury and maximise the opportunities of tight integration with a production workflow.

John Davies, business strategy manager, workflow, FUJIFILM Europe, comments: “By introducing a web-to-print solution into our product portfolio, we are now able to offer customers a more complete offering - from selling print through to guaranteeing the quality of the final printed product. Web-to-print is yet another way to increase the efficiency of the delivery of printed products, especially when you consider the automation that is possible with digital printing systems.

“The phrase ‘web-to-print’ often underplays the benefits that an online portal can bring to a print company. Printers should take advantage of a web-to-print solution to provide them with an additional sales and marketing channel and a new way to communicate with their customers. For certain types of work, XMF Print Centre will grant printers access to specialist markets they would otherwise not address, generating new, profitable revenue streams,” concludes Davies.

Commercial availability of XMF Print Centre is scheduled for Autumn 2011. It has been developed for both offset and digital print service providers and is compatible with numerous workflow systems including Fujifilm’s own print production solution, XMF Workflow.

Shiraz Software will be exhibiting at FESPA Digital in Hamburg 24-27 May 2011 in Hall A3 booth# D63.  Shiraz will be showing Signature, its entry level solution designed for one user/one printer and Shiraz RIP Server, its production solution for multiple users printing to several large format printers.

All Shiraz's solutions are cross platform and the organisation will be printing from the latest Mac and Windows platforms to the Canon ipf 8300S, launched in April in Europe.

Shiraz's solutions can also be seen on partner stands - HP (A4 C40-41) and Innova Art (stand A4 A55).

 
Four Pees, exclusive worldwide distributor of the PrintFactory software suite for banner, sign and super wide format printing is proud to announce that PrintFactory Go, to be launched at Fespa Digital in Hamburg, Germany will feature a direct link with the Zünd Cut Center solution. This solution signifies the end to complex print-and-cut workflows.

With jobs getting more complex and turn-around times under pressure in the large format printing industry, there is a growing demand for closer integration between printing and cutting solutions. Just-in-time production requires careful production planning and scheduling and minimizing the chance on production errors.

Zünd and PrintFactory have met these needs by linking the Zünd Cut Center solution to PrintFactory. The result of this collaboration is PrintFactory Go with full support for Zünd Cut Center; a stand-alone PrintFactory Editor application with all job preparation tools of the full PrintFactory suite and dedicated print-and-cut functionality.
 
Zünd Cut Center, an intuitive graphic user interface available to all Zünd cutter functions

The Zünd Cut Center software is especially designed to match Zünd’s modular cutter range allowing each system to be configured to and grow with the changing needs of customers. With a wide range of tools and material handling options, Zünd’s digital cutting systems enable cutting, creasing, routing and engraving for almost any given sheet, board or roll material.

No more complex print and cut workflows

Thanks to the direct connection with Zünd Cut Center, PrintFactory Go obtains information from the Zünd Cut Center via a network connection and makes it available to every PrintFactory Go user. This means that the desired output like material, cutting method and tools can already be determined during the designing phase of the print files. A one-click vectorizor tool can quickly create outlines. The definition of the cutting tools is done by layer names, and register marks placement can be done manual or automatic. The finishing tool can quickly create products like banners (fold, bleed and eyelets), flags (tunnels and folds), roll up banners (fold, bleed), displays etc. A ‘hidden’ RIP with queuing interface allows follow-up of job progress and outstanding jobs.

Timesaving in the whole workflow

Because of the integrated RIP, operators using PrintFactory Go don’t have to wait but can start work on new jobs while the jobs they finished are being produced in the background. While printing those jobs, cutlines and markers are automatically generated together with a barcode. By reading this barcode, the Zünd cutting tables automatically load the necessary media and tools. This intense integration between PrintFactory Go and Zünd Cut Center reduces job preparation time drastically, but also cuts down production errors significantly.

Happy customers are long term customers. This is the ethos adopted by Danish magazine printer, Datagraf, and one the company also uses when choosing its own suppliers. This approach resulted in a strong relationship with Enfocus and the implementation of a variety of automation and PDF preflighting tools.

Datagraf specializes in handling the entire process of producing and developing communication and marketing on behalf of its customers, from start to finish. A key part of the company's total concept approach involves improving consistency and accuracy of file delivery, and enhancing its service offering for customers. Central to this philosophy are the Enfocus tools that maximize productivity by automating many manual tasks and improving the print production process efficiency. "The integrated Enfocus tools streamline our entire operation,” explains Thomas Storgaard, (former) Premedia Manager at Datagraf. “Today, there are less steps in the production process and the set-up works much faster, which means jobs are completed quicker.”

Clear investment path

Datagraf's investment program began with a single copy of PitStop Pro to preflight incoming PDF files and check them for errors. “With the ‘desktop revolution’ people thought they could do everything, but that is not the case – lots of errors can soon add up, costing time and money,” comments Storgaard. “We wanted to introduce a new way of working to eliminate these errors. PitStop Pro has helped us achieve this. We also used the tool to report back to our customers so that they understand what to do and, crucially, what not to do. This speeded up production at our end, and helped our customers be more efficient with their time as well.”

The first step towards an automated production process came with the implementation of PitStop Server, which allowed Datagraf to use a convenient watched folder architecture to automate the preflighting of the incoming PDF files. In a following phase, the company opted for Enfocus FullSwitch and PowerSwitch to eliminate the repetitive tasks associated with receiving and sorting files, and build an advanced workflow that integrates seamlessly with third-party technology. “The Switch family lets us do a lot of the necessary behind-the-scenes technical work. It makes the entire workflow much clearer and easier,” says Storgaard. “

Continuous communication

Datagraf’s latest addition is PitStop Connect. This tool enables Datagraf to set up Connectors containing PDF preflight and delivery specifications and create a personalized level of customer service: “We make the Connectors bespoke to each client, which allows us to work more with our customers. By delivering specific Connectors that match their needs, we make clients feel as valued as possible.”

For Storgaard, the value of PitStop Connect extends way beyond ensuring little time is lost because of problematic PDFs. It helps the company enhance their service to customers. “It is a huge improvement to the way we work. Customers just drag the files they want to send us onto a special icon on their desktop. It’s that easy,” he explains. "It’s such a quick way of working and has proved very valuable – especially when everyone is pushed for time.”

Also the ability to integrate PitStop Connect directly into the Switch workflow was a key factor in the buying decision, as PDF files are seamlessly imported directly into the automated workflow. And because metadata can be linked to the file, all key customer information such as company name, contact email address, number of copies required, is imported as well. "The ability to preflight at the creative side ensures a fully automated streamlined workflow from creation to print. The combined result is a quicker, more responsive operation that addresses our customers’ needs and the market challenges they are facing,“ comments Storgaard.

Flexible solutions

Another benefit of the Enfocus solutions is that they integrate perfectly with other products such as the Adobe CS Suite®. "The fact they can link with anything makes them very powerful,” continues Storgaard. “The solutions open doors for us – they have created a new way of working, enabling us to connect with a wider range of customers.”

Storgaard is unequivocal about the impact the Enfocus solutions had on the way Datagraf operates. “We now work far more efficiently. For example, if someone in the team has to do things three times we talk about how the Enfocus solutions can help reduce the steps. That flexibility in-house gives us the freedom and power to do what we need to do, when we need to do it. And we can make changes without having to go to an external consultant, which means we’re resolving issues quicker and more cost effectively.”

“We have gradually added these tools as the company expanded and our workflow grew," he concludes. "I love the way the products have evolved over the past few years. Enfocus listens to what we need and develops flexible solutions that meet our requirements. Their products are part of the glue that holds Datagraf and its customers together!”

Datagraf has worked with Peter Leth Kjær of InProduction Aps as their preferred partner on Enfocus solutions through the process. InProduction is Enfocus Certified Expert in Denmark delivering workflow consultancy, support and implementation of Enfocus solutions.

 

EFI today made available the latest version of its Fiery Command WorkStation print job management and user interface software, with all-new features to improve image quality, colour output, usability, and imposition workflows. Available to most Fiery users worldwide*, Fiery Command WorkStation version 5.3 can be downloaded at no cost at www.efi.com/cws5.
 
"Fiery Command WorkStation is the recognised industry standard for production printing job management technology, serving as the window into the entire printing workflow," said John Henze, vice president of Fiery marketing, EFI. "Known for its intuitive interface, Command WorkStation gives businesses a productivity boost for production printing. It enables seasoned pros to more quickly produce even higher quality output, while making it easy for less experienced users to produce professional looking documents in just a few clicks."
 
The Fiery Image Enhance Visual Editor (IEVE) is a powerful industry-first feature newly available in this version of Command WorkStation. IEVE allows for editing of each image in a job without going back to the native design file, saving time and simplifying the editing process. It provides an interactive toolset for optimising image appearance and applying per-image corrections, to ensure photos look their best. This tool gives users the control to adjust brightness, contrast, highlights, shadows, colour balance, sharpness and to make red-eye corrections on any image within a job. Users can save preferred settings as presets to apply to other images or other jobs on the Fiery, ensuring consistent and optimised output.
 
The newest version of Command WorkStation includes imposition workflow improvements that make operators more productive. Enhancements include the addition of a user-defined finish size workflow in Fiery SeeQuence Impose (an add-on module) to honour the designer's intent by automatically detecting the trim box and bleed box defined in the source document. Now, operators gain greater control and can get the job done faster with fewer errors.
 
Another key addition in Command WorkStation is integration with the industry leading profiling and colour management software, EFI Color Profiler Suite. This new integration makes users even more productive since they don't have to leave the Command WorkStation interface to use Color Profiler Suite tools to diagnose profile problems, compare colour gamuts, and create and edit profiles. This saves valuable time and eliminates guesswork.
 
This latest version also has enhancements that make the software easier to use, which further support the ongoing goal of Command WorkStation - to make common tasks more accessible and required job information readily available to operators so they can be more productive. 
 
For more information, including videos of features in action, please visit the newly re-designed Command WorkStation website at http://w3.efi.com/fiery/Products/CWS5.