Prepress
Automating Digital Books and Photo Albums: Impostrip Book Stacker 2.0
Friday 29. February 2008 - Ultimate Technographics Inc, http://www.imposition.com/, the leading innovator of automated book production software and the inventor of digital imposition, is introducing IMPOSTRIP Book Stacker 2.0, which will be shown for the first time On Demand Show in Boston March 3-6 in Booth 647 with our partners Ricoh-IBM Infoprint Solutions, Duplo 616, HP 1817 and Xerox 1449.
Impostrip Book Stacker revolutionizes the way to produce digital books. It was designed to make parallel book blocks of variable length on a digital press to minimize cutting and folding; and optimize paper and impression time by putting the maximum number of blocks together without any operator intervention. Impostrip Book Stacker 2.0 is a major step forward in automating the production of photo album books and stacks of photos for photo labs. Key new features:
3D optimization of the stacks to automatically place similar size stacks side by-side and inserting blank pages to even the stacks.
XML job ticket automation from web2print photo album systems like DigiLabsand IP Labs.
Banner Sheet automatically generated and inserted between stacks to identify each of them. Banner Sheet can contain custom information including barcodes so each stack can be easily tracked and identify to insure delivery to the right customer.
Barcode output on each sheet and each stack to drive Duplo cutters for automatic cutting of the stacks.
Imposition of the JPEG format and the automatic resizing and grouping of JPEGs into stacks.
Timed printing so jobs can accumulate for optimization and be printed usually at night.
Custom marks, selective output of PDF 6,7, or 8.
This unique tool is designed to allow customers to drop multiple books into a single Hot Folder to reach a high level of automation. Once the Book Stacker Hot Folder is configured with specific n-ups (n-stacks) and other preferences, it automatically imposes the pages accordingly, supplying blank pages for each book to complete all stacks of the first set, to move to the next one and so on. Impostrip Book Stacker will automatically fill all stacks and complete the imposition for all the books in the folder without any supervision.
“Digital printing and more specifically web-to-print process requires a new breed of imposition tools that automate production for digital presses,” explains Joanne David, Executive Vice-President of Ultimate. “When you are producing one copy of a book from a web-submitted order, you dont have a lot of time for prepress and you must simplify your process for binding one book at a time. This is even more important for books produced with variable content. It is also the case for production optimization to print as many pages as possible per impression. Digital printing requires thinking about workflow in a very different way then offset printing to realize the most profits off each order even when it is an order of 1.”
Stacking Photo Books and Photos
Some of the most interested users of Book Stacker are web2print photo album printers, photo labs and central print facilities serving photo kiosks in retail stores and that are more and more using digital presses for photo production. These customers wanted total automation of the production of JPEG pages and stacks of JPEG photos, where each separate stack belongs to a specific customer.
Ultimate built in collaboration with DigiLabs in the US and IP Labs in Germany a special XML interface with their web2print photo systems to automatically set the optimal imposition based on the job ticket. Ultimate also built the optional ability to put a Banner Sheet on each stack that contains identifying information about the job in text and barcode format to insure the right stack gets delivered to the right customer.
The missing link in Photo Finishing
The missing link for true automation of production was the link to finishing equipment. Thanks to Duplo dynamic collaboration, Impostrip Book Stacker generates Duplo custom barcode and registration marks to print on the sheet. The custom barcode are read by Duplo cutting and slitting machines, so the printed stacks could be accurately cut in an automated production line. Impostrip Book Stacker 2.0 was designed to meet those needs.
Integration Services for digital print automation
Ultimate offers integration services to digital print customers who require linking Ultimate automation solutions to their Web2print, data bases and MIS systems. Ultimate uses simple to integrate XML interfaces, JDF and Dynamic Hot Folders to create completely automated print solutions for digital printers from job submission through printing and
finishing.