Prepress

GlaxoSmithKline streamlines prepress operation with Enfocus PowerSwitch and PitStop Server

Tuesday 08. June 2010 - GlaxoSmithKline has centralized its PDF creation activities by installing Enfocus PowerSwitch and PitStop Server. The solutions have streamlined the company’s workflow by automating and standardizing its processes, ensuring total workflow control.

GlaxoSmithKline, based in Verona (Italy), is part of the well-known multinational pharmaceutical company of the same name. The company manufactures and distributes pharmaceuticals worldwide. GlaxoSmithKline’s Artwork & Pack Design department handles the prepress of pharmaceuticals’ folding boxes and leaflets, and acts as a link between the company and printers. The department manages hundreds of PDF files per month, and when the company’s offices in England, Italy and India are taken into account, this number soars to 6,000 PDF files.

Andrea Corsi, Technical Developer in the Artwork & Pack Design team in Verona, wanted to streamline the company’s prepress operation, and after scrutinizing the products on the market, opted for two Enfocus solutions: PowerSwitch, the workhorse of the Switch product family to build advanced workflows and PitStop Server, the powerful preflighting and auto-correction tool for high-volume and unattended PDF workflows. Throughout the process, GlaxoSmithKline received expert support from Vainer Gilioli of Technosolutions, distributor of Enfocus products in Italy. Given the company’s enormous workload, the primary need was to ensure the delivered files were clean, accurate and, above all, consistent. It was imperative that all printers received the same file.

High level of customization

GlaxoSmithKline turned to the Enfocus solutions, as they were the only ones capable of meeting the company’s requirements. The ability to create PDF files from native Adobe Illustrator and InDesign files was a key criteria as this avoids the manual creation of a PostScript file and the consequent use of Distiller. To meet all these requirements, Enfocus PowerSwitch can automatically create a multi-page PDF, breaking up the layers in an Illustrator file. In other words, an Adobe Illustrator file is placed inside the folder workflow and a clean PDF is produced that is certified to PDF/X-1a standard.

With all workflows, there comes a time when traditional tools are unable to provide the necessary capabilities and a greater level of customization is needed. With its comprehensive scripting and metadata tools, PowerSwitch allows users to build an intelligent workflow that integrates seamlessly with any third-party technology. The new SwitchClient offers a unique and innovative approach to job management and allows team members to send and monitor work progress without leaving their desk.

Standardized production and no errors

“Every day, graphic operators have to manage lots of repetitive tasks that require extreme care to avoid mistakes. The Enfocus tools allow them to automate most of these tasks, greatly reducing the opportunity for human error,” says Corsi, impressed by the results of the implementation. “The real benefits are derived from a huge improvement in the workflow itself. Costs are reduced and the process is much more efficient, as couriering draft paper copies approved by GlaxoSmithKline are replaced by sending certified PDFs through FTP.”

Printers immediately noticed the changes- PitStop Server has not only increased speed and efficiency when it comes to file management, but it has also ensured the PDF’s uniformity and consistency. The solution proves to be an indispensable tool for automatic correction and preflight of the company’s documents.

PitStop Server uses hot folders for batch processing. Users simply enter or address a PDF file in the input folder and PitStop Server does the rest: it checks the files, corrects a wide range of prepress problems and rejects files that fall short of quality standards. Enfocus Certified PDF technology simplifies the workflow because Enfocus Certified PDF files are immediately filtered and sent to press. PitStop Server seamlessly integrates with Enfocus Switch. Switch can automatically download PDF files from FTP or receive them via email. Users can perform preflight and automatically notify customers if there are any problematic files.

“Working in a more standardized and automated way, and following precise procedures, is saving us a lot of time,” Corsi concludes. “This is not only because we now work faster, but also because we work more efficient. The files are moving quickly in the workflow and operator intervention is rarely needed as standard PDFs are generated in the same manner for all operators.”