Prepress
Enfocus Helps Newspaper Professionals “Get the Big Picture” at IFRA Expo 2008
Thursday 25. September 2008 - Enfocus Version 08 Solutions Bring Updated Standards Compliance, Workflow Automation and Last-Minute Editing Capability to Address Tight Deadlines
Enfocus will be demonstrating its full suite of production and automation products for the newspaper industry at IFRA Expo 2008, 27 to 30 October 2008 at the RAI exhibition centre in Amsterdam. PitStop Professional, PitStop Server, Switch and Instant PDF have all been updated to Version 08 and will be demonstrated to IFRA attendees looking for productivity enhancements in the newspaper publishing process.
“In the highly competitive newspaper industry, production professionals are always looking for ways to sharpen their competitive edge,” said Peter Camps, Senior Vice President, Enfocus. “Enfocus products bring a number of productivity advantages to the publishing process, including workflow automation using Switch and last-minute native PDF editing with the PitStop product line. Tight deadlines, the need to publish to multiple media channels and automatic processing of content from multiple sources are all challenges that Enfocus solutions can address for newspaper publishers.”
The updated Enfocus 08 line includes compatibility with Adobe Acrobat 9 along with advanced multilingual capabilities. For PitStop Professional 08 users, Acrobat 9 compatibility and the language versions are being made available as no-charge upgrades. The latest versions of PitStop Professional, PitStop Server, Instant PDF and the Switch product family, as well as fully-functional trial versions of all Enfocus products, are available for download.
“The newspaper industry is in a time of dramatic change that requires changes in work processes,” added Camps. “Our goal at Enfocus is to provide the latest and most innovative tools, compatibility and functionality to drive increased productivity and the Enfocus 08 suite does just that. In addition, we are planning an exciting new product announcement at the showstay tuned for more information as the date gets closer.”
Enfocus can be found at the IFRA Expo in stand 10635. Visitors to the stand will learn how Enfocus solutions can help them “Get the Big Picture” on publishing automation at this important meeting place for the newspaper industry. .
Product Details
PitStop Professional 08: Adobe Acrobat 9 compatibility, enhanced ease-of use, productivity
PitStop Professional has long been the de facto standard for preflighting, editing and repairing of PDF files among graphic arts professionals who use a PDF workflow. PitStop Professional 08 takes this functionality to the next level with Adobe Acrobat 9 compatibility.
Other new capabilities include sign-off on preflight errors, a redesigned and significantly more compact PitStop Inspector, better page configuration handling, faster access to common functions through expanded contextual menus and conformance to the latest standards and operating systems.
In addition, PitStop Professional 08 offers a choice of multiple color engines including the industry standard Adobe CMM, PDF/X-4 compliance in PDF Profiles and Action Lists (in addition to support for earlier PDF/X levels), easy PDF Profile adaptation to create new preflight profiles from existing items, and user-configurable viewing preferences.
PitStop Server 08: improved performance, full compatibility with new standards
PitStop Server is a Hot-Folder-based application for graphic arts professionals who need unattended PDF document processing or need to process high-volumes of PDF documents. It is the indispensable tool for pre-flight checking of PDF documents, with facilities for fixing many common problems without human intervention.
New PitStop Server 08 capabilities include a totally redesigned and more intuitive user interface, server-based processing (PitStop Server now runs as a service on Windows and as a login item on Mac OS X), the ability to process two PDF documents in parallel for faster performance, more powerful Hot Folder processing, import and export of Hot Folder settings, a detailed history log, improved security and expanded e-mail notification.
Switch 08: improved productivity, more effective device management
Switch 08 is a major upgrade for all products in the Switch family of automation-enabling software (entry-level LightSwitch, mainstream FullSwitch and advanced PowerSwitch), adding significant new functionality and offering new workflow automation opportunities for ad agencies, publishers and printers alike.
With Switch 08, job processing is more predictable even with complex flows, and the implementation of real job priorities allows fast-tracking jobs through a flow. Switch 08 also optimizes the time it takes the first job to flow through a complete flow, enabling better resource management for devices such as proofers and rips.
Hot Folders, FTP and email-receive tools can be scheduled to automatically activate only in a predefined time window and now offer a “read-only” processing mode where the original jobs are left on the server and a copy is processed through the flow. Switch 08 also includes many improved and new tools, and enhances variable data support. Metadata support and scripting capabilities have been greatly expanded in PowerSwitch, offering, for example, support for compression, database access and SOAP or web service communication directly from within Javascript.
Instant PDF 08: More color management options, improved preflighting and integration with Enfocus PowerSwitch
Enfocus Instant PDF 08 makes producing press-ready PDFs easy for creative and newspaper professionals. Using award-winning Enfocus Certified PDF technology, it is the simplest and most reliable way to create PDFs that comply with print or advertisement vendors specifications, including PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, PDF/X-4 and Ghent PDF Workgroup industry standards. Designers access Instant PDF 08 from within design applications, including the latest versions of QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign and Adobe Acrobat. Standard PDF Queues or custom PDF Queues created by the print service provider can be quickly and easily imported into design software to ensure consistent and accurate PDF generation that meets all job specifications.
With Instant PDF 08, print providers will see a significant reduction in customer service and pre-press operator workload because Certified PDF files are always output correctly from the designers workstation. With Enfocus Certified PDF technology, the files are flagged as ready for output as soon as they arrive in the inbox. Full integration with Enfocus PowerSwitch now delivers final PDF files directly to a Submit Point in PowerSwitch, making communication between the designer and the printer even more efficient.