Prepress

Cartonnages Larré streamlines prepress workflow with Automation Engine 10

Friday 17. December 2010 - Packaging specialist reduces turnaround times and boosts overall performance with EskoArtwork's prepress workflow management software

French packaging printer Cartonnages Larré has increased the efficiency of its prepress workflow after implementing Automation Engine 10. The Bayonne-based company was a long-standing user of EskoArtwork’s BackStage smart workflow server and decided earlier this year to upgrade to Automation Engine 10, becoming one of the first European printers to adopt EskoArtwork’s next generation of prepress workflow management software.
Improving efficiency and performance
The decision to upgrade to Automation Engine came as part of a global performance improvement process, which Cartonnages Larré embarked on a year ago: “At the last drupa, we saw a demonstration of Odystar, EskoArtwork’s automated prepress solution, and were impressed by its interface and how easy it was to use,” explains Yann Bleiker, Prepress Manager at Cartonnages Larré. “Implementing the best of both worlds by bringing together all of EskoArtwork’s prepress workflow management tools seemed like a very sensible thing to do.”
With this in mind, Cartonnages Larré became a beta testing site for the new solution at the end of 2009. After several months of field testing, the company decided to integrate the final version of Automation Engine in May 2010. The configuration includes a server and three client workstations. “Moving to Automation Engine allowed us to simplify our procedures,” says Bleiker. “Previously, we were using 20 different job ticket templates to cover all the different job configurations we had in production. With Automation Engine, we’ve reduced this to two.”
Cartonnages Larré pushed things even further. “We are using an MIS system we developed in-house,” adds general manager Hugues Larré. “We interfaced Automation Engine with our MIS system, allowing us to pass job parameters down to the prepress workflow manager automatically. This saves time and limits the risks of a typing error.”
Staying ahead of the competition
Installing Automation Engine afforded Cartonnages Larré significant advantages: “With Automation Engine, we have the flexibility and ease of use of Odystar, combined with the performance of Backstage,” says Bleiker.
With Automation Engine now in place, the company is reaping the full benefit of its prepress resources. In the space of five years, Cartonnages Larré has integrated CTP in-house, set up an MIS system and installed Automation Engine. This set-up has enabled the company to reduce its prepress cycle from 48 hours to little more than 15 minutes to produce a set of printing plates.
In addition, the prepress workflow’s high level of automation allows operators to spend more time on file preparation and plate verification. “We’ve increased throughput and improved customer service,” concludes Larré. “The packaging market is highly competitive, with its ever-shorter delivery times and the demand for top-quality print. Implementing Automation Engine has allowed us to keep the upper hand and maintain a high level of customer loyalty. And all of these benefits have been achieved without increasing staff and maintaining our competitiveness.”