Focus on Digital Front Ends

At Kodak Polychrome Graphics, a complete DFE solution based on the Harlequin RIP delivers an open front-end approach to the new Kodak Approval XP system, which can take a screened bitmap file from other dot generators, allowing for inconsistencies between proofs and both film and plate output.

"The key ingredient for any DFE driving to a proofing device is to be very complementary to other workflows," reports William DeMarco, product specialist, at Kodak Polychrome Graphics. Nader Anvari, chief architect at Kodak Professional, cautions that, when the topic turns to DFEs, there are two aspects one must look at separately: the trend to PDF and the operational format of the DFE.