GATF Announces InterTech Award Winners

PITTSBURGH—The Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (GATF) has announced its InterTech Technology award recipients for 2001. Nine innovative technologies were chosen from 38 submissions.

The award winners, alphabetically by company, include:

MediaBridge Solutions, Digimarc Corp.
MediaBridge Solutions is a suite of software tools that allows printers and publishers to embed a unique and imperceptible digital watermark into virtually any printed material. Digitally watermarked print materials instantly link readers to online information when held in front of a web camera or other image-capture device enabled with MediaBridge software.

The software launches a browser that instantly connects the user to relevant information, applications, offers or opportunities to purchase on the Internet.

Ecocool, Heidelberg.
The first web offset system to integrate the dryer and the chill roll section within a single module, the Ecocool configuration improves print quality by eliminating condensation. The design also reduces space requirements for a web press by up to 111⁄2 feet and improves web dynamics.

Supertrap/Supertrap Plus, Heidelberg.
Supertrap is the first plug-in for Adobe Acrobat 4.0 that traps native PDF 1.3 documents; there is no conversion to an alternate file format.

This allows users to create their own modular PDF workflows. Supertrap Plus adds the ability to create traps with special corners, such as mitred, acute and beveled, as well as the ability to edit the actual trap paths under visual and interactive controls.

Matchprint Professional Server, Imation Corp.
The digital front end (DFE) or hardware raster image processor (RIP) leverages Imation's color technology to produce fast, accurate and consistent output in the earliest stages of the creative/production cycle.

The server embeds a patented smart color matching module that analyzes ICC sources and destination profiles for precise color target simulations.

CIP4 Job Definition Format (JDF), The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress.

JDF is a comprehensive, XML-based industry standard for end-to-end job ticket specifications combined with a message description standard and message interchange protocol.

As an open standard it will benefit print buyers and print service providers. It simplifies the job specifications process by ensuring cross-vendor system communication and by automating many of today's manual production processes with a flexible, universal job ticket.

DICOweb, MAN Roland.
DICOweb is a fully digital, web offset press. The core technology is in-press imaging and de-imaging, which makes it unique in the market. The image is produced by a laser shooting pixels from a transfer ribbon onto the printing cylinder. No plates need to be used because the image on the cylinder can be removed after printing. Finishing components are also integrated in the press and can be controlled by console software.

MarkzNet, Markzware Inc.
Combining the power of preflighting with the speed and convenience of the Internet, MarkzNet performs job ticketing, preflighting, collection, compression and transmission of the job over the Internet.

It provides instant and precise communication for printers and their customers to identify and resolve document problems, as well as an easy and efficient way to deliver them through the Internet. Combining the connectivity of the Internet with preflighting, MarkzNet gives a receiving party control over quality at the sending end, allowing sub-standard documents to be refused and corrected without wasting time and bandwidth transmitting them.

Digi-Stitch 2000, Océ Printing Systems.
The Digi-Stitch 2000 is part of a complete in-line book finishing system specifically designed to provide an integrated bindery solution for sheets produced on today's high-speed digital continuous monochrome web presses.

It is capable of changing book thicknesses automatically without stopping the upstream printing process. In this way, it provides an "on-demand" book finishing solution to suit a large range of book run lengths.

ProFire imaging technology, Dimension CTP systems and Anthem thermal plates, Presstek Inc.
ProFire thermal imaging enables DI presses and Presstek's Dimension Series of CTP systems. The Dimension Series provides the reliability, versatility, speed and quality that printers require in their CTP investment. Productivity is improved by automating key steps and eliminating many time-consuming prepress procedures; more jobs are completed in the same amount of time. Each of Dimension's platesetters has an extremely small footprint and is optimized to work with Anthem plates.