Seybold SF--Beyond the Golden Gates, Digital Innovation Awaits
BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO
Seybold San Francisco may not have the same prepress hardware punch as its East Coast counterpart, but digital file delivery, digital content manipulation, color management and Internet design tools are enough to get the industry pointed in a Golden Gate direction.
What to expect?
Count on the show emphasizing content manipulation and color management—from creation through output. Be ready to see a variety of software tools to handle everything from creation of files to data storage, archival and retrieval—not to mention unique enhancements to the movement of repurposing digital content for the World Wide Web.
Get ready for a hearty serving of alphabet soup—as discussion, in and out of the conference environment, will be serving up talk on PDF, XML, CIELAB, ICC and more.
Innovations from Adobe Systems, Apple Computer, Bitstream, Cascade Systems, Canto, Corel, EFI, Epson, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Markzware, Microsoft, Quark, Ricoh, Pantone, Silicon Graphics, Splash, WAM!NET, Xerox, X-Rite and nearly 300 other technology suppliers are bound to turn the show into a San Francisco treat.
Plus, Apple's Steve Jobs is slated to give a special keynote on Tuesday, Sept. 1st, at 9 a.m. Get ready for standing room only if crowds from his talk last year are any indication of the Apple interim CEO's powers of persuasion.
Before you pack for Seybold, make sure to plan ahead for the exhibition by mapping out which booths offer technologies of most interest to your organization. Prepare questions on topics such as audio and animation for the World Wide Web, color management, digital file delivery, digital imaging, variable printing, workflow systems and more!
For now, take a peek at Printing Impressions' small sampling of hot-ticket attractions set for Seybold's West Coast performance at the Moscone Convention Center.
VISIT A FILE TRANSFER GIANT
WAM!NET plans to have an exciting show presence: a new trade show booth will be recognizable by the company's now famous oversized purple tennis shoe and exclamation points.
This will be the first time WAM!NET exhibits at a show after the much publicized acquisition of 4-Sight. Leading the show will be the shipping announcement of WAM!BASE, a wide-area networked digital asset database and the roll-out of WAM!NET's channel program for that product, the WAM!BASE MasterMind Program.
WAM!BASE—a major launch for WAM!NET at present—is a collaborative digital asset management solution that facilitates inter-organizational workflow from a central database of digital assets.
PREFLIGHT PERFORMANCES
Markzware Software will be announcing its advanced preflight technology, code-named Black Box, as an enhancement to Markzware's FLIGHTCHECK.
FLIGHTCHECK, currently available on Macintosh and Windows, offers the ability to check native documents created by QuarkXPress, Adobe PageMaker, Illustrator, FrameMaker, Photoshop, PDF, Macromedia's FreeHand, CorelDRAW and Multi-Ad Creator, verifying all elements including colors.
In other preflighting activities, Extensis will showcase Preflight Pro 2.0, which builds on a user interface with powerful new features that further streamline prepress workflows to ensure electronic files are output error-free.
Native application support for Adobe PageMaker, Illustrator, Photoshop, QuarkXPress, Macromedia FreeHand and Multi-Ad Creator2 is on board with this new Extensis offering, not to leave out complete PDF integration. Users can create a clean PDF file from Preflight Pro through links with Adobe Acrobat Distiller 3.0.
RIP ROARIN' RIP MANAGERS
Harlequin will demonstrate the latest versions of its multi-format ScriptWorks RIP Management System, which is used by more than 50 manufacturers of high-quality output devices around the world. On display will be ScriptWorks 5.0, the company's new PostScript Language Level 3 compatible version, due for release to Harlequin OEMs this fall. Also on display will be ScriptWorks 4.5 (currently shipping from Harlequin OEMs), which enables users to process PDF files directly.
SPLISH, SPLASHY SERVERS
Splash Technology's color servers transform Xerox and Fuji Xerox copiers into high-quality, networked color printers, scanners and proofing systems. Featured will be Splash Technology's new generation of color servers with advanced technology that provide complete, consistent and accurate color solutions.
With an open system architecture that fits easily into any network, the latest version of the Splash PCI and DC Series include such features as G3 750 PowerPC RISC processor, and Adobe PostScript 3 and Adobe PDF support. Look for Splash to promote a variety of color management innovations within its color printing systems.
THE COLORS OF PANTONE
Pantone will spotlight ColorReady, a three-in-one program for Macintosh users that provides an XTension for QuarkXPress, a plug-in for Illustrator and an Xtra for FreeHand for maximum flexibility in creating, calibrating and sharing custom palettes. The product expands the color management capabilities of each of these leading graphic applications.
DIGITAL ASSET MANAGERS
Get ready to see digital asset management solutions compete for time and attention. Attention grabbers will most probably be digital content manipulation and management solutions by Bitstream (Archetype's MediaBank), Canto (Cumulus), Cascade Systems (MediaSphere) and Imation (MediaManager).
At Seybold, Canto will be demonstrating its latest version of Cumulus version 4.0, which began shipping in July. This new version's features include multi-platform capabilities, remote administration of the server from any client workstation, cross-platform royalty-free browsing, new file formats and scripts, as well as QuickTime 3 support.
New from Bitstream is MediaBank version 2.3.2, including an optional module known as FullSearch, an embedded, professional-level search engine available in both the Workgroup and Enterprise editions. FullSearch allows MediaBank users to perform full text searches on virtually any textual content stored in the keywords database or in the cataloged files.
PICTRO PROOFING
Fujifilm plans to exhibit its PICTROPROOF two-page digital color proofer, the C-550 flatbed color scanner with XYZ scanning capabilities and several products from its digital camera line. These products appeal to a wide range of customers from the printing and publishing industries.
"Over the years, Seybold San Francisco has evolved from a predominantly printing/design/graphics show into more of an Internet/software/digital asset show," asserts Phil Laskowsky, marketing and sales communications manager for the Graphic Systems division of Fujifilm. "Still, we at Fujifilm feel that it is an important West Coast show—probably the most important West Coast show.
