Software - Web-to-print

IN THIS political season, it’s all about watching the front-runners. Front-runners have the buzz. They get the attention. They have the sense of inevitability. In the world of commercial printing applications, it could be argued that the role of front-runner has been taken by Web-to-print (W2P). Move over 1:1 printing—since personalization has become sufficiently entrenched, the excitement mantle has now transferred to the W2P up-and-comer. Not that W2P is new, but new in its current implementation. But W2P has its share of controversy. It has been suggested that W2P is not taking hold the way the buzz would suggest. In fact, it

HEIDELBERG, GERMANY—January 22, 2008—Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) will be demonstrating its technological and innovative skills and the resulting customer benefits at the international drupa 2008 trade show (Dusseldorf, May 29 – June 11). The world market leader will be showcasing solutions for packaging and commercial printing in sheetfed offset in two exhibition halls covering around 7,800 square meters. These include its outstanding Anicolor inking unit technology, the Prinect printshop workflow, and countless other “HEI Lights”, with the Speedmaster XL 162 receiving its world premiere. In Hall 1 (commercial printing) and Hall 2 (packaging printing), Heidelberg will be presenting its comprehensive portfolio of solutions

DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—Jan. 17—Flexible solutions that help print providers develop the right production system for their unique business and customer needs—regardless of the type of technology they choose—will be the focus of Kodak’s presence at drupa 2008. The company’s stand, D01, in Hall 5 will showcase a wide range of hardware and software innovations that generate revenue, profit, growth, and business opportunities for print service providers and their clients, reinforcing print’s role at the heart of successful communications campaigns under the banner of “print is powerful.” “We are excited about going to drupa 2008 with such a strong range of new products and featuring

KEHL, GERMANY—January 15, 2008—Dalim Software unveiled several new products to complement its entire portfolio of progressive workflow solutions for the graphic arts industry during a pre-Drupa conference, January 15, 2008 at Düsseldorf, Germany. The company will display its entire portfolio of production automation software at Hall 9, Stand 9C44 and at the Drupa Innovation Parc, Hall 7 during Drupa, 2008 held from May 29-June 11 In Düsseldorf, Germany. Dalim Software JDF Connectivity Package put to use Dalim Software has been one of the major drivers of JDF connectivity in the industry, with leading roles in the CIP4 Committee. The company is using

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY, Jan. 15—Print On Demand Solutions (PODS) Group, an independent unit of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, presents Nuevo Technology, the new high end CREO Color Server system for the graphic arts industry, at drupa 2008. At the core of Nuevo Technology is a new high speed system architecture that will serve the entire CREO Color Servers product line. This technology addresses high production markets with increased performance and speed. The new architecture introduces scaleability, advanced functionality, parallel operations, advanced batch editing solutions, and process automation. “We are very excited to release Nuevo Technology for the CREO Color Servers product line,” said Ilana

PITTSBURGH—January 10, 2008—Printing Industries of America/Graphic Arts Technical Foundation (PIA/GATF) and International Cooperation for the Integration of Process in Prepress, Press, and Postpress (CIP4) are excited to announce the formation of a JDF User Group to focus on the implementation of JDF-enabled systems and cross-vendor implementations. The first JDF User Group meeting will be held March 24–25, 2008 in Pittsburgh, PA. The first day starts at 2:00 p.m. at PIA/GATF and will provide a hands-on look at JDF implementations within the facility and a discussion of the challenges to creating successful implementations. Day two will consist of panel discussions, case studies, and peer networking;

AUGSBURG, GERMANY—22 November, 2007—fujifilm is partnering with the PrintCity alliance at drupa 2008, to be held in Düsseldorf, May 29-June 11, in a project to present the latest developments in workflow techniques and solutions. Fujifilm will join the PrintCity Workflow Integration & Networking Competence Centre in Hall 6. Fujifilm will also have its own major 1,800 square metre exhibition stand in Hall 8b. By partnering with PrintCity, Fujifilm aims to achieve a wider exposure for its prepress workflow technology ‘XMF’, which allows seamless integration by JDF across different suppliers’ products. The benefit for visitors to Hall 6 will be to see the latest developments in prepress workflow

PARAMUS, NJ—10/22/2007—NAPL (www.napl.org), trade association for excellence in graphic communications management, the National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP), a member of the NAPL Network, and The Graphic Communications Coalition for Open Competition have been notified by Adobe Systems that the latest releases of the company’s Acrobat and Reader programs (Version 8.1.1) no longer contain a “Send to FedEx/Kinko’s” link. The updated software is now available for manual download from the Adobe website at www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html The automatic update manager portion, which will notify current users of update availability, will not, however, be operational until early November. “We are happy

MORTSEL, BELGIUM—4, October 2007—Agfa Graphics announced today that it exceeded all sales goals in all product areas shown at GRAPH EXPO. Agfa’s success at the exhibition indicates that printers are looking for complete prepress and inkjet solutions from a company with innovative technology that enhances their businesses. Customers were clearly interested in advanced software solutions such as :ApogeeX 4.0 and :Delano 3.0 that help graphic communications firms of all sizes become stronger companies and wide format digital printing systems that offer printers the potential to generate increased revenue. For the third year in a row, demonstrations of Agfa’s patented ThermoFuse™, the technology

As the image on the right demonstrates, unwanted white knockouts will appear in PDF documents with drop shadows if spots are converted to process. With Prinect Color Editor, it’s possible to pinpoint the problem by checking the colors and the overprinting properties of the objects in the PDF. In this example, an overprinting image with a CMYK value of 0% has been placed over a knockout spot color image in the “problem zone.” Why does a background knockout occur if the overprinting object has no color and is therefore transparent? The answer lies in understanding what actually happens when a transparent object overprints.