FUJIFILM Graphic Systems Div.

Digital front ends are growing in flexibility and functionality, allowing for greater output opportunities, especially in areas of digital color proofing. Are DFEs where they need to be—technically speaking? Most are headed in the right direction, thanks to the promise of PDF. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO The success of any print production process—whether it is direct-to-film, direct-to-plate or imposition proofing—relies fully on the competence of the digital front end in question. Digital front ends, or DFEs—rich in providing controls for color management, PDF support and a host of in-RIP capabilities, including trapping—are taking the front end to higher levels of sophistication. What is a

Technological strides in areas of digital prepress, plus new moves in digital color printing, will push for strong attention this year. Are commercial printers ready for the next wave of techno-hype? Time will tell. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Tired of hearing about thermal CTP? Bored with PDF discussions? Less than enthralled with the latest digital color proofing claims? Too bad—the next wave of PDF functionality, digital front-end output flexibility, thermal CTP strides and competitive advancements in digital color proofing devices are poised to make 1999 another hot year for digital developments. Still, hearing the tech talk isn't always easy, as many a prepress director

CHICAGO—What were the odds that GRAPH EXPO 98 would be a Show of Shows—when the international spectacles that are IPEX and PRINT 97 captured the printing industry's collective practically within the same 12 month span, with IPEX in September and PRINT 97 the previous September? How about $108 million to one? If you're talking GRAPH EXPO and CONVERTING EXPO, that's not bad—that's the figure Heidelberg registered during GRAPH EXPO's four-day stay at McCormick Place here. Heidelberg's sales success was not singular. Scores of the show's more than 550 exhibitors reported GRAPH EXPO was a money maker. MAN Roland, for example, reported a

BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO As 1998 moves to a close, CIP3 moves closer to its mission: full digital integration of prepress to postpress production. Will it really fly? It's already soaring. AS 1998 posts its final days, the major technology players motivating the adoption of CIP3's Print Production Format (PPF) are forecasting that the international effort to digitize the print process from prepress to postpress stages is in store for a happy new year. The workflow vision of technology providers the likes of PDF's parent, Adobe, and imposition software developer Ultimate Technographics; prepress providers including Agfa, BARCO Graphics, Creo, Fujifilm, Scitex and Screen; hard

GRAPH EXPO 98 and CONVERTING EXPO 98 was a hot ticket—sales were robust, booth traffic was brisk, technology advancements fierce and cooperative announcements healthy. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Question pondered: Could GRAPH EXPO 98 be a "Show of Shows," when the international spectacles that were IPEX 98 and PRINT 97 captured the printing industry's collective practically within the same 12-month span, with IPEX in September and PRINT 97 the previous September? Does $108 million answer that? That's the figure Heidelberg reported it registered during the show's four-day tour of Chicago's McCormick Place recently. Heidelberg's success was not singular. Scores of the show's more than

Existing in a market that's changing almost as rapidly as is the market of its competitive counterpart, today's imagesetter is showing that delivering PDF performance and end-to-end productivity isn't purely the direction of the digital platesetter. BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO With all the talk about the digital platesetter, the imagesetter is often overlooked. Should an investment even be made in an imagesetter when so much enthusiasm and technology are being placed in the conventional and thermal CTP direction? Does the imagesetter still remain a staple, smart investment for prepress environments poised for eventual full-tilt digital workflows? Make no mistake. The answer is YES. Imagesetting

BIRMINHAM, UK—Technology innovators in prepress, press and postpress turned their collective attention to England recently as IPEX drew global crowds to this industrial city. Heidelberg rolled out the Speedmaster 74 DI, Screen jumped into the digital press ring with TruePress, Kodak Polychrome Graphics touted Kodak Approval XP4, Scitex marketed its Lotem family of platesetters, and Agfa Div., Bayer Corp., put the spotlight on Thermostar P970 and P971 for 830nm and 1,064nm thermal CTP, respectively. Technology highlights turned to new innovations in color management, thermal CTP, digital offset presses, variable data software enhancements, digital color proofing innovations, new scanning systems, large-format printing solutions, imagesetters and

BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO Remote proofing may be the ultimate form of collaboration between client and printer—each reviewing a proof rendered at separate locations, thanks to technological advances in color management software, digital proofing devices and digital file delivery services. The benefits of adding remote proofing to a printing organization—outputting less film, buying less chemicals, avoiding shipping costs and time-consuming review periods—seem to position remote proofing as the logical direction for the contract proofing process. So why aren't more prepress firms and commercial printing organizations rushing to add a digital proofer and team that digital proofing device with digital file transfer

BY MARIE RANOIA ALONSO As the platesetter market matures, more fully automated and semiautomated devices, perhaps more than the market can sustain, are redefining the role of platemaking to meet the demands of the CTP environment. Thermal imaging technology, functionality to support Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) and PostScript 3 availability now join reliability and throughput as inherent traits of many of today's new platesetter launches. To prepare for new platesetter launches on the horizon later this year, Printing Impressions offers a portfolio of devices and checks in with the technology providers poised to take them to market. Whether plug-and-play platesetting solutions, thermal

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