Ipex Launch For New Workflow Tools

Ipex 2006 will be the international launch platform for Enfocus's Pitstop Automate, its latest workflow toolset.

Ipex 2006 will be the international launch platform for Enfocus's Pitstop Automate, its latest workflow toolset.

The new software will be commercially available from March and will be on show at the Enfocus stand at Ipex - hall 6, stand A20.

Pitstop Automate is a task-based production automation tool that allows design studios, advertising agencies, printers and publishers to increase productivity and output consistency by introducing automation at an affordable price, claimed Enfocus.

An intuitive graphical user interface makes it straightforward to design complete automation workflows.

The software, which closely integrates with Acrobat Distiller, includes Enfocus's PDF editing and pre-flighting, as well as automation functions.

Said to be a natural upgrade from Enfocus Pitstop Server, Pitstop Automate offers additional features.

The software can perform conditional checks on files and decide which path the file should follow based on file type, size, and other file or document properties.

Another function, which Enfocus customer research shows will prove to be very useful to many businesses, is the ability to split multiple-page PDFs in to many single-page PDFs, added the company.

Pitstop Automate incorporates certified PDF.

Enfocus's certified PDF is said to make PDF a more powerful production format by embedding the PDF profile originally used to pre-flight the file.

A detailed pre-flight report and an audit trail of all edits made to the PDF are also created.

Pitstop Automate is claimed to enable efficient certified PDF verification and control, whilst managing a large volume of PDFs.

Certified PDFs are immediately identified and moved through production faster than non-certified PDF files, according to Enfocus.

The cojmpany also said that it has developed automation-enabling technologies - PDF pre-flight, PDF editing, action lists, and certified PDF - that are built to streamline creation processes, whilst maintaining quality control.

Director of corporate marketing at Enfocus, Tom Peire, said: "With Pitstop Automate we are filling a gap in the market for an entry-level product.

Many companies are looking at automation tools to increase the efficiency of their production.

Pitstop Automate is an easy-to-use, off the shelf product that drives processes for companies involved in document creation right down to output, without having to invest in an elaborate system that is beyond the users' day-to-day requirements." Enfocus has also announced the release of a software development kit (SDK) for Pitstop Automate.

The SDK allows third party software developers to plug their own products in to Pitstop Automate and take full advantage of its capabilities.

As such, Pitstop Automate becomes an automation platform within which colour proofing, imposition, file transfer, image manipulation and other applications can be integrated.

Peire continued: "Enfocus has a strong record of technology partnerships that have made our own, and our partners', customers more successful.

We want to extend that success by taking a different approach to production automation than traditional workflow vendors have done so far and offer a truly open system that allows anyone to plug in to.

We encourage other developers to take a look at this SDK and see how their customers can take advantage of our automation features." Pitstop Automate's Macintosh version is scheduled for commercial release in March, whilst the Windows version is scheduled for the first half of this year.

The product and related training will be exclusively available through Enfocus's certified resellers.

It will be priced at US$5,999 or 4,999 Euros.

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