Product category:
Printing Pre-Press Systems and Materials (Repro, Platemakers, CTP, Workflow, Document Management, Design Software, etc.)
News Release from: Kodak Graphic Communications Group | Subject: Prinergy Workflow System Version 4
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 April 2007
Latest Software Creates Unified Workflow
System
A new central hub for printers that is claimed to create a unified workflow has been launched by Kodak - the Kodak Prinergy Workflow System Version 4.
Said to be suitable for printers that store and share up to the minute job information, the modular Prinergy 4 system is available immediately for all markets, including commercial, packaging and newspaper printers Upgrades for existing users will be available in May
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 1 Aug 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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What Kodak described as an easy to use dashboard in the Prinergy 4 system provides all key work stakeholders with job information and it supports transparencies and digital print automation to expand in to the Kodak web-to-print system, as well as new digital job notes and custom fields.
The new features are claimed to help printers build a long-term digital foundation in-house and with customers.
The dashboard lets customer service representatives inform customers immediately when their job will be ready and where it is in the print cycle, added Kodak.
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The Prinergy 4 system also offers two enhancements for transparencies to produce more predictable, high quality results whilst reducing errors and rework without flattening files.
The colour matcher and trapper features have been upgraded to handle transparent objects natively.
The system also includes Adobe's PDF Print Engine, with its full transparency support.
The company said that printers using any Prinergy 4 Software configuration can preserve transparency throughout the workflow.
According to Kodak, transparency design effects are widely used, particularly in the packaging industry, with an estimated 85 per cent to 95 per cent of packaging files containing some transparency elements to make packages stand out on the shelf.
Such effects often include drop shadows, spot colour glows and dodging blurs.
For digital and conventional production, the Prinergy 4 system can include digital print automation capabilities.
It also supports variable print data file submission to Kodak's Nexpress digital colour presses.
The system is said to automatically read job intent, select a manufacturing plan and route jobs to the appropriate press.
Kodak believes that Prinergy 4 enables users to expand their systems to offer customers a complete Kodak web-to-print service - web-to-print systems will be available in June.
New job notes and custom fields, combined with enhanced rules-based automation, are claimed to provide users with more control and customisation over how Prinergy 4 runs.
Rick Riegger, pre-press manager at Japs-Olson Company, a US$133 million direct mail and commercial printing company in Minneapolis (USA) commented: "The combination of rules-based automation and custom fields is extremely powerful and using these new features has enabled Japs-Olson to automate plate numbering, dramatically reducing the margin for error.
Previously, plates were numbered by hand, increasing the margin for error." Kodak added that job notes can be shared amongst Prinergy workshop, dashboard and Kodak Insite software, enabling customer service representatives, pre-press operators and customers to share job information digitally.
Enhanced rules-based automation expands the range of production activities supported, including imposition, layout and digital print events.
The improvements result in greater JDF support, more flexibility and control in production at a job, customers and system level, it is claimed.
Users can better customise, track, control and automate activities in pre-press with new user defined custom fields.
Patrick Villeneuve, pre-press manager and workflow specialist with Acuity Digital Imaging, a commercial printer in Richmond Hill, Ontario (Canada), said: "The dashboard is very straightforward and easy to use.
Our production coordinators learned dashboard in about 15 minutes.
Before, they would have to call the pre-press operators for details that can now be retrieved through the dashboard at anytime." He added: "We're constantly looking to the future and the notes field and dashboard benefit us greatly long term.
Many of the job details and notes can now be stored digitally and archived with the jobs." Jon Bracken, vice president of marketing and channels at Kodak's Graphic Communications Group, said: "Print service providers in all markets need to reduce costs and increase productivity, which is driving the need to automate production and get a return on investment across digital and conventional printing processes.
The Prinergy 4 system is unique in providing a unified, highly automated, production hub.
As more work comes in, the new dashboard feature helps optimise capacity and improves communication with customers,".
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