Product category:
Printing Pre-Press Systems and Materials (Repro, Platemakers, CTP, Workflow, Document Management, Design Software, etc.)
News Release from: Gradual Software | Subject: Switch automation software, Impostrip On Demand
Edited by the Printingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 May 2007
Software Firms Combine For Complete
Automation
Gradual Software and Ultimate Technographics have formed a partnership to combine Gradual's Switch automation software and Impostrip On Demand digital imposition software.
The combination of the software products is said to provide digital printers with a fully-automated imposition workflow system Ultimate Technographics' Impostrip On Demand is claimed to be the first automated imposition software for digital print of brochures, catalogues, books, calendars, business cards and direct mail products
This article was originally published on Printingtalk on 28 Oct 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Impostrip On Demand automates through a 'smart' hot folders mechanism.
Dynamic templates designate the usage of the same hot folder for jobs of different page sizes and page numbers, reducing the number of hot folder workflows needed.
Gradual's Switch family of products, including Lightswitch, Fullswitch and Powerswitch, enables users to implement workflow automation systems tailored to meet the production needs of individual operations, claimed the company.
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Powerswitch provides such automation as support for scripting and metadata, together with Switchclient, a workgroup client for deploying automation for a complete workgroup.
The company said that its systems work in complete synergy to link hot folders and create a fully-automated production workflow that can be configured, or modified.
David van Driessche, chief operating officer at Gradual Siftware, commented: "The fact that Impostrip is a hot folder-driven imposition product designed for digital printing makes it an ideal partner for Gradual's automation products.
Fullswitch and Powerswitch can link directly to an Impostrip hot folder to facilitate an automated workflow, beginning with FTP submission, pre-flighting and other pre-press functions, all the way through to a completely imposed print product on a digital press." From Gradual's perspective, the company believes that the cooperation with Ultimate Technographics builds upon the company's mission to deliver enhanced automation capabilities for the growing market of digital on-demand printing, including imposition.
Driessche explained: "Impostrip On Demand is dedicated towards the on-demand market, where the imposition requirements are not as complex.
But the unique possibility of combining jobs of different sizes within one imposition job and adding full automation, provides significant advantages for a digital printer.
He added: "Workflow automation delivers dramatic time savings, as well as optimised usage of substrates.
The printer simply drops the files in the same hot folder workflow, even if page sizes differ.
Impostrip impositions all pages with marks in proper position relative to the size, then Switch automatically sends the imposed files to the digital printing press." All of Ultimate Technographics' products are hot folder driven, so Switch can be used to automate a variety of specialised workflows, such as Impostrip On Demand for digital print, Impostrip Book Stacker for digital books, Card Stacker for web2print invitations and cards and Repurposing and Proof to bridge offset to digital.
Switch can also automate Impostrip for offset print workflows along with Ink Ready to control ink density on press.
Impostrip Page Pairing combined with Switch is said to offer a solution for automating newspaper production.
For example, Impostrip's hot folder-based imposition capabilities and Switch's workflow automation tools work together.
Business cards, or complete book pages in PDF format arrive through email or FTP on a 'smart' hot folder.
Pre-flighting software verifies print-readiness and if an error is detected, the file is returned to the customer.
The company added that there is no need to check the page size, as Impostrip detects and imposes them based on the size and the imposition layout-template (including user-defined marks, printing strips and collating marks, for instance).
If the imposition reveals a printing problem, a message is sent to alert the user.
Each workflow scenario can be used to impose files of different sizes.
After the imposition stage, Switch certifies the files (if necessary) and sends them to directly to the printing press.
Dr Gerard Korving, vice president of Krips in The Netherlands, commented: "Beginning 2006 we started the investigation for automated impositioning.
Our first goal was to reach automation to avoid manual intervention with incoming files.
Our second goal was to get the imposed files ready for plate production in a minimum of time." He continued: "We finally choose the Gradual's Fullswitch combined with Ultimate's Impostrip.
This system using Impostrip's smart Hotfolder configuration and Gradual's automation features gave us the possibility to get a fully automated system for imposition.
This system acts like a toolbox and my staff set up the system of hot folders.
Ultimate is for us a very useful product and Krips already reached the two set goals." David Watson, president and chief executive officer of Ultimate Technographics, said: "Digital printers do not have time to set up complicated workflows, one job at a time - they need complete automation.
The Switch product family enables users to use the tools they prefer to configure a customised workflow and to combine them with the most automated and powerful imposition software.
He explained: "Gradual and Ultimate provide the ultimate system to easily and effectively create completely automated production to a digital press.".
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