Remote Hard Copy Proofer Released In UK

Assureproof, claimed to be the only remote hard copy proofing system to verify and validate jobs against the specifications of the destination publication, has been released in the UK.

Assureproof, which is claimed to be the industry's only remote hard copy proofing system to verify and validate jobs against the mechanical and colour specifications of the destination publication, has been released in the UK.

Assureproof from Quickcut, is the result of a strategic partnership between Quickcut and EFI and is the latest in a series of technology partnerships the company plans to announce over the next 18 months.

Quickcut has also announced the appointment of specialist systems integrator and colour experts City and West End Solutions to provide installation, training and continuing service and support to Assureproof users.

"This system combines the benefits of consistent digital hard copy proofing with the validated Quickcut digital workflow for the first time and it will appeal to many publishers," said Simon Landau, technical sales manager for City and West End.

Assureproof combines Quickcut's workflow software for file validation, ICC-based colour management, workflow automation and file distribution with EFI's Colorproof XF software and a range of output devices to provide a reliable JDF-enabled, colour verified, remote proofing system said the company.

Users of either company's products can implement Assureproof through a software upgrade.

In addition, the Assureproof workflow supports more than 30 ink-jet printers from Canon, Epson and HP, including the Canon W2200 and 8200, Epson Stylus 4000 and HP DesignJet 30 and 130 series.

"Assureproof effectively closes the Quickcut production loop by providing a hard copy proof system for advertisers and their clients, confident in the knowledge that the colour curve they are using is provided by the respective publications.

Now designers and publishers can also produce colour-accurate hard proofs at either end of the process for approval and reference.

Assureproof entirely eliminates the need for advertising agencies to send a hard-copy proof to publishers, further reducing cost and time delays," explained Joe Jarett, Quickcut's chief executive officer.

In an Assureproof workflow, the content creator uses Quickcut's Quickprint software in conjunction with Adobe Indesign or QuarkXPress to design an advertisement for a specific publication guided automatically by that publisher's mechanical requirements and the correct colour profile, which Assureproof uses to enforce proper colour management throughout the process, said the company.

When the completed advertisement is ready to be proofed, the Quickprint software automatically checks the layout document to the selected publisher specifications - verifying size, colour, fonts, resolution, ink weight and CMYK separations.

Accepting the job for proofing automatically triggers Quickcut to create and send a PDF/X file with the publisher's colour profiling to EFI Colorproof XF software for proofing without any additional RIP set-up.

A colour bar printed on the hardcopy proof is measured using EFI Colour Verifier software and its accuracy verified using a spectrophotometer.

If the printer is properly calibrated and the colours are accurate against the specified profile information, Assureproof automatically verifies the proof, writes the measurement values in to a JDF file that is sent back in to the Quickcut workflow and records the verification status in to a PDF/X file that it sends to the Quickprint database.

Upon downloading the file, the verification status and the measurement values are shown automatically in the Quickcut Pagestore software interface.

A verified colour-accurate proof can then be generated on a supported device at any remote site, giving agency users the flexibility to generate hardcopy proofs for client approval or agency reference and providing publishers with an added level of quality assurance to support digital advertisement delivery, whilst eliminating the need for advertisers to send a hard-copy proof with the file.

Quickcut said that the printers compatible with the Assureproof workflow have been chosen for their ability to cover the colour gamut required to simulate print output by a wide range of printing presses and users may already own a supported printer, further easing the transition to Assureproof colour-verified remote proofing.

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