Seeing the big picture" is a well-worn management buzzterm. For converters, however, assessing the value of prepress software in your overall digital printing plan means embracing that old saying.

"Printers will face many choices over the next decade involving business systems and new technology. Those decisions will determine the printer's success and even survival," says Mark Dance, president and COO of CreoScitex.

"The printing industry will experience growth in the packaging sector, on demand printing, in the use of color, and the demands for customization," says Dance. "Aligning with a partner that provides integrated solutions will give the printer the best chance of success."

Many companies that weren't previously interested in packaging have now moved into creating software for this niche. The reason is simple—it's a growth market.

"I would say 10 years ago there were maybe one or two, at the most, vendors that were able to meet the sophisticated requirements of packaging. I believe we're seeing a change in that. Everybody is very aware that packaging is a growth opportunity and not being as impacted by the web as other markets," says Sheila Nysko, packaging segment NAFTA manager for Agfa Corporation.

Flexo trade shop Athena Graphics, Brussels, recently purchased a CDI TwinBeam laser imager by Barco Graphics Systems for direct exposure on flexo plates. Athena also upgraded its Unix-based packaging workstations to PackEdge® running on NT. The shop is also an alpha site for Barco's BackStage™ totally open digital workflow for prepress.

"Flexo is now a real contender for a lot of packaging that was previously printed in offset. That said, flexo trade shops, like ourselves, are fully aware that as prepress systems become more affordable, converters can bring this service in-house. Therefore we have to offer added value—and that means unsurpassable quality, which enables them to achieve a very low error rate on press," says Geert Cosaert, founder and managing director of Athena.

Managing dot gain is a big competitive advantage for Athena. The CDI uses a plate format with the negative built into it, producing a perfectly upright structured dot and giving a better definition.

Athena will expose to the CDI and to two Barco BG-3800 film imagesetters and an Avantra PostScript imagesetter using FlexRip. "We need to know how to work with the CDI and the digital plates in the best possible way, and that is where we are looking for Barco's support," says Cosaert. "Certainly at the beginning, we will proof film with the CDI before we go direct to plate until we've completed the learning curve."

They are continuing to run Barco's Fortuna security software on a Silicon Graphics O2 workstation, while they transfer all the Barco packaging software from Unix to NT workstations running the latest PackEdge software, which is an open workflow choice for packaging prepress. "We also have ArtPro because we have to be open to all our customers, but all the more complex work has always gone through the Barco workstations. We find it much easier to do color corrections for flexo in Barco's ColorTone than in PhotoShop," says Piet Decroos, technical manager at Athena.

"The transition to PackEdge is essential because it supports PostScript 3 and PDF with its Adobe's certified CertIn® and OutRight® technologies," Decroos says. "It's going to be much easier and quicker to open files directly on the PackEdge workstation, making PostScript and PDF handling very transparent and reliable. PackEdge also has an excellent ruler that allows us to put in our own SmartMarks™, which will be very useful."

BackStage users can configure an FTP site, which automatically triggers a series of batch functions. These check each new job and optimize by PS-FIX, then trap and immediately send to the proofing device, with no operator intervention. It handles input from all the proprietary desktop packages. BackStage can also be configured to send e-mail notifications to designers, printers, operators, or any involved party internally or externally, at any stage of the process.

"I think we have made this investment just at the right time," Cosaert says. "Printers are now realizing the benefits of digital plates and investing in the anilox rollers to be able to run them. Once we can provide them with progress reports using BackStage, that should add even more value to our service."

Pharmaceutical printer PCI Services Inc., Pennsaken, N.J., uses Agfa's Apogee PrintDrive to drive an Agfa Avantra 44 Direct-to-film Imagesetter and a direct-to-plate Galileo Thermal S. "It's very easy to use because we'll write certain PPD's for certain types of jobs that we do and it's easy to get a novice to send the job over to the RIPs without having to conform the file and make it to print correctly," says Bruce Gladfelter, desktop operator at Packaging Components. "It's just very stable software."

The PrintDrive satellite can support multiple output engines with load balancing and last minute page placement or correction from the Apogee pilot. PrintDrive is capable of receiving multiple files directly or through TCP/IP network communication. This allows the printer to perform file rendering in an environment separate from their output production—whether in the next department or in a different location altogether.

Large-format digital imposition proofs created from the Apogee Print Image File can also be output to black and white or color on AgfaJet Sherpa or Hewlett-Packard large format printers. Once the proof is approved, the same file is sent for output without the additional step of re-rendering the file.

Along with Apogee, Agfa's Odyssey - a remote diagnostic solution - allows Agfa's service technicians to perform a full range of diagnostic, upgrades and other functions via telecommunications link with the converter and its network.

Artwork System's FlexoCal is part of the Agfa package. It's a flexo specific imagesetter calibration capable of calibrating for flexography, which requires precise control of not only one variable, but three interrelated variable: higher imagesetter exposures, calibration to a curve instead of to a line, and curve application in screening.

FlexoCal first turns up exposure to result in harder and smoother dots. The dots then become smaller and achieve a 1% dot, more laser spots are needed, which results in rounder, more uniform dots, easier to hold on plate and cleaner to print.

The NOSCO Printing Group, with four facilities in Illinois and Texas, another pharmaceutical printer working with Agfa, purchased Apogee Create, the newest component of the Apogee Series2 workflow suite. Create enables content creators to generate PDF files that are workflow-optimized. The software is capable to creating a link between customers and converters. The PDF digital masters capture the designer's file content, including spot colors, multi-tones, gradients, colorized TIFFs, trapping, trim and bleed, as well as fonts, images and graphics at the correct resolution.

"In our environment, it's been very important to invest in prepress technology and bring a competent workflow to the pharmaceutical industry, because their quality control is a big part of the integrity of the process," says Russell Haraf, president of The NOSCO Printing Group. "We purchased the Apogee and Galileo as a means to enhance our PDF workflow. There's no question that we have compressed the cycle time from file receipt to plate production both with the software and with the computer-to-plate equipment itself," says Haraf.

What will software companies offer in the future for electronic prepress? That all depends on what converters are currently using and what the software suppliers can offer to integrate with existing and new software. Most converters can't afford to continuously upgrade their software and retrain their staffs, so it's important that their current software can be adjusted to work with the new.

"Our philosophy is to have an open solution. The majority of our systems are very easily integrated with other prepress solutions for the industry. The benefit for the customer, and why we've chosen to do that, is many of our accounts in packaging have already trained and made commitments to specific workflow. Instead of explaining to them, or giving them reasons that they should change their organization, we find it more effective to be able to understand what they use and why they use it," says Nysko.

The Brisque™ family of workflow products, offered by CreoScitex, is designed to automate the tools, operation and processes in the prepress workflow while leaving control in the hands of the user. It incorporates Adobe® Extreme™ technology and offers editable PDF workflows from creation to print. The Brisque family consists of the basic Brisque, Brisque Pro, Brisque Proof and Brisque Impose. All are fully automated to the prepress workflow through a flexible job ticket process. It outputs to Dolev™ imagesetters, Lotem™ and Trendsetter® platesetters, and third-party platesetters using Screen2Go, PDF2Go, Export PS, Impo2Go, TIFF-IT and CT/LW file formats.

Using Adobe Extreme technology with Brisque, enables integration of the PDF format into its workflow. Preflight editing and automatic correction of the PDF files are provided by the built-in Enfocus® PitStop technology that allows for smooth and error-free input, checking and correction of PDF files. This allows prepress to check the submitted PDF document against a profile of preset production specifications based on job requirements.

Heidelberg recently released the new MetaDimension PDF workflow module that provides printers, trade shops and service bureaus with a gateway to PDF-based workflows. Its open interface also facilitates integration into existing workflow systems. MetaDimension can provide smaller print shops and service bureaus with a cost-effective alternative for moving to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF)-based workflows.

This software is integrated into existing workflow environments from other suppliers. MetaDimension is built upon the Adobe PostScript 3 printing and imaging technology and is a PDF renderer. It supports a variety of prepress and workflow features and tools within the Adobe printing platform, which include color management, proofing, trapping, page positioning, CIP 4 and OPI (open prepress interface).

Users have access to a diverse range of Acrobat plug-ins and applications to ensure a high-productivity PDF workflow when using MetaDimension. By using the Acrobat technology, it allows a new level of freedom with virtually unlimited access to additional options from Heidelberg, like Supertrap, and any plug-ins from third party developers.

"MetaDimension's open and modular architecture gives customers the reliability they need for their workflow," says James Mauro, product manager for MetaDimension. "Users need not invest in an entirely new infrastructure, but can continue using their existing modules and operating procedures, and adapt MetaDimension to suit their needs. This technology can provide customers with a cost effective springboard to a full-featured PDF workflow."

"We are continuously developing our workflow solutions. We focus on automation, as well as products that will grow as our customers' businesses grow," says Mauro. "In the near future, Heidelberg will be offering workflow solutions with a very modular design. MetaDimension is the rendering component to that workflow."

For more electronic prepress software, visit Print® 2001 September 6-13 at McCormick Place in Chicago. See page 56 for details.