The extra factor
Improving workflow and broadening output options are just some of the features found in today's software as Sophie Matthews-Paul outlines.
Today's software refinements and improvements are better geared to workflow diversity now that the quality of colour and overall output is more or less a given for most display producers. Purchasers of wide-format printers normally have the option for the machine to be installed complete with at least the basic software to drive it; but, as users become more compliant with products to which they are accustomed and have specific preferred features and options, there is a natural partiality to remain with a familiar interface and idiosyncrasies already understood.
Nonetheless, this year we have seen upgrades and revisions to various products with many Rip manufacturers including additional extras including the ability to drive a greater number of printers. Also growing in popularity is the provision for print-to-cut workflows, and options for newer technologies to be incorporated, such as the ability to be used with HP's latex printing technologies.
Similarly, when Adobe brought out its PDF Print Engine 2, several developers moved swiftly to accommodate the adoption of fully integrated end-to-end .pdf workflows. This has simplified pre-press operations not only by utilising a single workflow for all types of job but also by adding opportunities for VDP.
The questions which Rip and associated software users need to ask themselves is which product suits their output needs the best. This isn't always easy to answer and, as is so often the case in life, there is no such thing as the perfect product. Where one company might want to optimise on proofing and colour in accordance to, say, FOGRA standards, others are often more concerned about speed and productivity in single or networked environments. Relative efficiency can only really be measured by these individuals' needs, the types of environment and the programs where they feel most at home and confident to operate to their best abilities.
The need for improved workflow has increased, acknowledged by companies like Caldera and Shiraz Software which are amongst those that have been quick to adopt Adobe's PDF Print Engine 2; others are sure to follow as integration becomes more important and relevant to wide-format display producers.
We've also seen significant upgrades to operating systems, with Windows 7 now dominating PC platforms and Macintosh Snow Leopard becoming de facto on Apple platforms. Both of these needed to be factored into related software as no user upgrading a computer wanted to find that an existing Rip or workflow product was no longer compliant.
With many software developers being instrumental in adding a wide range of independent print engines to their lists of drivers, unfamiliarity needn't be added onto the learning involved when acquiring a new machine. Instead, the extra printers can be added to most Rip options. The same applies to users who want to work with computerised cutting equipment and who need to factor this element into the production line.
EFI is one example of a company which has recognised the need for print service providers to incorporate cutting machines into their operations. The latest generation of the EFI Fiery XF is v4.1 which supports contour cutting machines with drivers for 1200 cutting and routing tables from 70 different manufacturers. As part of the print-to-cut work-flow, Fiery XF v4.1 generates cut and registration marks for single jobs, plus it accommodates nested and step-and-repeat applications.
Caldera's latest Linux based solutions now also drive contour and XY cutters, with its print-to-cut solution making it easy to manage all production stages from document set-up to the actual cutting. For direct plotting, VisualCut is used after printing and is linked directly to a PC or Macintosh, suitable for roll-fed cutters such as those from Graphtec, Summa, Mimaki, Mutoh and Roland, as well as with Z?nd tables using Caldera's edge sensor. The company's GrandCut option drives wide-format flatbed units with direct plotting by generating a file for the specific controllers within the machines, such as the i-Cut option.
Shiraz has also been the recipient of significant updating, with Rip Server v6.7 and Signature v7.5, for standalone printers, both supporting Adobe Print Engine 2. The company has also added a raft of new drivers which includes Epson's Stylus Pro 7700 and 9700, plus Canon's imagePrograf family, Mimaki's solvent-based and UV-curable printers and, last but not least, HP's latex printing technologies.
Although, of course, EFI supports all Vutek printers it also has drivers for most other engines available today, with its eXpress product being geared as a lower-priced solution for photographic and proofing applications. As these requirements become more colour critical and need precise profiling, so Rip and workflow software has found a place amongst digital users. Away from the list of wide-format engines supported by Shiraz is its innovative Focus product, designed from the ground up purely for the photographic sector yet which provides full and logical functionality across a range of materials and printer options.
New from ColorGate are drivers for the latest HP Scitex LX800 and LX600 (formerly the L65500) which features in the company's Productionserver 6. This developer is also heading down the road of intelligent workflow solutions, and has also incorporated what it calls its innovative device proof technology to handle potential colour differentials across varying the ink formulations and behaviour found in aqueous-based, solvent-based, UV-curable and HP's latex chemistries.
ErgoSoft, too, has continued to update its solutions to cater for the wide-format digital print market and, also, for textiles with its TexPrint option whilst Wasatch is another not only to include wide- and small-format inkjet but also incorporates specific options for the production of fabrics and other specialist areas of print. Many products also incorporate features to help users reduce their ink costs and to provide additional functionality to assist with optimum set-up job by job.
There is enormous variation of machine type in use by the wide-format industry today and, not surprisingly, different users want to produce a plethora of jobs ranging from high-resolution photographic applications through textiles and industrial output, to giant hoardings and scaffold wraps. All these examples rely on the right software and algorithms to optimise output and, in amongst the products available currently, there are programs which can cater for virtually all eventualities.
Putting VDP in the spotlight
Every now and again an innovative piece of software comes along which combines logic with a use which the industry needs. With one of the more recent desires in the wide-format sector being to simplify customisation, we're now in the throes of seeing developers wake up to the fact that variable data printing is, indeed, a valuable asset.
Products which have made their way onto the market to cover personalisation and versioning tend to be tied either to the Rip or to a printer. However, Cambridge-based ixPressia has launched a deceptively simple program that lets anyone with a PC and a basic ability to handle PDF format create variable data files.
Designated ixPressionist, this new personalisation option works off-line - which means that users can create the files including variable text, image and barcodes whether or not they own a printer. Print producers wary about handling third-party .csv files and of handling data merging themselves now don't need to worry about it as the customer/designer can handle that side of the job themselves. As the variable data elements are stored in an industry standard .pdf file, they can easily be sent to clients for review prior to printing.
This program has been designed to make it simple to customise wide-format displays and signs and, of course, is also invaluable for labels, stickers, identity cards and badges and promotional products. Barcode support includes quality measures such as single-colour black, quiet zones and integer width bars.
In use, ixPressionist is fast and easy to install with a minimal learning curve. The software enables users to import a background bitmapped image and insert variable elements as placeholders before automatically merging the unique data, such as names, addresses, sequential numbers and images. The finished job is saved as a single .pdf file which contains all the multi-page output.
ixPressionist has been designed to support embedded RGB and CMYK profiles within its workflow, and this ensures accurate colour matching when the final file is passed to the Rip or to the printer. The program's Pro version also supports embedded object re-use so that elements in the image are only stored and Ripped once, with the resulting smaller files saving on processing times.
Being able to merge a variety of elements, such as numbers, standard .csv data, images, plus barcodes and QR codes, takes away the tedious manual, error-prone element involved when having to input this information manually. Graphics can be scaled and cropped in situ, and file formats supported are CMYK and RGB .pdf, .jpg, .tif, .plus png and .gif, with the latter two having transparency support. Layout tools include snap-to-grid, guide rules and ability to align objects.
ixPressionist runs on Windows 7, XP or Vista with a recommended 2 GB of RAM and a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or better. Output can be to most standard printers plus RIPs which can support multiple or multi-page .pdf files (.pdf v1.7).