Düsseldorf (Germany), May 29, 2008 - Production workflows in packaging and commercial printing are no longer islands of automation but focus on efficiencies and productivity gains to be obtained from integration: this is EskoArtwork's core message at drupa 2008.

EskoArtwork has assembled a must-see range of design, production and management products on its drupa booth (Hall 8b, stand A23) centered on its 'Connect More!' theme. As market leader of innovative solutions for packaging, commercial printing and professional publishing, the company brings more than fifteen new products to market.

Connect More!

"Efficiency makes the difference in today's packaging and printing business. Companies can only improve operating margins and grow profits when people and processes work together fast and flawlessly. At drupa, EskoArtwork will not only be connecting people, processes, systems and tools, but will also prove how crucial this is in today's competitive business landscape," states Carsten Knudsen, EskoArtwork President and CEO.

"EskoArtwork's 'Connect More!' vision is the central theme linking its product offerings", adds EskoArtwork Chief Commercial Officer Guido Van der Schueren, "This theme will be explored in different dimensions on the booth, integrating more closely the various steps within a single workflow. This integration process requires bringing together product design, packaging structure, graphics decoration and print visualization as well as adding intelligent interfaces between software and hardware components, some of which may be supplied by third parties."

On more than 800 square meters on stand A23 in the new hall 8b, EskoArtwork will present its various offerings organized by zones addressing packaging design, packaging pre-production, computer aided design, "color for everyone", "automation, integration and collaboration", digital flexo, digital converting, brand owners, commercial printing and Enfocus products. Two open theaters will host a continuous stream of brief overview presentations on highlights for each application segment.

Packaging design

Visitors to the Packaging Design zone will see demonstrations of Studio, a new product line that revolutionizes the way packaging designers create and communicate their designs. Studio integrates Computer Aided Design (CAD) and graphics design for boxes and flexible packaging within Adobe Illustrator. Together with Studio, EskoArtwork is introducing Studio Toolkits, a new line of structural design tools supplying the packaging shapes for Studio. With Studio Toolkit for Boxes designers create box shapes that can be decorated and folded right inside Adobe Illustrator. Alternatively, designers can take an existing technical drawing and fold it into a 3D representation of a box. Studio Toolkit for Flexibles lets designers create realistic structural models of common flexible packaging types such as pillow bags, gusseted bags and rectangular stand-up pouches.

Visualizer, another breakthrough application for dynamic packaging visualization, creates and shares realistic on-screen mock-ups and soft proofs of complex packaging and label designs. It visualizes special finishing effects such as metallics, foils, varnishes and embossing.

"Brand owners with a lot of brand extensions or product variants, or active in tightly regulated markets like pharmaceuticals, liquor and tobacco, will see how designs can incorporate dynamic content, linked to and automatically updated from secure databases," comments Guido Van der Schueren.

Packaging pre-production

The Packaging Pre-Production zone offers a close-up on expert production tools that are the benchmarks in their markets: ArtPro, Nexus, DeskPack, PackEdge, Plato and PowerStepper, to name just a few. "Visitors will see EskoArtwork's efforts to cross-integrate its various workflow lines," adds Van der Schueren. "The opportunities to create value from cross-departmental system links and from collaboration between project stakeholders will be illustrated through live demonstrations."

Computer Aided Design

The latest features of the world-leading structural design application ArtiosCAD will be on display in the CAD zone, with live demonstrations in coordination with EskoArtwork partners SolidWorks, Japanese distributor NSK (with Pixsys) and Italian distributor BBI.



Color For Everyone

The "Color For Everyone" zone will show prepress professionals several solutions for color management, proofing and output, complete with expert services. They will discover why EskoArtwork is an end-to-end color powerhouse with color management answers for everyone.

EskoArtwork's production color management workflow demonstrations will among others feature new screening technologies like Concentric, Equinox – a solution for Extended Gamut Printing – and the KaleidoScope color management platform.

Through a range of samples produced in a variety of proofing and printing processes, EskoArtwork will demonstrate its capabilities in the professional color domain for packaging and printing professionals.

Automation, Integration, Collaboration

In this zone, EskoArtwork focuses on on-line collaboration, remote proofing and approval, JDF integration, and links to MIS and ERP systems for packaging and commercial printing workflows. The WebCenter web collaboration platform now offers expanded project management capabilities. Other products featured here include WebWay and the workflow server products BackStage, Nexus and Odystar.

Digital Flexo

"Innovation is the key to this zone, with live demonstrations of the complete workflow from digital data to a processed and press-ready plate," states Van der Schueren. EskoArtwork and its flexo partner DuPont will demonstrate new Cyrel Digital Imager (CDI) solutions for flexo sleeve imaging (CDI Advance Cantilever) and automated flexo platemaking (CDI Spark 4260 Auto).

EskoArtwork's Digital Flexo Suite integrates all flexo related devices into a cost-effective solution that simplifies flexo plate room operation: from the digital file to the finished flexo plate, including plate cutting on the Kongsberg table and mounting on Mylar sleeves.

Digital Converting and Finishing

The Digital Converting zone will feature the world premiere of the new, high-performance Kongsberg XP die-less cutting tables. These heavy-duty tables are optimized for short-run digital converting for the packaging and POP markets. The XP extends the Kongsberg range of tooling for high-performance digital finishing, including static knives, crease tools and kiss-cutting knives, specially designed for the rigors of digital printing and finishing for packaging.

The demand for fast and high-precision contour cutting and milling of sign and display materials has increased fueled by the rapid growth in digital sign and display printing. At drupa, EskoArtwork presents the Kongsberg i-XL range, bringing users a fast ROI and accurate cutting across a wide range of rigid and flexible materials.

EskoArtwork will also show SignUp, a graphic layout application tool that optimizes substrate usage and reduces lead times through intelligent nesting for digital press and finishing machines. It helps to reduce waste of variable resources, substrates and ink, to an absolute minimum. SignUp is the ideal application for digital sign and display shops as well as large format digital press owners looking at streamlining production and minimizing material waste.

Commercial Printing

This zone will feature an extensive set of software solutions for the commercial print market. Integration between MIS systems, customers, pre-press, pressroom and finishing departments will be important themes, as well as efficiency gains and cost savings.

Van der Schueren states: "Demonstrations will show printers how they can boost the efficiency of their operations with EskoArtwork Pro and Enterprise workflow solutions, which are based on Odystar and BackStage PDF workflows respectively."

For last minute corrections, the Neo stand-alone PDF editor integrates seamlessly with the Odystar workflow. FastImpose is used to impose the print sheet, handling standard, multi-web and asymmetric layouts, as well as multiple sections with different trim sizes on the same sheet. Superior screening options like Concentric Screening are available, combining the smoothness of AM with the advantages of FM for higher saturation, better quality, an increased level of detail, and substantial ink savings.

Enfocus

Prepress specialists can check out the latest versions of the Enfocus PDF pre-flighting, editing and certification tools-a reliable data connection between content providers and print professionals was never easier. Visitors can also see the Switch products (originally from Gradual Software, recently acquired by EskoArtwork) now integrated within the Enfocus portfolio. Using the Switch solution makes Enfocus products even more efficient by automating repetitive tasks and connecting with other key graphic arts applications.

Brand Owners

A Brand Owners corner will feature tailored demonstrations and presentations of specific brand owner and retailer solutions, including packaging design improvements, latest innovations for color management, and consistency in the critical area of brand management.

EskoArtwork Theaters

In two separate theater areas on its stand, EskoArtwork will host a series of presentations, from EskoArtwork and Enfocus application specialists and industry partners. The presentation program is aimed at giving visitors comprehensive demonstrations and updates on the latest market developments and innovative projects.

In short sessions, various themes will be covered:

•    Packaging Design and pre-production: this theme will present the new Studio product line as well as other expert production tools which have become a reference in their markets, such as ArtPro, DeskPack, PackEdge, Plato and PowerStepper.

•    Commercial Printing: this theme will cover the integration between MIS systems, customers, pre-press, the pressroom and finishing departments.

•    Enfocus: this session will cover preflighting, editing and certification tools, providing a reliable data connection between content providers and print professionals.

The full program can also be consulted on www.esko.com/drupa and will be kept up-to-date on a daily basis.

"In summary, EskoArtwork offers a comprehensive range of innovative and cutting-edge solutions for professionals designing, producing and managing packaging and print workflows", concludes Van der Schueren. "Print buyers, brand owners, publishers, design agencies, trade shops, printers, converters, or sign makers looking for greater efficiencies, faster growth, better margins and a more competitive position cannot afford not to come and see us before making an investment decision."