San Francisco (Seybold San Francisco; Adobe partner Pavilion – APP01) – September 9, 2003. At the Adobe Pavilion at Seybold San Francisco from September 9-11, Esko-Graphics demonstrates DeskPack for Adobe illustrator, the Adobe Illustrator plug-in that delivers professional packaging on the desktop. Without leaving the familiar desktop environment, DeskPack allows users simple, affordable and controllable access to dedicated packaging design tools, sophisticated verification of printability, and the world’s leading professional packaging trapping solution. DeskPack for Adobe Illustrator has been successfully installed at hundreds of seats worldwide. “It’s hard to think of anyone involved in packaging pre-production that couldn’t benefit from the low cost and easy-to-learn DeskPack solution”, states Jan De Roeck, Esko-Graphics Marketing Director. “Creative designers, packaging specialists, prepress operators and production experts will all immediately understand why DeskPack is packaging crowned with success –whether they deal with labels, flexible packages, folding cartons or corrugated boxes; and whether they work freelance, in agencies, at trade shops or with converters.” Professional Packaging on the Desktop The DeskPack workflow centers around Adobe Illustrator clients, with a series of powerful plug-ins extending Illustrator’s functionality, as well as a plug-and-play server box hosting the advanced trapping application ColorStitch – the same trapping engine used with Esko-Graphics’ PackEdge and BackStage. All operations are fully controlled from within the familiar Illustrator desktop environment, offering expert technology to designers’ editor of choice. The server ensures that Illustrator stations are freed up for more interactive tasks while complex manipulations continue in the background. The DeskPack workflow starts from original design data, and returns all added information back into the same file: trapping objects, for example, are added as a separate layer to the Illustrator document, and can be freely edited – or even discarded – as desired. The user has full freedom to select either PDF or Illustrator’s native file format for job input, storage and interchange – anywhere on the desktop network or over the web. “There’s no need to learn how to deal with a new application, a new user interface or a new file format,” continues Jan De Roeck, “all those things remain exactly as before. You just add a full load of exciting, industry proven tools to your toolbox.” “Esko-Graphics Inside” All of DeskPack’s tools come from the world’s leading packaging pre-production products that have earned their reputation time after time in real life. DeskPack’s plug-in collection includes: boostX, a number of drawing, editing and ink control tools permitting faster and more precise product design; checkX, a beautiful tool to analyze a design and compensate for limitations of the reproduction process early in the workflow, and to improve the communication between artwork supplier, prepress shop and printer; and TrapX, the gateway to unsurpassed packaging trapping quality and performance. DeskPack incorporates the same extensive and advanced ColorStitch object trapping technology as used with the most recent versions of PackEdge and BackStage. It supports any number (and any mixes) of process and spot inks, creates fully editable trap objects in a separate layer within the job, and introduces unique new solutions to CT and vignette trapping – all with breathtaking performance. Illustrator 9 and 10 enable accurate interactive preview of traps with overprints. Trapping job tickets and checkX press profiles can be created interactively, stored for later re-use and reference, or accepted from other advanced users, trade shops and print experts (including those already using BackStage). DeskPack therefore allows users to set up workflows with a very high degree of consistency and repeatability across jobs, operators and sites. This is ideal for facility management situations. “DeskPack was designed to fulfill our customers' demands for a professional and affordable packaging solution,” states Jan De Roeck, Esko-Graphics Marketing Director. “Our customers wanted a standard file format, and since Illustrator is widely used in packaging prepress environments, this was our obvious choice. Designers or prepress operators don’t need to learn a new application or convert to a foreign file format, they can work from their familiar desktop environment and add a full range of exciting, industry proven tools to their toolbox.”