New solution provides PDF creation, quality control and file delivery in one go

Ghent, Belgium – Enfocus, the leader in automation and creator of the PDF preflight and editing standard, PitStop Pro, announced Connect ALL, part of the new Connect 11 product family. Connect ALL enables graphic arts and print service providers to automate job delivery by external clients, including a solution to create high-quality PDFs before they leave the designer’s workstation. Companies will save time and money with this additional control over incoming files. Connect ALL will be available in the 3^rd quarter, 2013.

Qualitative job delivery right from the start

“Getting good quality files for various printing processes is still often a challenge today,” explained Michael Reiher, Connect product manager at Enfocus. “Although PDF files are a standard for the graphic arts industry, too many PDFs are still created that are not optimal for print or will cause problems.”

Connect 11 is designed to bridge the gap between creative and production professionals by helping designers deliver high-quality jobs from the start - no IT or PDF skills required. This saves valuable time in production and helps avoid costly mistakes. “Connect ALL addresses the most common problems with PDF files at the source – on the designer’s workstation where they can also be easily fixed,” said Michael Reiher. “By controlling the overall PDF creation process, and tying it to the correction and preflight capabilities of the built-in PitStop technology, common issues such as missing fonts, low-resolution images and other common problems are easily addressed before the PDF files are received for production.”

How it works

Service providers can use Connect ALL to set up an unlimited number of applets called Connectors, which they can supply to any of their customers. At the customer’s site these Connectors handle the complete process from PDF file creation, followed by checking, correction where necessary, job ticket generation and finally uploading the completed job to the production site.

The PDF file creation and quality control is based on the service provider’s own specifications, and the resulting files can only be delivered to the owner of Connect ALL.

Connectors can be created to offer:

• One-click PDF creation through Adobe® Creative Suite® or from the print option of any application, using the built-in Adobe® Normalizer technology
• Automatic PDF correction and enhancement based on Enfocus PitStop Action Lists
• PDF verification using Enfocus PitStop Preflight Profiles
• Custom job ticket generation to communicate job information and help automate downstream processes
• Automate the secure delivery of job files of any type to (S)FTP, HTTP, email, or directly into an Enfocus Switch automated flow
• Connectors can optionally carry the service provider’s brand or choice of image on their desktop icons and can be updated remotely

Connectors created with Connect ALL can be easily customized to provide all of the features possible, or just a small sub-set. For instance, the delivery of other file types is also made possible. In addition, custom XML/TXT/or CSV electronic job tickets can be defined for each Connector, making it easy to collect valuable job specifications as the files are transmitted for production. 

Connect 11 family

Connect ALL will be replacing PitStop Connect as of the release. Existing PitStop Connect users will benefit from the extended features of Connect ALL. New capabilities include PDF creation from any application based on the built-in Adobe^® Normalizer technology.

Launched at the same time as Connect ALL is Connect YOU, the other application within the Enfocus Connect 11 family. Connect YOU is the single-user member of the family, aimed at designers and other creators. Both versions share most of the same functionality and have the same code base. However Connect YOU Connectors can only be used on the workstation that created them and cannot be transferred to other users.

In addition, Enfocus will hold a series of free webinars introducing the new product line. Schedules and how to sign up for the webinars are available on the Enfocus website. Enfocus Connect ALL Webinars www.enfocus.com/en/webinars

Availability and pricing 

Connect 11 will be available in the 3^rd quarter, 2013. For more information on Connect YOU and pre-ordering for Instant PDF users click here.

For more information on Connect ALL click here.

For more information on Connect 11 or how to purchase, please visit your local Enfocus reseller, or Enfocus at [email protected].