6/7/01 - Following the completion of the beta test phase, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) is now launching PrepressInterface Version 3.0 onto the market. The range of functions offered by this tried-and-tested interface based on the PPF (Print Production Format) standard of the CIP4 Group (formerly CIP3) has been significantly extended. This means that PrepressInterface 3.0 is now a fully-fledged module in the printshop workflow, and can position autoregister marks on presses with the CP2000 Center and AutoRegister and transfer color reference values for ImageControl. The software also features a customizable output interface to the CP2000 Center press control system, the ImageControl quality measurement system and finishing equipment. "From the time the first sheet is printed until the color is spot on, we used to get between 250 and 350 sheets of waste", reports John deLoach, Managing Director of Crowson Stone Printing in Columbia/USA. "Now we can move to the production run far sooner after the first control sheet, in fact after just 150 sheets." The transfer of color presetting values from the prepress data to the Speedmaster's CP2000 Center means Crowson Stone Printing not only cuts waste, but also saves significant setup time when frequent job changes occur. Since hitting the markets four years ago, the PrepressInterface software has been installed more than 1,300 times. The feedback is unanimous: PrepressInterface successfully cuts setup times and waste, and is therefore indispensable for im-proving productivity. One of the reasons for the success of Heidelberg's Prepress-Interface is its open interface architecture based on the PPF standard. This allows different makes of prepress systems to be connected, for example. Heidelberg has integrated the experience gained from practice into the development of the 3.0 upgrade. Michael Knable, Head of Prepress at Kehler Druck in Baden, welcomes the functionality of PrepressInterface, which includes the ability to calculate the estimated ink consumption at the start. This is done using the color setting values from the prepress stage. "And with parameters for the printing stock now being made avail-able, the system is perfect. No other software offers that." PrepressInterface also enables data to be transferred for finishing units that fea-ture a standard PPF interface. This means that Compucut from Polar-Mohr and Heidelberg's Compufold finishing communication system can be supplied directly with presettings data from PrepressInterface and, in other cases, the data pro-vided by the Heidelberg Signastation impositioning equipment is used. So which-ever option the user takes, an end-to-end workflow is guaranteed. "The next step" In future, Heidelberg will be using the Job Definition Format as its standard interface. By also implementing JDF on all prepress and finishing equipment, this will ultimately achieve a truly end-to-end printmedia workflow. This will ensure that business management and production processes are even more closely intermeshed.