August 9, 2001, Lynnwood, Washington, ScenicSoft and CreoScitex announce that Pandora, ScenicSoft’s innovative solution for packaging and label printers, now offers seamless connectivity with CreoScitex workflow solutions. CreoScitex offers two packaging-specific workflow products: Prinergy Powerpack and Brisque Pack. Prinergy Powerpack is the first PDF-based workflow for packaging prepress, while Brisque Pack builds on the success of the Brisque workflow by adding features specific to the packaging market. Both packaging workflows can take advantage of InSite, the powerful suite of Internet tools offering online remote proofing solutions. Pandora 1.1, which is currently shipping, is tuned specifically to work with CreoScitex Prinergy Connect, Prinergy Direct, and iMPAct workflows. Pandora 1.2 enables full integration with CreoScitex Brisque Pack by adding support for the PCF file format and a new tool for specifying and controlling complex non-rectangular bleed paths. Pandora 1.2 is on target to ship early in September 2001 and will be demonstrated at Print 01 in both the CreoScitex and ScenicSoft booths. Features enabling close integration with Prinergy Powerpack are under development and are expected to become available shortly after the Pandora 1.2 release. Pandora is developed entirely in Java, which enabled ScenicSoft to provide Windows and Macintosh versions in four languages with the very first release. Pandora is delivered on a CD with all languages and platforms supported, providing maximum flexibility for CreoScitex international users. Pandora accepts PDF artwork and marks, as well as DDES2, CFF2, and DXF die files. Pandora’s color setup allows re-mapping of spot and process colors and conversion of spot colors to process, and supports PostScript Level 2 and PostScript 3 in-RIP color separations. Pandora can produce PostScript, PDF, Adobe PJTF job tickets, and CreoScitex PCF files. "This flexibility, combined with Pandora’s renowned ease of use, makes it easy to integrate our product with all of CreoScitex’s workflows," said Esad Suskic, ScenicSoft Pandora product marketing manager. "We are extremely confident in our current direction. After almost three years of initial development and four significant Pandora releases in the last nine months, packaging printers have taken notice. It is obvious that we are committed for the long run. Pandora is an exciting piece of technology, built by a very substantial and talented development team that will continue to innovate at an unprecedented pace. Just like CreoScitex, we remain committed to offering more choice for a segment that has been overlooked for too long." "As the first and only packaging program to offer a native PDF-based solution designed and built to address the specific needs and requirements of packaging and label printers, Pandora perfectly matches the CreoScitex philosophy," said Bob Kutschke, CreoScitex worldwide product manager for Prinergy Systems. "PDF has many advantages for consumer product companies and their packaging printers/converters and tradeshops. For the first time, the concept of a digital master is reality the file you design, trap, step, proof, and approve is the actual file that goes to plate. PDF saves time and increases reliability since there is no need to translate file formats and risk unintended changes." The flexibility of the PDF format, compared to traditional proprietary formats, allows packaging printers to utilize a variety of tools for editing, viewing, and exchanging digital 1-ups. The broad range of CreoScitex packaging-specific digital prepress solutions combines the speed, efficiency, and flexibility of a digital workflow with platemaking accuracy, and brings new levels of process control to package printing. CreoScitex also produces the Trendsetter VLF and the Trendsetter 3244 for offset printers/converters and the ThermoFlex digital flexographic platesetter family for wide, mid-range, and narrow flexographic printers/converters.