Heidelberg and RealTimeImage, Inc. today announced a joint development and distribution partnership that will result in Heidelberg's delivery of the most advanced and reliable online proofing solutions to its partners, distributors and customers worldwide. The technology, which will be branded HDPROOF, will be demonstrated throughout the duration of the PRINT 01 exhibition in Heidelberg's booth (Exhibit #1000). The combination of Heidelberg’s renowned Color Management and RIP technologies, and RealTimeImage’s patents-pending image streaming, online collaboration and proofing technologies, signals a great productivity leap for printers worldwide. The ability to review, measure, and collaborate over color and details in full resolution -- accurately, over the Internet -- and then produce precision inkjet hard-copies at any location, substantially accelerates the production cycle. Printers benefit with better control, less errors, and greatly reduced costs. “This decision to join our technologies will provide Heidelberg customers with the fastest and most accurate workflow in the industry," said RealTimeImage President and CEO Zvi Eintracht. "Heidelberg’s endorsement of high resolution online proofing will also greatly accelerate market acceptance, and is a real affirmation of our core technologies. We are very excited about the opportunity to develop the future of print-production proofing with such a great company.” "This agreement between our companies is significant in that it enables the launch of Heidelberg's first eService offering to the industry," commented Wolfgang Pfizenmaier, Heidelberg's Management Board Member responsible for digital solutions. "Right off the bat, the tight integration of our technologies within an Application Service Provider (ASP) model will allow customers to reap the benefits of internet-enabled Remote Proofing on a very cost-effective basis. For the longer term, HDProof is a vital component helping to drive the evolution of Heidelberg's strategy to create a truly customer-focused eService Portal for Printers." The HDProof service, slated for availability in Q42001, can be easily integrated into all of Heidelberg's prepress workflow offerings, such as Delta Technology, Prinergy, and the new MetaDimension. Like every Heidelberg software offering, this eService is Job Definition Format (JDF)-ready, supports open standards for data file formats (PDF, DCS, TIFF, PostScript, EPS, etc.), and will seamlessly integrate into any print media workflow. Customers will enjoy the benefits of a user-friendly remote service offering secure data transfer, shorter correction cycles, and the abiity to simultaneously view, mark up, and annotate print jobs on screen, in full resolution. Annotations can be immediately viewed by every invited user, and e-mail notification automatically alerts all participants to changes. This is the truly comprehensive remote soft- and hard-proofing service customers have been waiting for.