CHICAGO -- EFI, the world leader in digital color servers, superwide format printers and inks, and print management solutions, today announced Fiery System 8, advanced print server software designed for professional print environment customers. Fiery System 8 delivers precision color, consistent high quality output, workflow innovation, powerful variable data printing (VDP) capabilities, seamless integration with EFI's web-to-print, proofing, workflow and Print MIS solutions, and connectivity to all popular pre-press applications. This new evolution of EFI's industry-leading digital print server technology addresses the most demanding professional print requirements of customers with commercial print, print for pay, corporate reprographic and creative graphic arts environments, delivering new revenue stream opportunities and increasing automation, efficiency and cost savings. Fiery System 8 features workflow innovation and professional tools for the most "extreme" users, including: the fastest, most open variable data printing solution; WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) imposition; the Production Printing Package, a set of advanced production management tools that helps customers achieve the fastest output from production print engines in mission-critical environments; the Graphic Arts Package, Premium Edition, which immediately integrates into high-end workflow systems and enables Graphic Arts professionals to produce premium quality color; the recently launched EFI Desktop SE (standard) and EFI Desktop Pro (optional) that allow users to instantly organize, manage, find and share all of their paper and digital documents at their desktop; and the optional new EFI Color Profiler Suite (also launched at Graph Expo, see separate press release), which enables Graphic Arts professionals to create, visualize, test and edit color profiles with a single profiling solution. With the Fiery open platform and compliance with industry standards such JDF, PDF, and PPML, Fiery System 8 readily integrates into customers' overall print shop operations, including offset/digital hybrid and Computer-to-Plate (CTP) environments and third-party graphic arts workflows, with full functionality operating in both Windows and Macintosh environments. Fiery System 8 passes the industry standard Altona Test Suite, ensuring integrity of design intent from creation to print, providing predictable, accurate output. And with EFI's collaborations with Agfa, Artwork Systems, Presstek, Rampage and Screen, Fiery-driven systems serve as a gateway to leading third-party pre-press technologies. Fiery servers also feature connectivity to EFI products such as: Digital StoreFront(TM) for job submission over the web; EFI Balance(TM), EFI's production color and B&W production management and sophisticated make-ready solution; Colorproof(TM) XF, the scalable, versatile client/server-based proofing solution driven by EFI Bestcolor Technology; and EFI Print MIS solutions for optimal print shop management. With more than 14 million users worldwide, Fiery is the market-leading color digital print server. Fiery servers offer JDF connectivity with EFI's powerful Print MIS solutions, which currently have an installation base of approximately 10,000, providing a two-way exchange between a customer's printing and management systems. The EFI Fiery JDF Connector facilitates the movement of job details, including job numbers, descriptions, parts information, colors, production counts, and start and stop time, between the digital output device and MIS solution in real time. Ensuring accurate job information and tracking through all parts of the workflow and providing better overall visibility of the entire workflow, the EFI Fiery JDF Connector optimizes customers' technology investment. "Fiery System 8 provides customers with a unique and powerful combination of industry-leading color management, consistent high quality output, unparalleled performance and workflow innovation," said Mehran Farimani, senior vice president and general manager, Fiery Products, EFI. "Our advances in Fiery innovation, the server's seamless integration with EFI Print MIS solutions and on demand workflow, and connectivity to prepress applications are all designed to greatly increase customers' productivity and help them profitability grow their print business." Additional highlights of the Fiery System 8 include: Performance and Productivity Among the Fiery System 8 features that enhance performance and productivity are: - Fiery Smart RIP: EFI's new RIP architecture that combines intelligent processing with the efficient utilization of the print engine. Fiery Smart RIP significantly accelerates RIPping performance, handling the most complex jobs with ease. - Continuous Print: Enables processed pages to be stored in memory before printing, eliminating the need for the copier or printer to cycle down between unique pages. - RIP-While-Print: Allows one page to be printed, while subsequent pages are simultaneously processed. - Rip 1 While Print 2 enables simultaneous two-job execution. Fiery System 8 starts RIPping a new file while the previous file is printing. - ECT Compression: The next generation of highly optimized software and video hardware that delivers both outstanding image quality and high performance. Fiery System 8 turns a print engine into a high-performance VDP solution, enabling customers to readily take advantage of lucrative personalized printing business opportunities. EFI's VDP solution is open, flexible, scalable, and includes the most comprehensive range of VDP languages, and EFI collaborates with the leading VDP software vendors. The Fiery server smoothly integrates into existing workflows and delivers consistency of workflow regardless of whether the job is VDP or non-VDP. Customers have the freedom to choose the web-to-print applications, authoring tools, databases, Fiery-driven output devices, and Print MIS systems that best suite their VDP needs. Those who integrate the Fiery server with EFI Digital StoreFront web-to-print platform have a complete, streamlined workflow from document submission and job creation, through the print production environment, to finishing and delivery. High Quality Color Output Built-in color management tools provide consistent and superior output, proprietary compression schemes, true Adobe PostScript 3, and professional toolsets. Fiery System 8 color features include: - Fiery ColorWise, the EFI in-RIP color management system, which delivers consistent color across applications, computer platforms, color spaces, and color file formats, enabling customers to readily achieve undeviating, professional-level color. ColorWise includes automated functionality and expert controls for managing color, productivity and automating color document workflow. - Graphic Arts Package, Premium Edition -- Enabling superior color quality, this suite of premium applications includes: Image Viewer, which offers a fast, accurate soft-proofing interface that zooms to the dot cell level -- customers can choose to view the job or export a PDF for easy collaboration; file converters for Hot Folders streamline job submission from other graphic arts workflows; advanced trapping settings; and control bars and post-flight reports for more sophisticated trouble-shooting and controlling output. Connectivity EFI networking technologies allow users to print and manage the Fiery server from the most popular network environments, such as Windows, Novell, the Macintosh, UNIX, and standard support for gigabit Ethernet networks. This connectivity is in addition to integration with the previously mentioned EFI products and ready connectivity to industry-leading pre-press solutions enabled by EFI's adherence to industry standards. Security From controlling access to the server to managing open network ports and securing the data resident on the system's hard drive, Fiery System 8 features a flexible configuration and rigorous implementation of security protocols. Immediate Control Fiery System 8 features are designed to remove unnecessary complexity and ensure efficiency. Document building tools, intuitive icon-based print drivers for a variety of platforms, utilities for remote job management, and a local WYSIWYG interface help customers achieve immediate control of the Fiery server. Advanced Proofing Capabilities Fiery System 8 is able to simulate a variety of print output on the customer's print engine and integrate into many related workflows. The Colorproof XF Fiery Option enables customers to deploy Colorproof XF to proof on an inkjet printer and then seamlessly utilize the Fiery server for color management and workflow. The optional EFI Color Profiler Suite also provides proofing capabilities, streamlining color management processes to ensure accuracy and predictability. Availability EFI solutions will be demonstrated at EFI booths 4212 and 4273 and at partners' booths throughout Graph Expo, Oct. 15 - 18, Chicago's McCormick Place. Fiery solutions are sold through EFI's OEM partners.