Vandalia, OH (USA), March 4, 2008 – EskoArtwork, the global market leader in innovative design, pre-production and collaboration solutions for commercial printing, presents a series of updates to software products, including Nexus 8.6, Odystar 3.0, WebWay 5.0, Enfocus PitStop Professional 7.5, and Neo 1.2 during On Demand at booth 217 (March 3-6, 2008, Booth 217.). Each new version incorporates new and improved features, which the company will demonstrate during the Expo.

"EskoArtwork has a long heritage pioneering break-through digital print production solutions-both commercial and industrial. Digital print vendors such as HP, Xerox and Xeikon embrace EskoArtwork software technology and solutions for professional, industrial applications like color management and other pre-press functions for digital packaging and label printing," comments Mark Vanover, EskoArtwork vice president, marketing. "Even our hardware is familiar to digital print providers. Kongsberg i-XE series dieless cutting tables are used to finish challenging digital print projects-for example, CD covers and labels."

Major product updates demonstrated at On Demand

Enfocus PitStop Server 4.5 provides end users with a more intuitive, reworked user interface. It allows easy access to hot folder setups, files in process and a comprehensive history log.  Changing the priority and enabling, or disabling, a hot folder is only a mouse click away.  The history of processed files, including detailed report information per job, can easily be filtered and exported in XML format for statistical analysis.

The new server-based processing function enables the PitStop Server to run as a service on Windows and a login item on Mac OS X 10.5. It allows users to start processing jobs without the need to launch the PitStop Server 4.5 user interface. Once up and running, the new PitStop Server Watchdog operates as a background application, keeping the workflow active at all times.

With a more powerful hot folder function, entire folders can be processed all at once. Users have a choice of recreating the original folder structure at output, or having it flattened. The renaming filename option allows essential information to be reflected in the filename itself. It is also possible to import and export hot folder setups as an Enfocus hot folder file – an excellent solution for backing up workflows or deploying another PitStop Server installation.

Enfocus Neo is a standalone native PDF application-editing tool that enables users to make last minute changes to PDF files. Neo is a flexible and efficient method of handling everyday prepress editing of multi-page PDF files. By giving the operator high-end editing and correction functionality in a native PDF environment, Neo has proven to be a huge asset in drastically reducing the approval and correction cycles that are unavoidable in today's demanding environments. Last year, Enfocus Neo earned a Best of Show at On Demand 2007. Neo 1.2 is compliant with version 7.2 of PitStop and has greatly improved interactive trapping tools. There are also new viewing features, including 'rotate view'. The software will also highlight overprints, transparencies, traps, breakouts and ink usage by percentage. A new Document Info Dialog window displays additional information about the file, including pre-press data, metadata etc.

Neo 1.2 can also highlight places where ink coverage is above a certain level, and reveal places with overprint, transparency traps and breakouts. The ability to show rotated views allows for easy correction of already impositioned pages. Finally, the already much appraised text editing capabilities have been extended further with support for text with tabs.

Nexus 8.6 is a comprehensive high-end workflow solution for commercial, label, digital and package printing. It is designed to increase productivity in pre-production through automation of human-intensive front-end tasks and RIP-based tasks. Nexus is a modular system and consists of three core modules: NexusIMPORT, NexusPROCESSOR and NexusRIP, which may or may not run on the same hardware configuration, allowing users to configure the system to their individual functionality, throughput and security requirements.

Odystar is a native PDF 1.7 workflow that provides an extensive range of automatic pre-press production tools. It has a client and additional modules that provide load balancing, compression and file transmission capabilities. The new Odystar 3.0 is compliant with the latest 7.2 version of PitStop. JDF/JMF connectivity has been significantly improved, providing extensive flexibility in the way digital job information is held within an MIS system. It can be utilized easily to improve productivity and reduce errors. Odystar 3.0 also lets the user work with XMP data in a PDF file. Several Odystar modules have been updated, most notably; 'Receive', which can now also accept data through FTP or by email, 'Route', which can send files to different workflow steps depending on the XMP metadata content of the file, and 'Trapper' where options have been greatly extended e.g. allowing trapping pairs to be changed then re-trapped based on these new pairs. Odystar Connect supports ad agencies, publishers, and facilities management sites with remote generation of highly robust, production-ready PDF files.

WebWay provides a convenient, secure and cost-effective communication solution between the print buyer and production plant or between different departments within one company. Printers are able to quickly and accurately produce work of extremely high quality for their customers by using a digital printer. WebWay 5.0 can be used with PC and MacIntel platforms and incorporates a large number of updates including extended color management tools, improved file uploads and downloads, Java Web Start support and greater traceability. The new approval chain feature means that work is approved by different groups of people in the correct sequence. WebWay 5.0 can also operate with Microsoft Vista and IE7.

"Evident of trends within the print industry, EskoArtwork is placing increasing importance to providing solutions for digital print," remarks Mr. Vanover. "Enfocus solutions are important tools for content originators and print providers, who need to be assured of quick-and correct-delivery of PDFs. EskoArtwork solutions provide robust workflow solutions, particularly for print providers who work in hybrid (digital and traditional print) facilities. We look forward to demonstrating the latest enhancements to our solutions at On Demand."

All of the new EskoArtwork tools are released and available for purchase.