Chicago, IL (USA), September 9, 2007 - EskoArtwork, the global market leader in innovative design, pre-production and collaboration solutions for the packaging and commercial printing industry, makes its first public appearance here at Graph Expo, booths 4819 and 4851, since the merger of Esko and Artwork Systems was announced a month ago.
The new, combined business moves forward under the EskoArtwork brand, a name that reflects the strong heritage, broad customer base, and combined product and service strengths of both companies. The company will demonstrate its productive solutions based on Artwork Systems, Enfocus and Esko products across its two booths.
Solutions focused to the commercial print business such as advances in certified, traceable workflows and expert color and screening control are on the agenda at EskoArtwork booth 4819. The company is launching a series of major updates to its industry leading software products, including Nexus 8.6, ArtPro 8.6, Odystar 3.0, Neo 1.2 and WebWay 5.0. Each new version incorporates a host of new and improved features. Featured solutions will also include Equinox and Concentric screening technologies.
Nexus 8.6 is a comprehensive high-end workflow solution for commercial, label and packaging environments. 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. The new Odystar 3.0 is compliant with the latest 7.2 version of PitStop. JDF/JMF connectivity has been significantly improved, now providing substantial flexibility in the way digital job information can be utilized to improve productivity and reduce errors.
Enfocus' award-winning Certified PDF solutions are also showcased in booth 4819. The hotlist includes new NEO, a standalone PDF editor built from the ground up with the needs of printers and prepress professionals in mind. Other products being demonstrated include the latest versions of Enfocus PitStop Professional and PitStop Server:
New Enfocus Neo is a native PDF 1.6 viewer and editor that includes tools for easily reworking both text and object content in PDFs. Every function in the NEO toolkit is targeted to tight deadline support. It's extremely fast, user-friendly and intuitive, contains a full assortment of the necessary high-end editing and correction tools, and is compliant with Certified PDF and PA:CT.
Neo works like a fully-fledged text editor, allowing users to rework characters, words, and even whole paragraphs of text (including justified) with confidence that what they see on-screen is what will output. Neo's versatile object manipulation delivers the ability to stretch bleeds, resize image frames, realign or redistribute page elements and recolor vector art - quickly and precisely. Every element of the PDF can be positioned and reworked as if Neo were a full-blown design application – but all within the PDF file.
Enfocus PitStop Professional 7.2, a free update for PitStop 7.0 and 7.1 users, is available for download at www.enfocus.com. Enfocus PitStop Professional is an Adobe Acrobat plug-in indispensable for every graphic arts and publishing professional. Its interactive and automated editing capabilities allow users to perform advanced PDF editing and correction up until the very last moment. The latest version of Enfocus PitStop Professional, the industry standard for PDF preflight, auto-correction and editing, features Windows Vista (32-bit) support, compliancy with digital signatures, and even higher processing speeds. New support for digital signatures is integrated with Enfocus' Certified PDF technology, thereby enabling the Company to offer one of the strongest available secure file transfer capabilities - both at the content as well as technical levels -- in the marketplace.
Major Upgrade: Enfocus PitStop Server is a high-volume PDF workflow preflighting and auto-correction solution that instantly analyzes, corrects, reports on, and routes files based on the most stringent industry standards, including PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, and Ghent PDF Workgroup. In this major upgrade, PitStop Server has the capacity to significantly and positively affect production cycles at hundreds of thousands of sites processing PDF files, worldwide. Major enhancements include Acrobat 8 and Mac Intel (universal binary) compatibility, increased processing speed, robust crash protection that catches and quarantines unstable PDFs, XML (as well as PDF) reporting, and automated software update notification.
On booth 4851, the focus will be on solutions primarily developed for the packaging industry. Packaging workflow and design solutions, along with a samplemaking table, will be on display. The highlight will be Esko Software Suite 7, introduced on 7/7/07 and here demonstrated publicly for the first time in the US:
Esko Software Suite 7 is a complete update of Esko's design and pre-production software tools, offering significant improvements in features, productivity and compatibility with third party software. Components include a full range of structural and graphics design, prepress production and project management, tools for packaging. Entirely based on Adobe's PDF and compatible with Creative Suite 3, Esko Software Suite 7 also adds new capabilities for variable data digital printing and JDF integration. Users receive additional value by combining it with other products from Esko as well as from third party suppliers.
ArtPro 8.6 is one of the world's most productive and effective applications in the pre-production process of labels and packaging. This workstation software, now in version 8.6, includes many dedicated functions and tools to prepare graphics for a wide array of packaging production needs (e.g., litho printing, flexo printing, gravure, silk screen). ArtPro allows pre-press operators to turn designs into print-ready files instantly, resulting in unparalleled productivity increases. With many thousand licenses sold worldwide, ArtPro has become a standard in the industry.
Esko Visualizer, a component of Esko Software Suite, and the first product resulting from Esko's acquisition of Stonecube Ltd, will be demonstrated live for the first time. Esko Visualizer takes graphic information of a printed piece, interprets or adds information about substrates, special inks and finishes, and delivers a variety of realistic moving, interactive 2D and 3D representations of the final product—all within a specific lighting environment.
Esko DeskPack 3d-X, recipient of a 2007 PIA/GATF InterTech Award and part of the Esko Software Suite 7 package, is a plug-in for Adobe Illustrator that supports virtual three-dimensional views and navigation for packaging design, within the most popular packaging design application. Esko DeskPack 3-dX assists graphic designers by intuitively navigating through complex structural designs, facilitating a virtual view while creating the graphic design, literally as if designers were holding the three-dimensional package in their hands.
The Esko Kongsberg XE10, a dieless cutting table, is the newest and fastest model of the Kongsberg family. It comes with a static knife and a crease tool for solid packaging materials—as well as a pressure controlled, high-precision kiss-cutting knife tool and a reciprocating knife tool for corrugated and foam board. The Kongsberg XE10 table's work area of 43.25" x 31.5" makes it ideally suited to make samples of folding carton boxes, POP displays and other applications.
"This is an exciting time for EskoArtwork. For years, professionals in the packaging and commercial printing industry have relied on our wide-ranging software to create and prepare designs for high-quality production," explains Simon James, EskoArtwork Vice President, North America. "Now, with the combination of Esko and Artwork Systems, we can deliver an even more complete suite of tools that benefits virtually anyone in the entire value chain, and back that with professional support from our industry experts. Furthermore, the ability to interface and integrate systems and workflows in-house or between sites and supply chain partners will bring great benefits specifically to our packaging customers."