Gent (Belgium) -- EskoArtwork announces the introduction of SignUp Auto, a fully-automatic nesting solution for sign and display companies. SignUp Auto allows the sign and display companies to more efficiently utilize their raw substrates, eliminate costly operator time in Adobe Illustrator or other desktop publishing packages, and provides the mechanism as a dedicated workflow tool to accept files from a digital storefront. SignUp Auto, a SignUp brand extension, is just one piece of EskoArtwork's product portfolio for sign and display finishing solutions. In addition to the Kongsberg tables, and the recently acquired i-cut technology for visual control, SignUp Auto and SignUp are based on industry leading EskoArtwork technologies, recognized as best in class.

"During the past few years-particularly with our Kongsberg tables-EskoArtwork has taken a leadership role in digital finishing for signs and displays. With SignUp and now, with the introduction of SignUp Auto, EskoArtwork front-end software solutions have rapidly become foremost industry solutions," explains Geert De Proost, EskoArtwork Director Platforms Software product group. "The automation in SignUp Auto uses SignUp's intelligent nesting and metadata such as material and number of copies to achieve 'lights out' production reducing errors, most notably through trial and error tests. And, just as important for the bottom line, SignUp Auto tools provide optimized material usage and cost efficiencies."

SignUp Auto, a new product based on SignUp technology, is a fully automated nesting solution for companies that wish to more completely operate their workflows in a nearly 'lights out' process. Together with its workflow framework, it dramatically increases productivity and optimizes the use of print and finishing materials. In addition, because SignUp Auto is able to understand and process XML and JDF files as prepress input, its automation makes it ideal as a receiver of storefront input for Web-to-print. Along with nesting and tiling, SignUp Auto offers complete workflow automation, allowing an operation to accept a fast growing number of very short run jobs to deliver to the increasing number of digital presses.

A growing list of cutting-edge SignUp features

Along with SignUp Auto, EskoArtwork also introduces a strongly enhanced update of SignUp, the graphic layout application tool that optimizes substrate and plate use and reduces lead times through intelligent nesting for digital press and finishing machines. It helps to reduce waste of variable resources, substrates and ink, to an absolute minimum, ideal for digital sign and display shops as well as large format digital press owners looking at streamlining production and minimizing material waste.

A number of new, advanced SignUp features help sign and display printers become more productive.

Automatic bleed to images: By creating a bleed to images automatically with an appropriate margin of error, SignUp assures that any cut will be made to the edge of the image. More important, SignUp eliminates the hours of time it would take an operator to manually build these bleeds in Adobe Photoshop.

Offcut manager: At times, rushed delivery due dates do not allow a print shop to cost-effectively wait to fill a full piece of material. When this happens, Offcut manager will organize the nesting of available images on the substrate, efficiently leaving a blank area of the board so that it can be re-used. For the printer, this dramatically reduces waste when fast delivery times occur.

Automatic White underprint generation: SignUp will automatically prepare a file for a white underprint; particularly common with plexi displays, saving the time-consuming prepress tasks in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Dramatically improved multi page support: Settings can be established for two sided displays, automatically opening odd pages as reverse sides and even pages as front sides

Support for CAD data for displays: SignUp can accept structural data from popular CAD software, such as ArtiosCAD.

Creation of Smartmarks: SignUp can create Smartmark dynamic job marks for displays, such as eyelet marks for banners.

Other, upgraded features provide multi sheet generation, a real-time viewing of the progress of nesting on a sheet of substrate, and ways to optimize nesting algorithms.

"This update of SignUp focuses on reducing material waste by re-using cut pieces. It also enhances support for double-sided displays, multi-page PDF workflows, and can easily nest irregular shapes. In doing so, digital large format printing and finishing shops get faster production throughput and are able to conserve operator time," explains De Proost.

SignUp Auto will be demonstrated, and available for sale as a beta version, during ISA (US, Las Vegas, April 16-18); Sign UK (London, April 28-30) and Fespa Digital (Amsterdam, May 12-14). It is expected to be commercially available in July.