Gent, Belgium – At Ipex, EskoArtwork will roll out Suite 10, a step change release of its entire suite of packaging and print pre-production software. With Suite 10, EskoArtwork will continue to meet the most demanding design and production needs of the packaging and print industry over the coming years.

Suite 10: focus on value
Suite 10 brings additional productivity and efficiencies to new and existing EskoArtwork customers.
- Integrated "best in class" applications. The new releases of the flagship prepress editors ArtPro, PackEdge, DeskPack and Studio are now more integrated than ever with the workflow automation and color management servers using the Shuttle technology.
- Quality Assurance tools for error-free workflows. Reducing the risk of human errors is built into every aspect of Suite 10. A fast growing range of 3D capabilities are introduced as QC tools to the workflow.
- True collaboration in a global marketplace. Suite 10 adopts a more enterprise-like model with the Internet as a backbone for collaboration and resource-sharing between distant production facilities.
- Easy to learn, easy to use, easy to maintain. The new user interface of the workflow editor is both extremely intuitive and really powerful, making it easy to set up and manage dynamic workflows both for SME-type operations as well as for larger multi-product facilities.

Committed development based on customer input
With the Suite 10 release, EskoArtwork demonstrates its commitment to listen to its customers and develop best-in-class solutions. Customers in the packaging, commercial print and sign and display markets have been deeply involved in specifying and testing Suite 10. The initial feedback from customers who are in production with Suite 10 is unanimously positive.

Suite 10 is developed by a very experienced and stable team of software developers at EskoArtwork, some with over 25 years of expertise in packaging and print knowledge. This release is the result of over a hundred man years of development effort together with the input of many of our customers worldwide.

"Our software R&D team operating in our Gent headquarters have ensured Suite 10 delivers unmatched stability, continuity and compatibility," says Bernard Zwaenepoel, Senior VP Software Business. "We guarantee that this set of solutions comes to market in a manner that protects the investments of our customers."

Suite 10: an integrated set of solutions
The EskoArtwork Suite 10 software sets new standards that enhance productivity and reduce costs in the packaging and print value chain. EskoArtwork customers will find their past investments well protected: the release of Suite 10 brings significant new capabilities in prepress editing and workflow automation without the need to re-engineer operational workflows or re-train operators.

Suite 10 brings new releases of the flagship prepress editors ArtPro, PackEdge and DeskPack, now more integrated than ever with the rest of the workflow using the Shuttle technology. Operators will see a performance boost with higher job throughput as an immediate result. In Suite 10, the well-known applications for prepress, CAD, packaging design and color management are supported by server applications which execute a wide range of automation tasks in the background.
- Automation Engine – workflow automation and job management software that supports small, single-site operations as well as multi-site, multi-plant global production operations.
- Color Engine – centralized color management server and database with patented spectral profile technology and unique spot-color capabilities, providing integrated and consistent color management from the design to final print in every printing technology.
- Imaging Engine – provides consistent, high-performance and top-quality proofing, screening and printing output across all conventional and digital imaging and print devices.
- Dynamic Content Engine – collaboration and content management for critical packaging content, including text, bar codes and nutrition tables.

The industry drivers behind Suite 10
Suite 10 has been inspired by two principal industry drivers. Firstly, packaging converters and commercial printers are in need for "best-in-class" tools to service their customers better. Brand Owners demand top-quality workflow solutions that encourage innovation and provide high throughput and rock-solid quality. In today's highly pressurized market, quality must be a given and errors are unacceptable. Reducing the risk of human errors is built into every aspect of Suite 10 – in the first instance by automating the workflow as much as possible, and secondly by introducing 3D capabilities as QC tools to the workflow.

The second driver is related to the increased globalization and consolidation in the packaging and print industry, leading to larger manufacturing groups. This trend spurred EskoArtwork to adopt a more enterprise-like model for its software.

Brand Management across the supply chain
Not only will Suite 10 appeal very much to the current customer base of converters, trade shops and printers, the software also offers great opportunities for Brand Managers at retailers and Brand Owners that want to streamline brand management across the packaging supply chain. Suite 10 has all the technology hooks –advanced database technology, JDF and XML metadata and software integration SDKs– to establish an interface between the packaging pre-production or print prepress workflow and the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system commonly used to manage the design to shelf lifecycle of a consumer product. For Brand Managers, it means that packaging is no longer a disconnected process step, but a truly integrated one. For Brand Owners, this is enabling technology to reduce time-to-market of new products.

Rolling out Suite 10
As of May 1st 2010, EskoArtwork starts the controlled roll-out of Suite 10 to new and existing customers. Customers with a Maintenance Contract will automatically be informed of the practical details of upgrading to Suite 10 by their local Customer Services representation. Customers that are not under Maintenance Contract can contact their regional Sales Account Manager for inquiries about upgrading part or whole of their configuration to Suite 10.

"It is important that we not only bring all our customers forward on a technical level, but that we also position them for sustainable profitability of their business in the future," concludes Carsten Knudsen, CEO of EskoArtwork.