Gent, Belgium – EskoArtwork announces that it has entered into an alliance with EFI to co-market EskoArtwork software solutions specifically aimed at the large format sign and display market. Under the agreement, the companies agreed to co-market the new EskoArtwork i-cut Suite, the expanded collection of pre-production software, beginning at Fespa 2010. In combination with EFI's Fiery XF solutions for the wide-format and super wide digital inkjet market, the combined offering streamlines production substantially.

"EskoArtwork since long is the leader in developing prepress, automation and workflow solutions, and their years of experience make them a key player in this market," comments Stefan Spiegel, General Manager EFI Inkjet Applications. "Their i-cut Suite is a unique offering that, in combination with our EFI Fiery XF solutions, will enable our EFI Rastek wide format and EFI Vutek super wide format customers in single- or multi-printer environments to improve their efficiency and reduce costs, and ultimately increase print productivity."

"We are very pleased to enter into this alliance with EFI. As the industry continues to evolve, printing and workflow technology must become faster, less costly and more efficient. In this highly competitive market it's critical that suppliers are able to offer a true end-to-end automated solution," adds Bryan Stringer, Worldwide Business Development Manager Sign & Display at EskoArtwork. "Along with EFI, we recognize the importance of partnering and combining the unique strengths of best-in-class solutions that answer the specific needs of the sign and display market. We strongly believe this benefits the industry by delivering true integrated solutions that help customers to become more competitive and profitable."

Streamlined production workflow with i-cut Suite, introduced at Fespa 2010
With i-cut Suite, EskoArtwork offers companies that drive a large format digital printer and/or digital finishing systems a complete end-to-end workflow solution. The company stands alone in delivering prepress and automated workflow solutions specifically for the large format digital printing and finishing industry. That industry has no truly integrated solutions available, but relies on fragmented tools that lead to trial and error and create problems for production shops. With the i-cut Suite, users can smoothly and efficiently resolve problems associated with file preparation and layout.

i-cut Suite is comprised of i-cut Preflight for efficient PDF preflighting and editing and i-cut Layout for interactive layout and nesting. The precise and accurate die-less cutting, the i-cut Vision Pro control system is essential. With i-cut Suite, users don't have to go back to a native application, working within a PDF file. It reduces errors by spotting them before RIPping, and it optimizes the layout, which ultimately reduces material costs and minimizes the set-up time.

At Fespa 2010, the full range of EskoArtwork products will be demonstrated on the EskoArtwork stand, located in Hall B1, stand 270.