CALLAHAN, FLORIDA -- August 28, 2008  ECRM announces the successful application of WorkMates NEWS at Florida Sun Printing (FSP). Introduced at NEXPO 2007, WorkMates NEWS is a complete, truly-open newspaper workflow solution and is compatible with all standard models of prepress equipment. WorkMates NEWSs flexibility offers various levels of automation. Users can choose complete system automation, automate only selected publications or control a publication manually. Output can go directly to an imagesetter or platesetter; alternatively, users can choose to generate 1-bit TIFFs or to keep the job in postscript format for processing at a later time. For more information go to www.ecrm.com.
 
Florida Sun Printing

Just north of Jacksonville is Callahan, Florida (population 962), hometown of full-service commercial cold-web color printer, FLP. Though not a newspaper itself, FSP prints many weekly newspapers, as well as colorful shoppers, flyers, circulars, magazines, booklets, mailers and other tabloid and half-tab products for other firms. The successful company's sales revenue has grown over 20% in the past five years and it now draws business from clients as far west as Missouri and East Texas, and as far north as New York.
 
WorkMates NEWS
 
WorkMates NEWS has become the backbone of the production workflow, and success, at FLP. ECRMs new software, introduced last fall automates the process of downloading, renaming, RIPing, sorting and pairing pages then outputting them to film, plate or even as 1-bit TIFFs. Pages are automatically paired while a job is still being RIPed.
 
Flats are automatically printed as soon as the pairs are complete. WorkMates NEWS is ideal for publications, and publication printers, that output on a regular basis and require the same flat size, page size, number of pages, etc., such as newspapers and magazines. Users can also customize output with pre-set filenames, slug lines, web growth compensation, mirror and rotation of any plates plus more.
 
Making Customer Files Work
 
Owner Mark Thompson notes, "Customers supply their files to us digitally, as PDFs. Our prepress uses both Macs and PCs, and these operate within our state-of the-art, ECRM WorkMates NEWS prepress workflow that culminates in plates being imaged computer-to-plate and processed." At FLP, WorkMates NEWS automatically checks and adjusts every PDF file. "It preflights each file automatically and finds any errors.
 
A very common error is that images will be in RGB format, instead of CMYK. Or, spot colors need to be converted to CMYK or black. The software can fix these automatically, as well as resolving any other problems with the file. We can preset the criteria. WorkMates NEWS then automatically imposes, pairs pages and proofs them. What's more, the WorkMates NEWS software even sends the presets to the Quickset software that produces a printout for the pressman to guide color adjustment on the ink fountains. Time-savings just add-up."
 
Quantity Savings
 
FSP's prepress now sends about 42,000 plates a year to the press, a substantial volume that Thompson credits to the role played by its WorkMates NEWS software. "Files have to be 'right' before they can be imaged to plate," he says. "Our prepress workflow must dependably prep the files so that they're consistently correct. We've chosen our people and prepress technology with extra care, to make sure plates flow to the press right on-schedule and ready to print. ECRM WorkMates NEWS software does it all; it's easy to learn and use, and it delivers for FSP every day."