Ghent (Belgium), At drupa, Esko (www.esko.com) will be showcasing a wide range of innovations together with sister company X-Rite Pantone and subsidiaries Enfocus and MediaBeacon. drupa takes place May 31 to June 10, 2016 in Düsseldorf. The companies will be located in Hall 8b, stand A23.

Inspirational overview

Spread out across six Inspiration Zones visitors are taken through each step of a typical packaging production workflow. In addition, Enfocus offerings will be present in the booth and Pantone will occupy a dedicated zone to display and sell its well-known Pantone guides and tools for color inspiration and design.

Brands, Specification & Briefing Zone

This zone focuses on the holistic packaging production process from idea to shelf, connecting stakeholders including brands, designers, premedia and converters; and integrating with business systems such as MIS, ERP, PIM, MRM and Content Management.

On view will be WebCenter, the packaging management solution that streamlines activities from specification and design through production. Users share files with all stakeholders for approval and collaboration. In the new version, they are able to view 3D designs, including transparency and print finishing effects, using a standard web browser on a desktop computer or mobile device.

Integrated with WebCenter will be Esko's MediaBeacon Digital Asset Management system. MediaBeacon makes assets available in the right version at the right time to the right stakeholders in the packaging workflow. This integration supports better design, helps protect brand integrity, ensures regulatory compliance and speeds up time to market.

X-Rite will showcase new tools that allow brand owners to select and communicate color so that it can be consistently achieved across multiple substrates, printing processes, and locations. Featured solutions include X-Rite's PantoneLIVE digital color management; Esko WebCenter for project management; and MediaBeacon, the digital asset management company acquired by Esko in 2015.

Design Zone

Esko's design solutions are about making packaging and display designs better, and faster. Attention will also be paid to connecting design with production/logistics for faster time to market and the ability to ensure achievable designs prior to the expense of production.

One of the highlights is ArtiosCAD 16, the CAD design editor that makes design and preproduction of multi-part packaging and POP displays simpler, more intelligent and productive. With ArtiosCAD, users can avoid guesswork, waste and errors. For sign and display producers, ArtiosCAD 16 offers access to an extensive online library of proven parametric design templates. Sign and display converters use these designs to produce complex designs easy and fast, taking away the need for 3D design expertise.

Another highlight is Studio Store Visualizer 16, which now integrates with planogram systems to create and populate visually stunning virtual 3D stores in minutes rather than days. Studio Store Visualizer, co-developed with VTales, makes it a lot easier for users to create and test package designs and ultimately reduces time to market.

Visitors to the booth will also have the opportunity to interact with the Studio Store Visualizer using a touchpad. Navigate a highly realistic virtual store, and interact with the packaging in stunning 3D.

Other featured solutions include Pantone Color Guides (including the new Extended Gamut Guide), X-Rite CAPSURE, X-Rite i1Pro Solutions.
Artwork & Repro Zone

This zone focuses on ways to produce print-ready artwork efficiently and avoid rework. The solutions showcased demonstrate how operations can address the larger number of smaller jobs running through prepress by better controlling and streamlining workflows.

One of the highlights is ArtPro+, the brand new PDF native prepress editor featuring a state-of-the art 64-bit architecture. ArtPro+ has a unique and intuitive user interface with a software tool selector wheel that provides the user instant access to the right tools wherever he happens to be working in the design.

Another highlight is the new Content Management module for WebCenter. This module enables printers and converters to expand their offerings related to artwork services. The software includes a controlled and automated process for updating existing artwork and for creating multiple variants for a single product. All stakeholders use a common database for content, automatically pulling text statements and other regulatory content into the artwork to ensure compliance.

Automated quality control is also a powerful innovation: Global Vision QC functionality is now available in Esko's workflow server Automation Engine 16. Features now available from the automated workflow include a spell checker and automatic checking of barcodes and Braille against an approved profile. The quality check runs as a background process and results in an annotated and viewable design file for Automation Engine, WebCenter and in ArtPro+. This enables fast, systematic revision of all detected errors.

Flexo Platemaking Zone

Esko showcases how customers can take control of their flexo plate production and achieve faster plate production turnaround times while delivering more consistent flexo plates.

Esko's developments in digital flexo platemaking focus on simplicity: with these solutions, making a digital flexo plate can be as easy as making an offset plate.

On display will be the most exciting innovation in flexo platemaking since the introduction of the CDI (Cyrel Digital Imager): a brand-new integrated flexo imaging and exposing solution, the CDI CRYSTAL 5080 XPS. This new flexo platemaking solution delivers impressive benefits, including a 68% reduction in operator time for platemaking; 50% reduction in operator training time; and 74% faster time to plate.

Printing and Ink Formulation Zone

This zone presents solutions that tackle the increased complexity of mixed printing environments (digital, flexo, gravure, offset) with extra attention to achieving color consistency across an ever-growing number of substrates and production locations.

X-Rite's PantoneLIVE offerings, coupled with the company's most sophisticated ink formulation software and color measurement devices, improve converters' speed to market by reducing set-up time and eliminating physical on-press approvals.

Extended gamut printing solutions enable the profitable production of short run jobs on conventional flexo presses. Extended gamut printing allows customers to reduce job changeover times and press downtime, produce more short run jobs per day, and reduce media waste and ink inventories. Press uptime is increased by 50%, and there's a 34% reduction in printed waste per job changeover.

Featured solutions that aid automated color management scanning and closed loop color reporting include Esko Equinox software for Extended Gamut printing, X-Rite InkFormulation Software, PantoneLIVE Rationalization Service, ColorCert, eXact Xp and IntelliTrax2.

Finishing Zone

With a series of new drupa launches, Esko gives digital finishing companies the tools to get the absolute most out of their equipment, their workflows and their staff.

By bringing the complete digital finishing process together in one powerful, streamlined, optimized workflow, Esko helps companies prepare quotes with reliable data, plan production from intuitive, yet powerful, dashboards, execute quick job changeovers at the cutting table, reduce operator idle time, boost throughput with automation and keep Kongsberg tables producing continuously.

Breakthrough automation equipment brings productivity to a completely new level by eliminating idle time and reducing human interaction. At drupa, Esko will showcase an industrial, automated robotic production system.

This setup will demonstrate how intelligent material processing and handling will work in perfect harmony with the Kongsberg cutting table. The solution is powered by one of the most agile industrial robots currently available, demonstrating high speed, high power and versatility.

There's more: a new series of automated board feeders increase Kongsberg table's productivity. The iBF feeder handles pallets of materials with multiple stacks at high speeds, can be accessed by a forklift and is an indispensable tool for all applications that require medium to high run lengths of rigid materials.

Enfocus

Enfocus will showcase its highly rated software solutions for PDF preflighting, editing and modular workflow automation, including the latest developments with Switch and PitStop and Connect.

The recently released Enfocus Appstore enables Switch users around the world to instantly purchase and use apps created by other Switch users. It is more proof of the scalability and simplicity of automation solution Switch. Users will have access to an infinite number of tasks and integrations that can be automated through Switch.

By leveraging Enfocus PDF-knowledge in other third parties' applications, more people than before will have access to the new powerful PDF preflight capabilities.

Enfocus will also show a number of Cloud integrations: PitStop Server subscriptions, Asset Syncing for Switch and a move towards HTML based user interfaces, in order to maximize flexibility and user experience.

Pantone Store

The booth features a Pantone store where designers, prepress and print professionals will be able to explore and purchase the latest Pantone Color Guides and other tools and publications for color inspiration and design.

Summarizing the highlights

To summarize the innovation highlights at the stand, Esko, Enfocus and X-Rite Pantone have selected a series of 16 must see innovations. These are representative for the entire offering, and will be used for guided tours around the booth.

• Packaging Management Solution
• MediaBeacon DAM
• Structural design for POP displays
• Realistic 3D store simulation
• Next generation PDF editing
• Automated quality assurance
• Automated artwork creation
• CDI Crystal 5080 XPS
• Extended gamut printing
• PantoneLIVE
• Automated color management scanning
• Closed-loop color reporting
• Digital finishing automation
• Digital finishing productivity boosters
• Enfocus Appstore
• PitStop Extended Preflight

Esko Surfer Game

Visitors to the booth are invited to play the Esko Surfer (Kinect powered) game: they can surf through our 6 virtual experience zones to gather Esko points and win some exclusive prizes.

Playing is easy: participants choose an avatar and race through the virtual booth's experience zones, navigating the flying saucer by moving their body and waving their arms. Try getting the high score by collecting and scoring points in each of the 6 experience zones, but no matter what the result, there are exclusive prizes for every contestant.

Esko Virtual Store Experience: touch packaging!

Visitors are also invited to experience virtual packaging in the highest 3D reality level possible today. Using Esko's Studio Store Visualiser software with an easy to operate touchscreen interface, users will be able to "walk" through a virtual shopping mall on a large size screen. They are able to pick products from the shelf, look them over and check every detail of the product packaging. As Studio Store Visualiser is using real packaging production data, there is no more realistic way to experience virtual packaging: all print and finishing effects are brought to life!