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Summers Here!

It's a good time to consider workflow efficiencies and new technologies, preparing you for the busy months ahead!

Silicon Systems have a variety of solutions than can bring real advantage to you, both in terms of speed and quality. Here we look at some of the latest solutions available, combining technology with innovative functionality.

Enfocus PitStop Server

PitStop Server 4 is the indispensable preflighting and auto-correction tool for high-volume PDF workflows. Using Enfocus PDF Profiles and Action Lists, PitStop Server 4 instantly analyzes, corrects, reports on and routes files based on the most stringent of requirements, including the PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3, and Ghent PDF Workgroup industry standards.

PitStop Server 4 uses hot folders for batch processing. Simply drop or route your PDF files into an input folder and PitStop Server 4 does the rest, preflighting your files, correcting a wide range of pre-press problems and rejecting files that don’t meet the grade. PitStop Server 4’s hot folders also mean that its robust preflighting capabilities can be easily integrated into your own workflow.

Enfocus PitStop Professional

Enfocus PitStop Professional is an Adobe® Acrobat® plug-in indispensable for every graphic arts and publishing professional. Its interactive and automated editing capabilities allow everyone to perform advanced PDF editing and correction up until the very last moment. PitStop Professional offers the most comprehensive and intuitive preflight experience available. Its powerful Certified PDF® technology provides immediate visual feedback and allows tracking of every edit made to a PDF. Having proven to be a real job-saver, PitStop Professional offers immediate return on investment.

Gradual SWITCH Family

The SWITCH product family consists of three products designed specifically to give you back that time and let you focus on your real job. Each of the SWITCH family members is a robust application that is easy to install and use.

Pick the SWITCH product that matches today's needs. And rest assured that it will be easy to upgrade if your requirements grow.

PowerSWITCH

PowerSWITCH is the workhorse of the SWITCH product family. Using its comprehensive scripting and metadata tools you can build a smarter and more advanced workflow that integrates seamlessly with third-party technology. The workgroup client bundled with PowerSWITCH allows your team members to submit and track jobs from their own workstation.

Major benefits;

• Expand automation possibilities using scripting
• Introduce intelligent processing based on metadata
• Submit and track jobs from anywhere in a workgroup
• Save costs through increased automation
• Protect investments in third-party products
• Preserve flexibility to choose best-of-breed technology
• View full activity logs remotely

FullSWITCH

FullSWITCH is ideally placed to help you reclaim your time to be creative and help your customers. It is a robust automation product that is easy to install and use. Like the entry-level LightSWITCH product, FullSWITCH offers file reception through FTP and email, sorting of files based on file type and naming conventions and automatic email notifications to customers.

In addition, FullSWITCH introduces configurators that allow third-party applications such as Adobe Acrobat Distiller or Enfocus PitStop Server to be integrated easily in a flow. Setup and automation of those applications is fully controlled from within FullSWITCH.

Major benefits;

• Save costs through increased automation
• Reduce repetitive tasks - free up creative people for creative tasks
• Design flows with the powerful but user-friendly flow editor
• Standardize processes and reduce human errors
• Protect investments in third-party products
• Preserve flexibility to choose best-of-breed technology
• Efficiently manage and maintain automated processes
• Manage complete flow of files through your organization and from/to customers
• Monitor workflows for problems and keep statistics

LightSWITCH

LightSWITCH takes away the repetitive tasks associated with receiving and sorting files. It automatically downloads files from one or more FTP servers, receives them as email attachments or handles hot folders. In a very flexible way files can then be sorted into different folders so that they are ready for processing.
Whenever needed notification emails are sent to your customer service representatives or even directly back to the customers. LightSWITCH can deliver files through email or FTP to the next step in the workflow as well.

Major benefits

• Save costs through automation of file reception and sorting
• Reduce repetitive tasks - free up creative people for creative tasks
• Design flows with the Flow Wizard and the user-friendly flow editor
• Automate file retrieval from multiple FTP sites
• Easily support email-based file submission
• Send back notifications to customers
• Sort files in folders based on file type, naming convention, origin…
• Protect your initial investment by upgrading within the SWITCH product line

HELIOS ImageServer

HELIOS ImageServer is a server-based automated image conversion, colour transformation and OPI image replacement solution. It supports all major image formats and colour spaces as well as XMP, EXIF, clipping path and ICC meta data. Imaging tasks can be automated via "hot folders" and OPI image replacement. It is designed to shift very CPU-intensive image processing tasks from desktops to servers.

HELIOS PDF Handshake

HELIOS PDF HandShake fully utilises the benefits of PDF in existing production environments. Automated server-based PDF generation, PDF printing, PDF OPI, PDF preflight and batch tools boost productivity, and overcome today’s PDF problems.

Kodak Preps

PREPS Software allows you to easily impose multiple pages of a publication or newspaper in a logical order, so the end result prints and folds correctly. It intelligently automates the time-consuming and error-prone task of imposition, saving time and resources.

PREPS Software supports POSTSCRIPT, PDF, EPS, DCS, and TIFF Files and works with workflow systems from Kodak and many third-party systems. PREPS Software is the first imposition tool in the world to be JDF certified.

Ultimate ImpoStrip

PDF File imposition, which can easily integrated with the above mentioned SWITCH family allowing quick automation.

Major Benefits;

• Output to CTP (platesetters) & CTF (imagesetters)
• CIP4 PPF & JDF, PJTF & ICF to interface with: Low-Res FPO systems, Rampage (NORM/ROOM), Creo Brisque & Prinergy, AGFA Apogee and ApogeeX, Xitron Xenith, FujiFilm Celebrant, EFI OneFlow, ArtWork Systems Odystar, Xitron Xiflow and others
• Full imposed PS, EPS, TIFF and PDF signature preview
• Desktop or unlimited user client-server workflow
• PDF workflow support, PDF-in, PDF-out, without converting the PDF files to PS
• Industry first built-in colour bar creator and editor
• Ganging: Mix independent page sizes
• Sectioning: output flats by grouping different signatures that share the same colours
• Origami virtual paper folding for easy template making
• Repeating booklets: outputs as a perfect bound, saddle stitch or a combination of both
• Unlimited output size and tiling support for CTF
• Input: PDF, PS, EPS, TIFF, PREPS® templates
• Output: PS, PDF, CIP 4 JDF & PPF, PJTF, ICF, (CIP 4 PPF for ink density, cutting, folding)
• Web growth support, bottling and shingling
• Display impositions for up to 6 Webs on screen

Find out more about these Solutions and how they can help your business, by filling in our online information request form.