Software - Prepress & Design

Elpical has announced the public beta release of the new Claro Layout, an addition to its product line of automated image enhancement and image management solutions. Claro Layout is an Adobe® InDesign® plug-in and offers hands-off quality analysis and image enhancement to InDesign users.

Professionals working with Adobe® InDesign® now get access to Elpical’s Claro technology for optimizing images inside their documents, without leaving their trusted environment.

Claro Layout allows InDesign users to focus on the creative work and the layout of a document without having to worry about image quality first. They can simply use the original RGB image for designing the document and only when the layout is ready, use Claro Layout to optimize and convert the images to CMYK, without leaving InDesign.

Claro Layout, based on Claro Individual Image Analysis, first automatically and individually analyzes each image and then enhances each image inside the InDesign document according to its particular requirements, as well as applying the desired crop, resolution and color space. This allows the image to be optimized directly in the desired size, offering timesaving and great flexibility in layout.
Images in documents can dramatically increase the size of your file. Normally, after a picture has been cropped or resized, the ‘unwanted’ parts remain and the complete picture is stored. Claro Layout will (if required) crop, resize and optimize the desired picture and keep only this image as part of the document. Hence a much smaller file size.

Images shot with modern cameras are often of a very high resolution, often too high for the desired image format. Claro Layout will resize the image, so that only the number of pixels needed for a perfect print remain. Sales of the beta version of Claro Layout has begun.

Switch 08, update 7 includes a configurator fully supporting Adobe InDesign Server. Through this update Enfocus FullSwitch and PowerSwitch unlock the full performance and reliability benefits of the Adobe InDesign Server solution.

“From the beginning we have supported automation of the Adobe Creative Suite Applications, like InDesign and Photoshop in Enfocus Switch,” comments David van Driessche, Director of Enfocus Marketing. “Increasingly our customers are engaged in high-volume, InDesign-based workflows for one-to-one marketing or Web-To-Print and support for the Adobe InDesign Server solution is an incredible advantage for them.”

Adobe InDesign CS4 Server is a robust and scalable engine that offers the ability to automate the design, layout, and typographical capabilities of Adobe InDesign CS4. “A complete range of innovative solutions has been built around the Adobe InDesign CS4 engine,” says Chris Kitchener, senior product manager for Adobe InDesign Server. “The combination of Adobe InDesign CS4 server and Enfocus Switch allows for powerful automation of those solutions, saving our customers hours of time and dramatically increasing their productivity.”

Enfocus Switch allows configuring and automating Adobe InDesign Server into a larger workflow through simple drag-and-drop. Switch features such as organising file reception through FTP, watched folders and email, sorting of files and automatic email notifications to customers enable complex workflows to be built around the Adobe InDesign Server engine.

By combining the InDesign Server and Switch you can now manage documents, newsletters and marketing materials from creation until final delivery through design templates; setup self-service and automated ad creation portals; and extend the versatility and power of Web-To-Print engines.

Premedia specialist rebrands international operation to reflect its success in the global photobook market

Pre-media software specialist, TranseoMedia has announced it is rebranding its rapidly expanding international operation as TAOPIX™ to better reflect the strategic direction of the business, which is now focused on selling its proprietary photobook software, TAOPIX™ to a global marketplace.

Says James Gray, CEO, TAOPIX™: “The rebranding of the international side of our business to TAOPIX™ is part of the company’s long term commercial strategy to move further towards establishing itself as a leader in the global photobook business where our proprietary photobook software, TAOPIX™, has seen extraordinary success over the past 18 months.”

Mr Gray says when TranseoMedia was launched as a premedia specialist two years ago, it had three products to offer the UK market: DirectSmile, iWay, and its own photobook software, MediaAlbum (now TAOPIX™). Since then, the international photobook market has exploded and the company is seeing global demand for its photobook product exceed all expectations and sales projections. “Our key global markets already know us as TAOPIX™,” continues Gray. “So, as a result of this and the huge success of our photobook software, we have made a decision to more closely align the company and product brands at the international level so we are more easily identified as a single brand in all the regional markets we are now working in.”

In the UK, the company will remain trading as TranseoMedia UK, where it will continue to be the exclusive UK distributor of DirectSmile’s image personalisation software and its own TAOPIX™ photobook solution, as well as a reseller for PressSense’s web-to-print system, iWay. Gray adds: “UK customers will see no change in the level of service and support they have received to date. As TranseoMedia UK, we remain committed to the UK
market and to our image personalisation and web-to-print and products.”

In line with the new international positioning, the latest version of the company’s website www.taopix.com will also go live on 30th June 2009. “The new site will host an extensive range of new interactive functions,” continues Gray. “Primarily, we want the site to act as a comprehensive photobook information resource. Customers will be able to use the site to watch tuition videos to further increase their skills and knowledge in this area. There is also a section dedicated to outlining all the commercial opportunities our photobook solution offers.

“Our TAOPIX™ photobook software solution is unique in the market and it has now become by far our best selling product. We also know we are still only touching the edge of this global market, so the scope for the continued growth of this product internationally is enormous. In fact, we will also be announcing the opening of regional offices later in the year to further help us build our presence in key regional markets.” concludes Mr Gray.

As mid-summer arrives, and with over 85,000 students having engaged in PrintIT! over the last four years, more than 200 schools have already pre-registered to take part in the fifth annual PrintIT! competition. This unprecedented number of advanced registrations comes prior to its official launch to teachers and schools, which is set to take place later this year, for completion as part of the curriculum during the Autumn term.

PrintIT! 2009/2010 is set to provide students studying for their GCSEs in Graphic Products and Product Design an even more comprehensive overview of the printing industry, with a new competition focus and the prestigious annual awards ceremony, which will take place during IPEX 2010.

During the fifth year of PrintIT!, students will be challenged to design a print-based promotional campaign to promote Fairtrade products in supermarkets. As well as covering all the traditional print processes, this new focus expands the student’s remit of learning to include wide and large format print processes, allowing scope for a wider variety of end products, from leaflets and shelf wobblers through to posters, mobiles, aisle and storefront banners. In addition, the curriculum-mapped course will also place a greater emphasis on sustainability, giving students an understanding of the environmental issues facing print.

PrintIT! 2009/2010 is also set to showcase the very best of UK print to students at the annual awards ceremony, which will take place at the NEC, Birmingham during IPEX 2010. Finalist students and their teachers will be invited to tour the show floor, visit partner stands, experience the very latest in print technology and talk to industry specialists about careers in print, before attending the annual awards ceremony, which will take place during the exhibition.

Comments George Clarke, managing director of Heidelberg UK, chairman of PrintIT! and president of IPEX 2010, “Each year the entries for Print IT! seem to get better and better and I am sure this year’s emphasis on sustainability will encourage students to combine creativity with practicality. I am looking forward to viewing some interesting and thought-provoking entries. The commitment of these pupils is fantastic and I hope that, inspired by what they will see at the awards ceremony at IPEX, some might be tempted into the printing industry, a sector which offers an exciting range of career opportunities.”

Led by Proskills, PrintIT! is targeting Year 9 and Year 10 students, aged between 14-16 years, which includes the year before GCSE selection, as well as those studying for their GCSEs in Product Design and Graphic Products. Teachers at participating schools receive a detailed Course Book with in depth information and instruction in delivering the course, and every student will receive their own Student Work Book.

Vital to the success of PrintIT! is the Twinning programme, which partners print companies with their local school in order to work with the teachers to deliver the course. Acting as a learning-aid to PrintIT! students, Twinners create a vocational feature for the course by visiting the student’s lessons or providing tours of their own premises to see print in a production environment.

PrintIT! project director Paul Evans said, “With the opportunity to invite finalists and their teachers to experience the world of print at IPEX, we are gearing up for a bumper year in terms of registrations, to add to the 85,000 students and 1,000 schools that have already engaged in PrintIT! to date.” He continued, “As usual, to achieve our goals, we are very much reliant on the continued commitment and goodwill of our industry sponsors and twinning print partners, without whom we could not deliver this initiative, that has received endorsement from Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Department for Children, Schools and Families in recognition of its engagement between industry and education.”

For information on becoming a sponsor or Twinning partner, contact Paul Evans at Proskills UK on paul@proskills.co.uk.

Company's Future Consumer Graphics and Digital Media Releases to Showcase Windows Touch Capabilities

Maidenhead, London - 5 May 2009 - Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL) (TSX:CRE) today announced that it is working with Microsoft Corp. on Windows 7. Corel (www.corel.com) is committed to delivering its core applications for the Windows 7 platform and is currently developing its next generation of creative consumer products that will offer an all-new, hands-on experience built on the power of Windows Touch technology.

Offering unprecedented stability and performance along with new features such as Windows Touch, JumpLists and Libraries, Windows 7 delivers exciting new possibilities for Corel's software development teams while providing consumers with a more engaging and expressive computing environment.

"Corel has a long history of 'firsts' when developing software for the latest Windows platforms. With the upcoming introduction of Windows 7, Microsoft's new operating system will redefine how people think about computing. Drawing on our customer research, we're taking advantage of the solid performance and powerful touch capabilities Windows 7 offers to turn the typical user experience of mouse clicks and menus on its head, completely changing how users interact with creative software," said Joe Roberts, Executive Vice President, Products for Corel.

"Corel's consumer graphics and digital media products are ideally suited to take advantage of the new hands-on capabilities in Microsoft's latest platform. We believe the user should always be at the center of the creative process and Windows 7 will enable us to eliminate the traditional software menu model to offer a new environment that fosters more natural and connected interactions between people and their content - whether it is a favorite photo, video or digital painting."

Microsoft recently introduced the Windows 7 Release Candidate and Corel is working closely with the company to prepare for the debut of this new operating system later this year.

"We are excited to see Corel's commitment to deliver a suite of solutions for Windows 7," said Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management at Microsoft Corp. "Corel's adoption of key Windows 7 technologies such as jumplists, touch and libraries is a great example of the kind of innovation that is possible on Microsoft's upcoming Windows release."

For more information about Corel's plans for Windows 7, please visit www.corel.com/windows7