Software - Workflow

Esko plans a big splash at Labelexpo Europe, the world's largest event for the label and package printing industry. On display will be the full range of Esko solutions that help label and packaging converters build consistency and flexibility in their production workflows, no matter their size, the degree of complexity of their businesses or the printing technologies used. Esko will be located on stand 4C20. Labelexpo Europe 2015 takes place September 29th till October 2nd at the Brussels Expo in Belgium.

“Labelexpo Europe is always a great show for us,” states Armand Gougay, VP EMEA at Esko, “We will be taking advantage of this event as part of our ongoing commitment to understand what keeps printers, converters and brand owners awake at night, and advise them on best practices to address these pain points. We will share our expertise and suggest how to improve profitability by implementing smart prepress, automated workflow, best in class flexo, color management and systems integration across their entire business. Our focus at the show will be to demonstrate how smart prepress solutions help any label and packaging converter to grow their business.”

Exceptional communication and error-free production

To be successful in today’s market place, one must perform exceptionally well in all areas of label and packaging production. Brand owners create packaging designs that resonate with consumers and that are designed, approved and produced with the utmost accuracy. Converters execute these designs perfectly and as fast and efficient as possible. Everyone throughout the entire supply chain has to work together effectively to achieve these goals.

To that end, Esko will present its renowned software solutions – covering everything from design over prepress and workflow automation, proofing and colour up to the printed job, and beyond. Bundled under Esko Software Suite 14, the most complete collection of preproduction software tools available on the market, Esko’s software solutions optimise cost, streamline workflows and improve the overall quality and consistency, regardless if labels are produced digitally, in offset, flexo, gravure or screen print.

Workflow automation is a top priority for successful label manufacturers, and Esko will have no shortage of ideas and options at the show to help businesses of all sizes increase automation, productivity and profits. At the heart of this are Esko Automation Engine, a modular workflow server with dynamic workflows that sets a new standard for prepress workflow automation with rock-solid quality control, and WebCenter, Esko’s unique and powerful web-based platform that manages the entire packaging and label project life cycle, including specifications and approvals.

The latest release of Esko Software Suite adds flexibility for the user by enabling popular software editors like Studio and DeskPack to be used in subscription mode in monthly or yearly programs. The increasing demand for hosted applications is supported with the availability of WebCenter as a fully hosted solution.

Celebrating 20 years of digital flexo excellence

Also on show is Esko’s portfolio of digital flexo platemaking solutions. The flexo plate imagers integrated with software, services, know-how and industry partner connections cover the widest range of digital flexo printing applications. “High quality printing requires high quality prepress and digital flexo plates,” comments Thomas Klein, VP Hardware Business at Esko. “We are delighted to celebrate two decades of the popular Cyrel Digital Imager (CDI), which continues to be the world’s leading standard for digital flexo plate imaging. By extending the CDI with Esko HD Flexo and Full HD Flexo technology, flexo print quality has stepped up to previously unseen quality levels comparable to gravure and offset. Flexo print today delivers customers high quality results for labels, flexible packaging, corrugated boxes and more.”

Trusted advisor for label and packaging converters

“Esko experts will be on hand to act as trusted advisors, listen to visitors, understand their business needs and recommend solutions from Esko and its partners,” Gougay adds. He points out that a broad range of Esko’s press, plate and software partners will also exhibit, providing the perfect opportunity for attendees to understand the benefits of an integrated workflow. Esko’s partners at Labelexpo Europe 2015 include – amongst others – press manufacturers Gallus, Nuova GIDUE, HP Indigo, Mark Andy and Nilpeter; plate vendors Dantex, DuPont, Flint, Fujifilm and MacDermid; and software partners CERM and CHILI Publish.

“Labelexpo Europe 2015 is shaping up to be once again a fabulous show. We look forward to a fun and productive event guaranteed to deliver Results that Make You Smile!” Gougay concludes.

CHILI Publish will be showcasing the CHILI Publisher online editor at Labelexpo Europe 2015, the world's largest event for the label and package printing industry, taking place 29 September – 2 October at the Brussels Expo. From Stand 4C65, CHILI Publish will demonstrate how its technology can be integrated into any label or packaging workflow to give printers, converters, brand owners, and designers a powerful resource that transforms how labels and packaging are designed and produced.

This marks CHILI Publish’s second year at Labelexpo Europe, reflecting the company’s commitment to fulfilling a critical need in this changing market. CHILI Publish Chief Operating Officer Bram Verniest says: “When brand owners want to enhance sales, they often start with labels and packaging, demanding creative designs and innovative ideas that will generate maximum shelf-appeal. The features included in CHILI Publisher enable everyone involved in the process to meet that demand. It gives designers an excellent resource for creating impactful designs, while offering non-designers the tools to easily create and adapt their own labels and stay within brand and output guidelines. Best of all, the 3D viewing capability in CHILI Publisher gives users a real-world view on how the label will look on the shelf – a view that is critical to ensuring the type of shelf-appeal brand owners demand.”

In addition to the powerful design and editing functionality, CHILI Publisher also includes features that lets users achieve cost savings on artwork creation and experience an increased speed to market. For example, the Alternate Layouts feature allows for a single set of design elements to be reused in different layouts, so designers are able to create and offer a wider number of versions and generate more specific, targeted campaigns. The 3D view gives users also the ability to see a real-world view of the impact of text changes before the label or package goes into production, resulting in shorter approval and review cycles.

At Labelexpo Europe 2015, CHILI Publish will be providing demonstrations and real-world examples of how these features have enabled label and packaging producers to succeed. In addition, CHILI Publish technology can also be found in the solutions offered by their partners, including Esko (Stand: 4C20), CERM (Stand: 6A42), and Xeikon (Stand: 9C50/ 9B50/ 9C60).

FESPA 2015 will witness the first partnership between major software manufacturers Enfocus and Caldera, offering wide-format houses superior job submission and data management throughout their workflows. Visitors to the show are invited to visit the Enfocus stand (Hall 6, Stand P80) and Caldera's stand (Hall 6, Stand T80) for a full demonstration of new protocols linking Enfocus Switch and Caldera Nexio, which leverages two-way communication between the workflow modules to deliver superior workflow optimization.

With wide-format businesses now seeking to streamline their internal data-based communications, the partnership enables bilateral data transfer from Switch to the Caldera suite via two new configurators, Nexio Submit and Nexio Collect. Enfocus Switch, which allows users to create and deploy end-to-end file and data workflows, can now communicate directly with Caldera-based production environments using two-way JDF/JMF communication, thereby enabling user companies to send jobs to a printer automatically and receive precise success and failure data back from the RIP.

Nexio Submit creates a fully compliant JDF file within Switch that sends job parameters directly to Nexio, so that users can write a full workflow pathway within Switch and send a file, complete with all descriptive data, straight to the RIP. The job is then processed automatically to the correct device, containing all customer and production information so that wide-format producers of all sizes can streamline their output, finishing and order processing capabilities.

Its counterpart, Nexio Collect, returns post-processing data to Enfocus Switch upon completion or rejection of the job. This lets operators gather JDF information about ink and media consumption, production factors and an unlimited number of other descriptors, generating live data that can not only determine workflow improvements but also advanced reporting mechanisms for business optimisation. Within web-to-print and other automated environments, users can, for example, send customers precise notifications of the job status or return other information to their MIS, reducing pressure on client-facing departments.

"Enfocus has worked hard in recent years to extend its experience in automating digital print environments into the wide-format space," explains Bjorn Willems, Director of Product Management at Enfocus. "Caldera's vision for this market is leading its users to the same point and integrators from the Enfocus Switch community are already delighted with the results of two-way JDF-compliant data exchange.”

"Feedback from Caldera users tells us that they are increasingly seeing workflow automation as a priority, and integration with components such as Enfocus Switch is high on their list of demands," adds Patrick Zimmerman, Solutions Integration Director for Caldera. "This is an excellent opportunity for new and existing customers to access the full benefit of a unified production environment from two of the industry's leading software providers."

Onyx Graphics has announced that its ONYX® software can be directly integrated with the new HP WallArt application to provide seamless and efficient workflow for décor applications.

An ONYX/HP WallArt workflow gives users the ability to expand their business by offering new added-value décor products to their range of print services. Features in ONYX Textile Edition software such as Colorways and Step & Repeat, in combination with the new HP WallArt interface, give interior designers and décor product manufacturersan easy-to-use solution for the creation of customised wall coverings.

The process of designing and producing custom wall graphics is very efficient with ONYX Quick Sets and  HP WallArt. Users can easily customise wall covering designs from the HP WallArt Solution online portal. The simple one-step process enables print service providers to open their customer’s design in a ready-to-print format using the dedicated HP WallArt button in ONYX RIP-Queue.
ONYX Connect & HP WallArt workflow.

In additon, print service providers (PSPs) equipped with HP Latex series printers can now simplify their HP WallArt workflow using the new WallArt interface powered by ONYX Connect™ JDF (Job Definition Format) technology. ONYX Connect is an open system that provides a simple developer interface that enables PSPs to link their business management systems with ONYX production software.

As a result, PSPs can access valuable management data, such as ink consumption, media usage and production times. It also includes the ability to automate job submission through JDF and hot folders providing control of critical job settings, and reducing errors introduced by manual intervention during the production process.

Availability
The new HP WallArt interface is be available in version 11.1.2 of all ONYX products including ONYX ThriveTM workflow software, ONYX Textile Edition software and ONYX RIP software. ONYX version 11.1.2 will be a complimentary upgrade to current ONYX 11.1 users.  For more information about ONYX Textile edition visit http://www.onyxgfx.com/products/onyx-textile-edition/

The industry’s leading MIS and CRM software provider Clarity Software will be showing how ‘best fit’ nested layouts form part of its quoting process at this year’s Sign & Digital UK show.

By combining tailored estimating and optimised nesting into one joined up procedure, customers can now price at minimal wastage on rigid and flexible cluster jobs and see their most efficient layout before submitting quotes to clients.

“Our customers are constantly looking for a new competitive edge without sacrificing margin” says Clarity MD Richard Gamlin. “Clarity Nesting allows you to see the best possible layout for the job there and then, so you know exactly what material you need to cost for and price accordingly.”

The PDFs generated by Clarity Nesting at quote stage can be used directly for production, saving hours in design time and driving orders to be processed quicker. Customers buy less and waste less material, reduce skipping costs and create a greener working environment based on optimised stock levels.

Watch a preview of the software in action on YouTube.

Wide-format print houses looking to improve efficiency and reporting can now turn to Caldera Nexio, a new solution designed to connect the dots between a company's various software applications. This interoperability means that businesses can connect their RIP, workflow, MIS, accounting and other software packages to benefit from improvements to file automation and production reporting.

The award-winning French software developer has engineered Nexio to cater to these two core needs by taking the Job Definition Format (JDF) protocol and extending it to the specific requirements of wide-format digital print environments. Available immediately, Nexio is the product of Caldera's Solutions Integration Department; established last year, this team is dedicated to helping companies derive as much power from their production floor as possible by linking software processes and streamlining hardware control using data.

Most significant is the ability to automate processes to save time, money and resources. With Nexio, a single job can be identified and tagged before being sent into a file workflow, delivering it to a specific printer with certain parameters regarding, for example, quantity, resolution or media. This avoids manual intervention and the need to create several hotfolders for each workflow type, thereby reducing operator time and the risk of human error. Nexio also enables bidirectional communication between the RIP and other software: an ERP, for example, or e-commerce facility, such as Caldera WebShop.

This seamless transmission of job information allows managers to introduce new elements, such as validation, log-saving or job ticketing, to improve reporting, device control and communication within their businesses. These reports are central to production performance analysis, fuelling operational development to make wide-format businesses leaner, more environmentally aware and, ultimately, more profitable.

"Caldera's roadmap focuses on software solutions that make a real difference when they're installed," explains Serge Clauss, Product Sales Manager. "JDF has developed in many ways since it was invented in 1999. We believe it's now time to give wide-format printers the chance to take full advantage of the business optimisation it can offer."

Nexio effectively runs in the background, with a module configured for each software application that needs to communicate with the RIP. Each module creates an instance within the Nexio JobTracker whereby available jobs can be viewed, sorted, processed and started or stopped, and error and confirmation messages controlled. As well as operating seamlessly with all elements of the Caldera suite, it also works harmoniously with all common workflow and RIP packages.