Software

GMG, the world's leading color management solutions provider, and BARBIERI electronic, leading manufacturer of color measuring solutions (densitometers and spectrophotometers) for the large format, flatbed and industrial printing markets, announced today a new strategic partnership, with the intent to provide exceptional color management solutions for the large format printing sector. According to the agreement, GMG will offer a special sales bundle including GMG ColorServer 4.6, the latest version of GMG's well-known color management solution for fully automatic color space transformations, available end of October 2009, and BARBIERI's popular spectrophotometer, the Spectro LFP RT.

With the assistance of a new, easy to use, profiling system to calibrate a wide range of print devices, GMG ColorServer and the BARBIERI Spectro LFP RT can be used to achieve perfect color quality. This is especially true for mixed environments with various front-end RIPs for different print systems. All output devices in use at the end user's production site can be harmonized to a dedicated color standard. This is also applicable in so called 'hybrid' production environments melding different printing, such as offset, digital and large format printing.

The Spectro LFP RT is suited for every application where accurate color in digital printing is required. Together with GMG ColorServer, this is the ideal color management solution to meet the demands of industrial digital printing and inkjet printing on every media, including special ones such as cardboard, banners, backlit film, fabrics, silk, plastic plates, wood, stone, and ceramic plates.

The most important features of the spectrophotometer are:

- Automatic transmissive and reflective measurements in one device
- Switchable measuring aperture (2 and 6mm) - 2mm for high resolution prints on media with high quality surface, 6mm for low resolution prints or structured/textured surfaces
- Special optics for UV printer requirements to get most accurate measurements, as UV prints have a unique surface

"The new partnership between GMG and BARBIERI is a great opportunity for both companies to establish high quality color management solutions for the large format production market. As expectations on color accuracy and repeatability are increasing in the digital and large-format printing sectors, we, together with BARBIERI, are delighted to provide customers the benefits of our common outstanding color management and measuring know-how," says Paul Willems, CEO of GMG GmbH & Co. KG.

Wolfgang Passler, International Sales and Marketing Manager of BARBIERI electronic snc, states, "Within this partnership, the outstanding color management knowledge of GMG and the excellent color measuring technology of BARBIERI electronic are combined to create a synergistic force. This results in a new solution that delivers a high level of color accuracy, while the entire color management and printing workflow is simplified."

For an International list of official Barbieri distributors click here. Barbieri devices are distributed in the UK by IGS UK Ltd, www.igsuk.net

Caldera will be launching its new product, SnapRIP+, a complete printing solution for digital imaging professionals.

SnapRIP+ is Caldera's printing software for PHOTO professionals looking for a productive RASTER printing solution for their Epson, Canon, and HP printers. It packs the same power and features as Caldera's RIP solutions for printing wide-format jobs with eye catching colors and contrast.

It includes Layout with Compose; a feature which lets you layout multiple file elements to create a single project page or JOB. Merge, nest, rotate and combine different file formats, with manual or numeric positioning. It also includes Step & Repeat and Nest-o-Matik features for optimizing media usage.

SnapRIP+ is upgradable to our productive printing solution VisualRIP+, with a Postscript/PDF engine for producing posters, kakemonos, advertisements, POS and other applications. VisualRip+ is Caldera's software solution for professional large-format Print and Print-to-Cut workflow and includes Tiling+, a feature enabling users to split up prints into various panels (with bleed, trim marks and grommet placement..) for bigger format jobs.

The latest version of the online job submission, remote proofing and approval solution for Trueflow SE gives users a raft of new features and improvements

Screen Europe has announced version 4.02 of Riteapprove SE, its online job submission, remote proofing and approval solution for the Trueflow SE workflow. The new version gives even greater integration with Trueflow than ever before.

Its improved job automation eliminates the need for manual intervention at key check points, allowing smoother transition of files through the workflow. Approval takes place at page level to make it easier for the user and there is a visual indication in Trueflow when a page is approved. The thumbnails of the pages now display the proofing status.

A comment feature has been added with a range of drawing tools that can be used to mark corrections. To complete the proofing process, an email notification alerts the user if the preflight check fails. There is a host of other improvements in v4.02, from extending the area image view to multi-language support.

Riteapprove SE is ideal for Trueflow users who want to add online job submission, proofing and approval to their web-to-print operations. It automates the overall production cycle, shortens the time from prepress to press and improves customer satisfaction. The system enables collaborative working, last-minute correcting and final approval of production files before they are imaged on to the plate or output to a digital press.

Unlike the conventional FTP upload method, the Riteapprove SE transfer client automatically monitors and corrects transmission errors, ensuring proper file delivery. The customer can drop files into the file transfer GUI, connect to the Riteapprove SE server, select the job, fill out a custom online form and upload. The process is very simple.

A prepress operator can easily send a request for approval with just a few clicks of the mouse from a web browser. All participants in the approval process can view the output online, add comments and approve or reject the document. This automated process frees up the production operator to work on other jobs while waiting for final approval. Riteapprove SE automatically sends approval status to Trueflow SE.

GMG, developer and supplier of high-end color management and proofing solutions, announces that, effective today, it has established a subsidiary in Japan. GMG Japan, headed by Kazutami Ando, is responsible for organizing the distribution of the GMG's software solutions, logistics and technical support. In order to get closer to its clients and global industry partners, GMG Japan intends to extend coverage by reinforcing its local distribution networks.

"The Japanese market is the second largest print market in the world. Establishing a new office in Tokyo underlines the significant role this strategic market plays for GMG. Moreover, an expanded local presence will strengthen partnerships with our industry partners", explains Paul Willems, Managing Director of GMG GmbH & Co. KG. "Despite difficult economic times, GMG keeps on investing in strategically important markets ", adds Willems.

"We see exceptional growth potential for GMG in Japan, as the high quality of GMG's color management software and solutions for printing process control perfectly meets the demands of the Japanese graphic arts industry. The new local sales organization is the next step towards further strengthening the position of GMG in this market", says Kazutami Ando, President of GMG Japan.

GMG Japan's new address, effective September 1, is:

GMG Japan Co., Ltd.
Takechiyo Bldg. 4F
1-14-15 Kudankita
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0073
Phone: +81 (0) 3 6272 6580
Fax: +81 (0) 3 6272 6581

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.

Zund Plotting Systems (UK) Ltd. is pleased to announce the release of one of the most powerful nesting solutions on the market. Developed “in-house”, with years of market experience and customer feed back, Zund believe their AutoNest software offers unrivalled ease of use and incredible material savings.

The software comprises a compelling graphical user interface, with drag and drop functionality designed to get you working quickly and efficiently, coupled with a powerful nesting algorithm that continues to look for improvements to the nest, until YOU tell it to stop! Once you are satisfied with the result, one click to send to the cutter and you’re done!

For more information or to request your free trial copy of the software please visit the Zund AutoNest microsite.

Don’t have a Zund??? …don’t feel left out… Contact Zund for information on other machine drivers, even if they are unable to output directly to your machine you can still take advantage of the material savings Zund AutoNest will give you…. simply save the nest as a DXF format file and then import this into your current software for output.