The company plans the launch of Odystar 2.5 for prepress workflow management; Neo, for quick and efficient editing of native PDF files; Concentric Screening, a revolutionary new halftone dot technology; and WebWay 4.0, for internet collaboration with remote users.
Odystar, which has achieved success as a workflow system in the commercial and publishing markets, takes full advantage of the latest industry standards including PDF 1.6, JDF and Certified PDF. The latest release, Odystar 2.5, brings an elaborate suite of new functionality to further automate prepress operations.
It features new versioning technology that automates such tasks as managing multiple plate variations for different languages or for regional price changes. Also, the new Manage Color gateway allows comprehensive control throughout the workflow, with parameters including the selection of ICC profiles, the use of PDF/X output, and options for rendering intent for line art as well as images.
Artwork Systems will also introduce Neo, a new native PDF application that provides highly productive editing facilities, at Ipex. Neo gives the operator great efficiency and flexibility to handle the everyday type editing and correction requirements of multipage PDF files.
Functions include separation handling, advanced text and paragraph editing, object transforms, image editing and relinking, clip path handling and page box handling. All Certified PDF sessions remain in the PDF file, and the edits performed in Neo are simply added to the Certified PDF information in the PDF file. Neo is the perfect add-on for commercial printers, trade shops, or publishers who are faced with corrections that have to be carried out at the last minute.
Artwork Systems has developed a new screening technology called Concentric Screening, which is a revolutionary new halftone dot technology that divides the conventional round dot into thin concentric rings. These rings limit ink buildup on the plate, thereby providing greater latitude on press and increased colour saturation. Printers are able to increase—even double—screen rulings without experiencing the traditional problems of mottle, dot gain, and variability previously associated with high screen rulings.
Concentric Screening has proven its effectiveness in newspaper, commercial, and packaging printing conditions. Printers who have experienced Concentric Screening say that this new generation of screening has all the benefits of second generation FM combined with the printability, ease of use, and smoothness of conventional AM screening. Concentric Screening is available with the Nexus and Odystar workflows from Artwork Systems.
At Ipex, Artwork Systems will also launch a version of WebWay that will mark a new chapter in internet collaboration. With WebWay 4.0, a sophisticated applet enables the remote user to stream and view pixels of high-resolution files, whether they are ArtPro, PDF, or 1-bit data files, to a standard internet browser. The user then has the option to view the job in a variety of formats in order to annotate the job, preview separations or traps, measure densities, or even download a printable and colour managed proof.
WebWay provides convenient, secure, and cost-effective communication between the print buyer and production plant or between different departments within one company. It is tightly integrated with ArtPro, Nexus, and Odystar.
Ipex, the largest printing and graphic arts show in the English speaking world, takes place April 4–11 at the UK’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. The Artwork Systems showcase will be located in Hall 6, Booth A20.
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