EFI is launching its next generation of Fiery digital front end platform, which it says addresses critical needs for faster processing, and more efficient printing with expanded colour gamuts. EFI’s Fiery rips are used with almost all digital print solutions, so the new rip will likely be available through the likes of Canon, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Fuji Xerox, although no announcements have yet been made. The company says the latest advancements, which are included in the new EFI Fiery FS200 Pro, extends its technical leadership making Fiery the world’s most popular production DFE technology.
EFI says the DFE platform, which will be incorporated in several new digital presses from EFI partners starting in Q3 this year, features tools for higher-speed processing and expansion to CMYK+ colours. Toby Weiss, EFI Fiery senior vice president and general manager, says: “Fiery is the gold standard for the class of digital front-end technology needed to drive high-end, integrated graphic arts production printing environments. “We are excited to take our leading-edge technology to the next level with a platform that addresses users’ critical needs for faster processing, more-efficient printing and expanded colour gamuts. “Many of the new capabilities included in this release are exclusive to Fiery and will deliver a competitive advantage to print businesses looking to fuel their success with the unmatched performance this DFE platform offers.” He says the system also provides robust capabilities for shop automation and connectivity. Weiss says, “As the industry’s only CIP4-certified JDF DFE, the Fiery platform can seamlessly connect with other JDF-based devices. “Plus, users can establish fully automated, bi-directional communication and integration with EFI’s market-leading MIS/ERP and web-to-print products.” The company says Fiery DFEs are powered by EFI’s proprietary application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with rip chip technology that can process print files significantly faster than alternative DFEs. Fiery FS200 Pro it says expands the performance advantage on high-end servers with EFI’s Fiery HyperRIP offering. “HyperRip now has a mode optimised for multiple jobs, as well as the previous, single-job mode, boosting processing performance up to 55 per cent compared to the performance without HyperRip,” Weiss says. “Now, the Fiery FS200 Pro platform can rip up to four jobs simultaneously, giving users the ability to print more jobs in the shortest possible time.” The company says Fiery platform also includes a Rush rip mode that opens up a fifth rip to process rush jobs when all four main parallel processors are busy. “Rush rip allows printing operations to accommodate last-minute rush jobs without interrupting the on-going workflow or cancelling jobs that are already being processed. It also gives users the ability to preview jobs quickly while other jobs are processing, further speeding up the production process and increasing overall throughput,” said Weiss. Kaspar Roos, director of analyst firm InfoTrends’ Production Workflow Service, says, “With the new Fiery FS200 Pro platform, EFI has brought a new level of productivity to the market. “Improvements in riping speed, colour management, and tighter integration of workflow components make this new Fiery platform an attractive proposition.” EFI says the Fiery FS200 Pro system also takes colour management to new heights with the introduction of a CMYK+ feature set for incorporating expanded-gamut process-colour imaging beyond standard four-colour imaging. “CMYK+ opens the door to a range of inkjet press technologies that may be capable of incorporating five, six, or eight-colour process imaging. Print businesses can more precisely match a wider range of brand colours on digital presses offering expanded toner imaging capabilities,” the company says. EFI says it has also released colour correction and process control improvements to the Fiery graphic arts package, premium edition including new features in Fiery ImageViewer that offer greater consistency in the colour workflow, with automated colour adjustment between similar jobs using custom colour curves. As well as a WYSIWYG interface to edit control bars, offering users more control over placement and content.
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