Artwork Systems Group N.V., a world leader in professional pre-press software, is bringing a range of its best-selling flexographic, label and packaging products to INFO*FLEX, being held here May 7-8. Artwork Systems is exhibiting in booth #1000/1003 at the Flexographic Technical Association (FFTA)-sponsored exhibition and conference.

In answer to customer demand, Artwork Systems is showing its Certified PDF and PA:CT solutions; InPDF 2.0, the Adobe (Stock Price   Web Site  Executives  Related Articles  Google) Illustrator plug-in for PDF workflows; industry favorite ArtPro 8.5 -- now with Universal Binary support for Mac and Intel platforms; and new Equinox, demonstrated with the latest Photoshop plug-ins and ArtPro. Equinox employs unique color-conversion technology for expanded gamut printing, enabling the standardization of five, six or seven inks of the user’s choice, which results in shorter make-ready times and less press waste. The company will also show its popular screening technologies for flexo.

Product Details

PA:CT is experiencing rapid adoption in the marketplace. PA:CT encapsulates PDF in a secure data layer that provides packaging professionals using Artwork Systems’ ArtPro or Nexus with instant access to clear, straightforward information about a file and its history.

PA:CT incorporates Certified PDF technology from Enfocus to deliver guaranteed quality, extended rollback possibilities and session comparisons to track or alter every change made to the original file. No matter how complex the editing, or how small the operation performed on the PDF, everything is logged automatically by the system and can be checked by anyone involved in the production cycle: design agency, brand owner, pre-press company, converter and printer.

With less need to check and re-check copy, the whole workflow is streamlined, with major cost benefits.

inPDF is Artwork Systems’ technology for Adobe Illustrator CS users, developed to streamline Illustrator’s file exchange with native PDF pre-press environments.

This plug-in technology for Adobe Illustrator CS is completely based on the PDF standard and provides pre-press environments with a much better file exchange between Adobe Illustrator and native PDF software components such as PDF editors and workflows.

inPDF allows users to read PDF documents generated from ArtPro, Nexus and Odystar into Adobe Illustrator, retrieving all important information such as groups, layers, device N objects, spot color mapped images, linked images (instead of embedded), and more. Additionally, inPDF allows users to import Illustrator files into ArtPro, Nexus and Odystar while keeping the image links live.

ArtPro is one of the world’s most productive and effective editors for pre-production of labels and packaging. This workstation software, now in version 8.5 with Universal Binary support, includes many dedicated functions and tools to prepare graphics for a wide array of packaging production (e.g., litho printing, flexo printing, gravure, silk screen...).

With many thousand licenses sold worldwide, ArtPro has become the standard in the industry. With ArtPro, pre-press operators can turn designs into print-ready files instantly, resulting in productivity increases that remain unbeaten.

Equinox combines the openness of ICC profiles with Artwork Systems’ exclusive color algorithms and workflow expertise.

Equinox is unique in that it bases the ‘technical’ aspects of color conversion on standard ICC profiles, but permits separate ‘editorial’ control to allow the operator to choose how images should be separated and spot colors converted – without compromising color accuracy. The operator does not have to make decisions about color matching or printing conditions, as Equinox automatically retrieves this information from the ICC profile. However, users can alter an image-specific gamut, and once this has been set up it can be repeated for as many jobs as required using the automatic Equinox workflow component.

Early installations are confirming that Equinox marks a milestone in color printing within graphic arts, including the commercial, digital and packaging sectors. Equinox combines the most advanced color and workflow technologies available on the market today, to create cost-effective control of high quality, seven-color process printing that is unequalled in the industry.

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