CTF/CTP Workflow System
Company Background Software developers of Film/ CTP Workflow Online proofing E-tearsheets & invoices Serving the newspaper industry for over 15 years Over 400 installations worldwide New York Times Dow Jones The Tampa Tribune Atlanta Journal Constitution Chicago Tribune The Globe and Mail New York Press Association The Buffalo News The Korean Daily
Web-Browser Convenience Simple interface requires very little training Remotely manage your workflow Only authorized users can gain access to the system Supports Mac and PC browser Web clients No 3 rd party plug-ins or Java required Customized permission sets control user capabilities to view and manage system resources Sign up for e-mail error notifications
Manage Production Resources Single window showing entire workflow and the status of all its resources Disable output devices View logs for any system resource Determine workflow bottlenecks See system problems at a glance Make system configuration changes
Manage Your Production System from One Screen Approval steps in workflow, hold pages/ plates until reviewed & accepted. Intelligently route files based on components of file name, file type, folder path, plan info, etc. Flashing red icon denotes error condition. Load balance RIPs and imaging devices while maintaining color quality via plate locking & calibration management. Gold icon denotes device being serviced. Click on a device to view log info, configure, or pause device.
Intelligent Routing & Load Balancing Manages PS, EPS, PDF and TIFF files Rule based routing based on File naming convention File size Image resolution Planning information File attributes Input folder and path Job Priority Deadlines Rules are easy to configure and require no programming skills Automatic load balancing to the first available device
Ensure Output Quality Calibration Management Doesn t require all devices to be calibrated the same System intelligently pre-selects available imaging device prior to RIPing. System automatically loads the correct RIP setup file for the specific imaging device Separation Locking Ensures all separations of the same plate are sent to the same output device even if sent at different times throughout the production cycle Soft Proofing & Approval View composite proof or individual separations of pages / plates Add annotations Approve or reject all or specific separations Measurement tools provided Manually override automatic routing
Product Tracking & Management Single view to determine process of daily production Status of production by product down to page, plate, and separation level Resend a complete product or a specific plate including previous versions Manually override automated workflow Drill down to determine reasons for errors Adjust priority levels, deadlines, or communicate problems via annotations Single click to view soft proof of page, plate, or separations
Manage Daily Production from One Screen Red icon denotes error condition See progress levels of pages, plates, and individual separations at a glance Percentage of entire publication completed. Manually resend complete product down to individual plate. Click on thumbnail to soft proof, add annotations, and approve & reject pages/ plates/ seps Device for which the page is calibrated. View current priority or click to change
Bird s Eye View of Production Switch to Edition View for more detailed status of pages and plates Percentage of Entire Publication Completed See an overview of the status of each plate, recognizable by color coded images Hover over the plate to see its current
Product Planning Step-by-step Web-based planning wizard Create customized products in minutes with double-trucks, dinkies, and multiple plate configurations all within the same schedule Easily add new products Assign priority and deadlines to a product Lock product to a specific output device Save and reuse commonly used plans Import plans from 3 rd party planning applications
Plate Configuration Create new plate templates in minutes Step by Step drag & drop plate configuration Support page pairing and imposition of 16-up Inside & outside double trucks Add customizable page furniture (bender, press registration, cut & fold marks, etc.) Supports human readable text and bar codes containing static and dynamic information
Creep & Fan-out Adjustments Creep (sometimes called shingling) adjustment automatically positions the pages on the sheet so that after the bindery process the distance between the edge of the page and the edge of the sheet are more consistent. Fan-out adjusts the position of the image on a plate to compensate for the stretch in paper during the printing process. To ensure best registration and consistent quality, fan-out adjustment allows userdefined page adjustment, per plate template and per color.
Multiple Page Element Merging Automatically merge multiple page & plate elements into one plate ad stitching plate multi-burning building of pages from two or more differing sources support for half page double-truck banner ads
Bitmap Operations Processing operations executed based on predefined rules Allows standardized processing of plate images throughout workflow with device specific image changes just prior to output Crop, invert, mirror, rotate Shift image on a plate Scale and/ or change resolution of image for variety of output destinations (proofing devices, Web, archiving, etc.)
Logging and Reporting Diagnose problems quickly from one central location Logs show all system activity with time & date stamps Easily sort and filter logs to troubleshoot problems Utilize the report generator to export valuable information used to create customized reports
System Configuration Simple Wizard to build entire workflow Supports multiple naming conventions within one workflow Customizable progress levels for detailed production tracking and reporting Define spot colors Manage priority levels and define changes based on daily schedule Establish product hierarchies (publication, edition, zone, section, etc.) Setup system purging procedures
Why is the best solution for you? Solution based on over 15 years of newspaper workflow experience An easy to use Web based interface available to both Mac and PC users Built in calibration management for film and/or CTP devices A solution based on the latest available technology Fully automated workflow with intelligent rule based routing Web based production tracking and management Low cost solution with full functionality included in base package