Release of Suite 12.1 at EskoWorld

Esko Suite 12.1 includes significant new functionality that further streamlines end-to-end workflows across the entire print and packaging supply chain. Suite 12.1 follows the successful release of Suite 12 at Drupa 2012 and includes updates of its flagship editing and automation software.

Workflow Made Easier
Suite 12.1 contains enhancements that will make work easier and more profitable for all stakeholders in the print and packaging supply chain, from novice users to advanced environments. Key enhancements incorporated in the release include:

• Standard Template Workflows. For novice users, setting up an effective workflow is not a trivial exercise. By providing standard workflow templates for typical applications such as resp. folding carton, labels, signs, etc, Esko shortens the learning curve for less experienced users. Esko has leveraged its experience in training and in configuring many workflows in the field to create standard templates that automate the most common prepress and production tasks.
• Integration with On-Press Visual Inspection Systems. In prepress editors PackEdge or ArtPro, users can now define areas on a job for inline visual inspection systems. This significantly reduces overall setup time for the press since the inline inspection system receives its setup data directly from Esko Automation Engine. With the inspection area defined upstream and not by the press operator, it becomes easier to standardize the production process across multiple sites, presses and operators. First inspection system integrations work with Esko´s partner AVT.
• CombiPress Support. Especially in the label industry, it is common practice to combine different print processes (offset, flexo, digital, screen) within the same job, with each process requiring different preparation. With CombiPress support, even trapping tickets will automatically perform overprint calculations based on the targeted printing processes, eliminating manual selection of trapping tickets.
• Esko Viewer Sports New Tools. The Esko Viewer in Automation Engine 12.1 is equipped with a barcode and braille reader. With this, the difficulty of manually and visually verifying the accuracy of a barcode or of a line of braille text, an essential check in the prepress QA process, has been overcome.
• Compliance with EU Food Regulations. EU Regulation No. 1169/2011 goes into effect 13 December 2014 onwards. This regulation specifies minimum font size requirements for the nutrition declaration on food packaging. In DeskPack 12.1, the Preflight function can now detect text that does not meet this requirement, ensuring use of the correct font size and providing proof that the produced packaging is compliant.
• Automation of Gang Runs for Flatbed Printers. With a growing number of shorter runs, automating gang printing on large format flatbed digital printers means more profitable operations. With Automation Engine 12.1, multiple odd-shaped designs can automatically be ganged onto a single print sheet layout, improving operator productivity and reducing waste of expensive substrates.

Bernard Zwaenepoel, Senior Vice President Software of Esko says: “After Drupa, Esko´s Software Suite 12 was labeled as the industry reference. But we haven’t been resting on these laurels and invested significant time with our customers to understand additional value-adding requirements, many of which we have addressed in this release. By extending our capabilities beyond traditional prepress tasks, Suite 12.1 brings unsurpassed value to service providers, converters and printers alike as they strive to stay competitive and current in a dynamic market environment.” The release of Esko´s Suite 12.1 is planned from July 2013 onwards and will be available for existing customers.

EskoWorld
EskoWorld, an annual users’ conference, is open to any company that has Esko solutions or has signed a purchase order for scheduled solution delivery. EskoWorld 2012 was the largest EskoWorld ever, with about 600 attendees, and EskoWorld 2013 is expected to be even larger.  The release of Suite 12.1 during this important event gives attendees a head start on understanding all of the benefits the update will offer.

Worldwide availability of ArtiosCAD Enterprise

With ArtiosCAD Enterprise, the structural packaging design software, all assets are stored in a centralized – yet private – corporate database in the cloud. The Enterprise Database Server, powered by WebCenter, provides a secure web-accessible database in the cloud and project management engine. It enables dynamic on-line collaboration between design groups, CAD and graphic designers, suppliers, brand owners and production. The ArtiosCAD Enterprise client enriches WebCenter projects with all the CAD-specific metadata, like geometry and materials, so that all details about the packaging project are captured and managed from beginning to end.

“ArtiosCAD offers users to access a secure enterprise database from the cloud, with project management features that help to control every job,” explains Richard Deroo, Esko Product Manager, Structural Design. “It also adds features to assist with project efficiency, including design request forms that help to quickly communicate new jobs, and dashboards that help to monitor project effectiveness.”

With the ArtiosCAD Enterprise database, users can save any file type – all accessible from an ArtiosCAD client or web browser. All valuable corporate assets such as CAD files, customer lists, projects, specs, and bills of materials are available anywhere from a centralized common, secure, database. Data files can be quickly searched, filtering on any metadata. Most important, ArtiosCAD Enterprise assures the database delivers the most up to date and immediate files.

“The thought of making a mistake with a file keeps people awake at night,” says Kenneth Miess, Senior Packaging Engineer, Victory Packaging. “If an artist is working on an older file, and it isn’t caught, printing plates could be made, sheets printed, and when you discover the graphics don’t match, you’ve run tens of thousands of sheets. Before we had ArtiosCAD Enterprise, if we manufactured an item at a local facility, we would keep the drawings on site. If we were working with a large CPG national account, we could be manufacturing locally in New York and California. Without safeguards and communication, differences could creep in, due to modifications initiated by either facility. We needed one centralized system that guaranteed only one drawing, which is what we have with ArtiosCAD Enterprise. Now, our artists and packaging engineers work with the same current and authorized online documents.”

“Before Stora Enso Packaging made the investment in ArtiosCAD Enterprise, each job would go through a linear approval process with every stakeholder. This potentially added weeks to the time from concept to completion. Now everyone involved can access the project immediately,” comments Andis Skujenieks, Baltics Sales and Marketing Manager for Stora Enso Packaging. “As a result, we can handle a greater number of jobs and complete them more cost efficiently.”

ArtiosCAD Enterprise provides easy to use on-line dashboards with real-time feedback about project status, due dates, samples needed and other parameters. Users can also easily search and export data to Excel spreadsheets, enabling them to create their own custom reports, with no data entry required. The search criteria can be saved for simple one-button reporting when needed. This assures instant response to current workload, project status and completed work.  

With its project management, ArtiosCAD Enterprise can store all project assets in the central database, organized in folders. From there a designated administrator can manage group responsibilities, easily distributing tasks to others, even based on the current load. Users can quickly see what tasks are allocated to their departments. Automatic email notifications/updates also can be sent to project members, suppliers or other outside agencies – for example, when a change is made.

With online web-based design request forms capturing all relevant job data, ArtiosCAD Enterprise can automate and streamline project creation and improve the communication between sales and design departments. It helps deliver quicker response time and transparency of design requests, project status, and resource load. It also reduces errors due to miscommunicated specifications.

ArtiosCAD Enterprise is a scalable solution. Single location users can increase productivity with a process-driven workflow, reducing the number of data entry points. Larger global accounts benefit from the online, secure, central database that delivers instant access to centralized corporate design assets from any location.

ArtiosCAD Enterprise is currently available from resellers and direct sales representatives throughout the world.