NEWS - Graphic Exchange
Transcription
NEWS - Graphic Exchange
News Adobe Illustrator 10 emphasizes HP Designjets combine remote cross-media graphics production proofing with color sensing Adobe Illustrator 10, just released, provides integrated tools for cross-media professionals, enabling Web designers and developers to collaborate more closely. It also integrates tightly with other Adobe graphics programs, including Photoshop, GoLive, LiveMotion, Premiere, and After Effects. Version 10 files maintain transparency when used with InDesign 2.0. With Illustrator 10 users can generate unlimited variations using scripts or dynamic image servers such as Adobe AlterCast. With its new support for symbols, users can insert instances into their artwork and update those instances automatically by redefining the original symbol. Illustrator 10 offers new support for objectbased slicing, HTML tables with CSS layers, and enhanced SVG import/export, and Flash (SWF) format export. New creative features such as Live Distortion allow users to apply enveloping, warping, and liquify tools to text, graphics, and images—while retaining editability. Symbolism tools enable designers to quickly create masses of repeating elements such as foliage or crowds. Adobe Illustrator 10 will be available in the Q4/2001 for US$399 and can be pre-ordered at www.adobe.com/illustrator. Epson takes equity position in Applied Science Fiction Epson America and Applied Science Fiction have announced that Epson has taken an equity position in ASF, and the companies have executed a strategic alliance agreement to cooperate in the development of digital imaging technologies. Epson is the creator of digital imaging products, and Applied Science Fiction is the creator of Digital ICE technology and the inventor of the cutting-edge digital dry film processing (Digital PIC) system. 48 Graphic Exchange Hewlett-Packard’s Designjet 10ps, Designjet 20ps and Designjet 50ps printers combine remote proofing with color sensing technology, so users can share files over the Internet. The Designjet 10ps is a personal printer; the 20ps offers extra paper handling and server-based processing for workgroup printing; and the 50ps uses Heidelberg software for pre-press proofing. The Designjet printers provide color accuracy with up to 90 percent of Pantone colors and 100 percent of all major offset color standards (SWOP, EuroScale, TOYO, DIC) through an Adobe Postscript 3 RIP for Mac and Windows. They output six colors at 2400 x 1200 dpi on premium photo paper. Even at “best” quality, an 11 x 17-inch full-bleed glossy image can be printed in approximately four minutes. Remote proofing files are created using PDF and JDF standards. The Designjet 10ps and 20ps are available now; the 50ps is expected in spring 2002. Estimated list prices are US$1,663, US$3,000 and US$5,841. For more info visit www.designjet.hp.com. Totally Hip releases feature-rich Livestage Professional 3 Totally Hip Software has released version 3 of its QuickTime authoring program, Livestage Professional. Media skins allow the QuickTime interface to be thoroughly customized. Integration with Flash 4 provides direct access to Flash buttons, functions and variables, including variable files located on remote HTTP servers. As well, Livestage Professional 3 provides XML, Database, CGI and WebObjects connectivity. Livestage also enables VR panoramas, and linear media such as streaming audio and video transitions. Extended AppleScript support has been added, in addition to drag-n-drop authoring, wired sprite scripting, pre-defined and custom behaviors, and over 75 new wired actions. Livestage 3 has been optimized for Mac OS X, and is also available for Windows. For additional details, visit www.totallyhip.com. —Jason Lee Jasc releases Paint Shop Pro 7 Microsoft will ship Macromedia Anniversary Edition Flash Player 5 with Windows XP Jasc Software has released Microsoft and Macromedia have announced that Macromedia Flash Player 5 will ship with all versions of Microsoft Windows XP, the next major version of the Windows operating system scheduled for worldwide availability on October 25. Macromedia Flash Player is one of the most distributed pieces of software in the history of the Web, with broad penetration across all leading platforms and devices. Macromedia Flash is also widely used for e-learning applications and was utilized by Microsoft for the informational Tour of Windows XP experience that ships with the operating system. a Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7 Anniversary Edition. This tenth anniversary product includes several applications, enabling users to draw, paint, edit digital photos, and optimize Web graphics. Jasc Media Center Plus 3.1 is a photo album organizer—it supports over 50 file formats, including MP3s, MPEGs and AVI video files. Jasc Animation Shop 3.04 provides transitions and effects for animating Web and presentation graphics. The edition also includes special effects filters from Alien Skin Eye Candy, Virtual Painter and Flaming Pear Essentials. Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7 Anniversary Edition is available at a suggested list of $US109. To get more information, visit www.jasc.com/products/psp. QuarkXPress 5.0 beta version now available for download and public testing, no ship date set Quark’s beta version of QuarkXPress 5.0 is available for download and public testing. Version 5.0 adds a Tables feature that enables users to create graphically rich tables for structuring design elements or organizing complex data. With the new Layers feature, users can isolate items on separate “tiers” within QuarkXPress files, and publishers can quickly and easily manage document variants. In addition, version 5.0 provides a more efficient print user interface, enhanced PDF support and color management, plus contextual menus. QuarkXPress 5.0 has a wide range of new and enhanced features to support print, Web, and PDF workflows. Users can import and export dozens of file formats, including HTML, PDF, and XML. QuarkXPress 5.0 can be downloaded from www.quark.com/products/xpress/beta. Quark has not yet announced the pricing or shipping date for the new version. W rong. Our business partners, Graphic Resources and L. P. Turgeon will outline the new math for you. They distribute our exceptional line of premium European papers without the premium price. All offer superior quality and exceptional printing performance without the high cost. 12p 12ptt 13pt 15pt 12pt 14pt 18pt We started with EuroArt Gloss and Silk. Now we've added SilverBlade Digital, the #1 digital imaging paper, heavyweight EuroCovers, high-bulk Venetian Matte and highperformance Cool Offset. If the competition seems too tough, margins too small, quality difficult to find, talk to Graphic Resources and L. P. Turgeon. Paper e ropean The Eu Attitud ...With Gloss Adobe has announced the new version of its professional layout and design program, Adobe InDesign 2.0. New features include a streamlined printing interface and native Mac OS X support. New creativity features include a transparency function; users can also apply editable drop shadows, feathering, and opacity settings to objects, and import transparent Photoshop, Illustrator and PDF files. New table creation features turn tab-delimited text into tables or import styled Microsoft Word and Excel tables directly. With long document support, designers can group files into book lists with tables of contents and indexes. InDesign 2.0 integrates more tightly with Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat through its Adobe standard user interface, native file import and direct export of PDF files. Common core technologies such as the Adobe Color Engine enable more reliable color production. Performance enhancements make InDesign 2.0 significantly faster. The new upgrade enables more effective delivery to multiple channels, including print, Web and PDAs. With the new Structure View and Tag palette, InDesign introduces extensible support for SVG export as well as XML import and export. Through tagged PDF support, InDesign exports graphically rich eBooks. InDesign also supports Adobe’s XMP for embedding metadata in documents. InDesign 2.0 will be available in the Q1/2002 at US$699. For more information, visit www.adobe.com/products/indesign. They'll help you do the math and buy smart. EuroArt ® ® Available exclusively from Graphic Resources & L. P. Turgeon Manufactured by M-Real Corporation (905) 841-7488 www.m-real.com Silk InDesign 2.0 to add transparency, table creation, support for long documents, new print controls High Quality + Exceptional Printablilty = Premium Price. Naturally. Right? EuroArt News ViewSonic introduces two large LCD monitors for business ViewSonic has expanded its line of LCD monitors with the ViewSonic VP230mb and VP201mb. The VP230mb multimedia display delivers a 23.1-inch viewable screen and black bezel. This MegaPanel features a 4:3 aspect ratio, 1600 x 1200 resolution, and XtremeView 160-degree viewing angles. In desktop publishing applications, the VP230mb can fit two full pages of information side-by-side on the screen at once. The VP230mb also includes SuperClear MVA technology, providing a high 400:1 contrast ratio and brilliant colors for phot like image quality. Its ultra-fast 3x LCD display enables quick video response, making it ideal for video editing. The VP201mb offers a 20.1-inch viewable screen and 1600 x 1200 maximum resolution. And with its PerfectPortrait software, the VP201mb monitor pivots easily between landscape and portrait mode. Both the VP230mb and the VP201mb LCD monitors come with two 3-watt, bezel-integrated speakers, and offer analog and DVI-D digital input and a ViewPlex panel protector. The estimated street prices for the VP230mb and VP201mb LCD monitors are $7,849 and $4,599 respectively. You can get more info at www.viewsonic.com/products/lcd.cfm. SCREAMSAVER Lantana’s Crackerjack 4.0 adds new PDF printing functions Lantana Crackerjack 4.0’s new features for PDF print production include separations preview, spot color mapping, a font embedding Fixer, expanded RGB conversion options, plus support for Acrobat 5.05, Mac OS X and Windows XP. Crackerjack employs a visually-intuitive user interface to tune all aspects of print production. Separations preview includes controls to turn off selected inks and to see the effect of overprints, knockouts, and transparency. It also shows how Crackerjack settings affect output. Spot color mapping permits users to map selections into other spot colors, eliminating extra separations. The font embedding Fixer can automatically check for non-embedded fonts and include them in the output. UCR/GCR has been extended to all separation modes, enabling specification of images to be converted using UCR/GCR or ICC profiles. Crackerjack 4.0 requires Adobe Acrobat 4.05 or above. It will be available for the Macintosh (MacOS 9.x/OS X) and Windows (98/2000/NT/XP) before the end of the year. SRP for Crackerjack 4.0 is US$495. Consult www.lantanarips.com for further details and demo versions. Extensis announces free upgrade to Suitcase for OS X 888.846.1668 50 Graphic Exchange • creativegroup.com © The Creative Group. N E E D A G R E AT I D E A I N A H U R R Y ? 1 . TA K E A D E E P B R E AT H . 2 . E X H A L E S L O W LY. 3 . C A L L T H E C R E AT I V E G R O U P . Extensis is making its Suitcase font management solution available for Mac OS X on November 19, 2001. Suitcase makes font management faster and easier by providing automatic activation of fonts, activation on demand, collect for output, tracking of corrupt fonts, handling of font conflicts, and other features. Suitcase for Mac OS X will be available to all registered owners of Suitcase 10 at no additional charge. Visit www.extensis.com/suitcaseten for additional info. C a n a dia n I m aging A s s o ciat e s I nc. Presents... A Better Way To Store Images XYZ Company System CIA System Time Retrieve from dat Check if correct Write CD Wrap CD Print label Fill out waybill Call courier Give to courier Courier takes to client Client loads on computer Is it the right image? Cost $45 – – $50 – $125 – – $30 – – – – Total $125 – $200 24 hrs. - 48 hrs. Cost – – $1 – $20 – Time Client logs on to image bank Finds correct image Client retrieves from internet via CIA’s T3 connection Total $1 – $20 2 to 30 mins. You’ll be amazed at how easy and customizable the CIA Imagebank is to use. Don’t be left behind. Call us today for an online demonstration. C an adian I m aging A sso c iat es 1.800.917.9760 or 905.948.0700 visit our Web Site at: www.cdnimage.com e-mail us at: [email protected] WWW.CPUSED.COM News Special Report New New G4 G4 & & Display Display by Lerrick Starr Multimedia Dream Machine New iBook Your Life. To Go! New Titanium Tomorrow’s Technology...Today! Computer Rentals 488 Dupont Street @ Bathurst Toronto, Ontario 416.533.2001 •Open 7-Days a Week• Computer Rentals Mac & PC Daily Weekly Monthly Prop Rentals Name-Brand Huge Inventory Competitive Rates For more information call 416.534-2001 www.BrainiacRentals.com 488 Dupont Street Toronto ON M6G 1Y7 52 Enfocus locks down PDF workflow with Certified PDF Graphic Exchange It seems the acronym PDF has been with us forever. Quark used it first for its Printer Description Files—Quark’s version of a PPD or PostScript Printer Definition. When Adobe introduced its Portable Document Format, it was stolen in a certain case of what might be labelled acrimonious crony acronym theft. Adobe’s PDF, the little file that stayed small, has gained increasing numbers of proponents among the digital prepress crowd. Other manufacturers covet early adopter Agfa’s Apogee workflow—now that it’s been around long enough to mature— but Canada’s CreoScitex has responded with Prinergy, and everyone else has or is developing their own PDF solution. Trade acceptance, largely driven by market demand, has created a niche for PDF preflighting, correction, editing and repurposing tools. Along the way, the ‘X’ standard—PDF/X as defined by ANSI— became the standard for the blind exchange of PDF files. Blind exchange means the sender and receiver cannot communicate with each other. ANSI has defined two less vigorous standards as well. Neither has entered common use (see Exacting Standards sidebar). Along comes Enfocus, a Belgian company with a U.S. branch. In a short time it has cornered the market in PDF editing by exploiting Acrobat’s PDF plug-in technology. Founded by Peter Camps in 1992, Enfocus’ first product was a PostScript editor, Tailor for NextStep; the majority of the code was developed in Camps’ bedroom. Recognizing that PDF was going to be an important piece of future workflows, and that PostScript was on the downside of the curve, Enfocus started to work on PDF tools for the Macintosh platform. The result was PitStop Professional (a PDF editor) and PitStop Server (a hot folder-driven version of PitStop that automates a host of editing functions). So thorough is its market penetration that a host of manufacturers have integrated Enfocus technology into their workflows, including Agfa, FujiFilm, Electronics For Imaging (EFI), CreoScitex, and Heidelberg. PitStop Professional is essential to countless prepress cowboys who have cobbled together their own workflow. Enfocus has another offering: InstantPDF, a sort of wrapper for Adobe Distiller generating AppleTalk queues (you see them in the Chooser), combined with PitStop technology for repairing Distillergenerated PDFs. For example, Distiller doesn’t embed all fonts, so they are forceembedded afterwards. It is very similar to CreoScitex Synapse. Now, Enfocus is introducing its own standard, Certified PDF, and they hope it will supplant all others in use. Enfocus has set its own criteria for qualifying a PDF as prepress-ready and borrows a native Acrobat attribute combined with its own technology to force it into that state. When you try to certify a PDF file for the first time, the software compares the file’s structure to an enhanced preflight profile. Enfocus technology fixes the PDF so that it is considered (by Enfocus’ standards) perfectly imageable. From that point on, changes to the PDF are tracked using Acrobat’s native tracking. If someone makes a change that cannot be fixed, or violates predetermined rules, the PDF loses its ‘certification’. Additionally, when you perform a “Save as” (for instance, changing the file name to a docket number), all that history is lost; the PDF no longer knows it is certified, and the process must be repeated. This certified technology was originally scheduled to be released as a separate product called Certify PDF, but Enfocus has decided to integrate the technology into its current product line and will soon release integrated versions of PitStop There are three existing standards for PDF files: (US$549), PitStop Server PDF/X-1a:2001 is used for ‘blind’ ex(US$1699) and InstantPDF changes where the two parties have (US$249). no other communication. While the obvious benefit PDF/X-1:2001 is similar to PDF/Xis to content creators who 1a:2001 but the standard is loosened can hand off a PDF to proslightly, making it appropriate for use duction without reservation, in a collaborative environment. It also it’s also true thatany accepted allows for OPI operators in the PDF standard is better than no file and limited types of encryption. standard at all. PDF/X-1:1999 is the original ANSI Enfocus views PDF/X specification and has been supplanted standards as particular subby PDF/X-1:2001 and PDF/X-1a:2001. sets of PDF attributes. Why Certified PDF is Enfocus’ definition of isn’t theirs as appropriate as a prepress-ready PDF. any other? After all, Fuji will be using Certified PDFs in its workflow. The gloves are off—TIFF/IT, look out! You can get time-limited but fully functional versions of Enfocus’ software at www.enfocus.com and Apago’s PDF/X-1 Checkup at www.apago.com. EXACTING STANDARDS Lerrick Starr is a digital prepress and marketing consultant. He can be reached at [email protected]. ALTERNATIVE PDF CHECKING SOFTWARE PDF/X1 Checkup by Apago is an Acrobat plug-in that checks a PDF file for conformance to all three existing PDF/X standards (see Exacting Standards).The Checkup plug-in works within Adobe Acrobat. Open the file you want to check and select the Checkup plug-in from the Tools menu. Apago PDF/X-1 Checkup is set to use PDF/X-1a:2001 as the default conformance level. PDF/X-1a:2001 is designed to be used for blind exchanges where no information is passed regarding the type of file, color settings, fonts available, or other prepress considerations. Checkup examines all elements in the PDF file for compliance and fixes most common problems. PDF/X-1 Checkup offers a choice of nine different characterizations which are publicly available via the accredited standards process or industry trade associations. One is from the Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards and is commonly used in North America for SWOP publications.The others are from The Federal Association of German Printers (BVD) and the German Research Association for Printing and Reproduction Technology (FOGRA).The BVD/FOGRA characterizations address a wide range of printing applications. Visit apphost.infosrc.com/icc/drsection1.html for the most up-todate information on these characterizations. News Special Report Print 01 zeroes in on digital printing and proofing by Dan Brill Print 01, held in Chicago September 6-13, was for all intents and purposes transformed from an eight-day show into five days by the events of September 11; but in truth, that was probably as much time as it needed, judging by attendance during the first five days. As I did my ritual walkaround through the gigantic exhibit halls of McCormick Place on the first two days I was somewhat amazed at just how empty the farthest reaches of the floors were. I had the distinct impression that, as has been the case with every show I have attended over the past few years, the days of the mega-show are rapidly disappearing. So, although I was lucky enough to have arranged to fly home on September 10th, I have the feeling that those last three days would probably have been largely unproductive for most exhibitors. There was a lot to see, so I’ll limit this report to just a few highlights that I thought designers might be interested in. It was obvious that Xerox had come prepared to steal as much thunder as it could from Heidelberg’s launch of its NexPress digital press. Day One at Print 01 was a non-stop barrage of Xerox events, highlighted by the announcement of the iGen 3 digital press (formerly codenamed FutureColor). According to Xerox, the iGen 3—when it appears in about a year—will be a 100-page per minute device capable of printing accurate color and variable data. Although no information was released regarding pricing, a high level source at Xerox told me that this machine will be no more than US$500,000—still not pocket change, by any stretch. In the Heidelberg space, where most of the crowds seemed to be centred, the NexPress 2100 was on display running 70 pages per minute. A Heidelberg spokesman told me that fifteen units had been sold in the first two days; their goal for the show was forty, but I don’t know whether they actually hit that target, given the news that transpired. Nonetheless, the NexPress stood out as one of the key introductions. Why should designers care about presses? That should be easy to figure out: the next big wave in direct marketing will be focused on narrowcast print advertising, and the cross-pollination of database information with specifically targeted messages that carry variable text and graphics. Imation was conducting private show- creativesource in creative source?... really?...thank you!... Sure i would love to work with you... Wow! Cindy, an art director from another agency is holding on line two for you. keep that phone ringing 54 In Toronto call Lee Kline at 416-350-8199 Dominke Brunelle at 514-344-4072 G r a p h i c In E xMontréal c h a n g e call www.creativesource.ca ILLUSTRATION: LEIF PENG ings of an interesting CMYK soft proofing technology. Not due for release until early next year, the Matchprint Virtual Proofing system consists of customized CRT monitors, Imation’s proprietary color management technology, and RealTimeImage’s web-based collaborative proofing software. Certainly the comparisons I saw of hard copy and screen images were impressive. Kodak Polychrome introduced a niche market proofer which should sit well with packaging designers. The First Check desktop proofer can handle up to nine ink cartridges, including gold and silver metallics, white, orange and green, in addition to standard CMYK. Front-ended by a Bestcolor RIP and capable of printing on a variety of substrates, this unit prices out at around US$5,000 and will be available in November for Windows systems (a Mac version will be ready by Q1/2002). Hewlett Packard had its new low cost six-color designjet series of printers on display (curiously, they are manufactured in Spain), available in three flavours (10ps, 20ps and 50ps), all of which deliver output sizes from 3”x5” up to 13”x19” at 2400x1200 dpi. The 50ps, priced near US$6,000 and featuring Heidelberg color management, is the one aimed at the high end crowd, but it won’t be on the market until early next year. Speaking of HP. it wasn’t a huge shock to learn at the show that Hewlett-Packard had bought the balance of Indigo, clearly taking aim at the same digital printing market that both Heidelberg and Xerox are coveting. The introduction this past summer of the 6600, HP’s own version of Indigo’s digital press, was a tipoff that something was in the works. Not to mention the fact that it was a badly kept secret that Indigo was struggling to maintain sales in a tight and highly competitive market. Perhaps with HP’s clout behind it, Indigo’s excellent printing technology will finally complete the total desktop-to-print workflow that HP has been lacking. And yes, I got yet another preview of Delano, Agfa’s collaborative workflow software which I have raved about in earlier writeups. If Agfa could only resolve whatever internal problems they have and ship this product, I’m sure its rich interface and intuitive icon-based design would be an instant hit with those in the fields of creative content. Alas, all I saw was a canned HTML demo. But they promised it should be out by Q1/2002. However Agfa also announced its Grand Sherpa digital proofer which is expected by year end. This jumbo cousin of the existing Sherpa models will produce up to eight color proofs in sizes up to 33”x46”. Most of these new products should be available for Canadians to view at Graphics Canada, set to take place at the International Centre in Toronto in November. procreate KPT effects introduces nine Photoshop plug-ins KPT effects is the second application to join the procreate line of creative enhancement tools. It is a collection of nine Adobe Photoshop compatible plug-ins: KPT Pyramid Paint provides a painted look; KPT Lightning creates realistic lightning effects; KPT Fluid makes an image look as if it were floating on a liquid; KPT Hyper Tiling generates complex tiling effects; KPT Scatter is a 2D particle system for scattering imported images; KPT Channel Surfing applies effects to the RGB, Hue, Luminance or Saturation Channels; KPT Ink Dropper adds drops of liquid to surfaces; KPT FraxFlame II creates stunning fractals; and KPT Gradient Lab provides multiple layers and sampling options for enhanced gradient control. KPT effects has a suggested retail price of US$199. It is available for Mac OS 8.6 or higher (including Mac OS X) Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows Me. For more information, visit www.procreate.com. Save valuable time and expense by quickly and easily transferring any file from, or to your client. From desktop to desktop with a click and drag of the mouse. Virtually maintenance free. Call Today! MAC, PC AND NETWORK SPECIALISTS. T: 416.707.6177 • F: 416.253.0364 [email protected] • www.cyberfarer.com d e s i g n g r a p h i c d e s i g n p h o t o g r a p h y e v e n t w e b m a t e r i a l s d e s i g n HEYDING & ASSOCIATES heyding.ca 905 640-6823 Graphic Exchange 55