SOFTWARE SPOTLIGHT: Bridging the File Transfer Gap

Chromaticity announced last month its exclusive North American distribution of DevZeroG PrintSure Web-to-print software. Now in version 5, PrintSure makes it easier for print buyers to submit jobs, and printers to process them.

The system consists of a central server that automatically distributes desktop software applications to all the clients in a company's database. Customers submit jobs through the local application, which preflights each file before uploading to show the client any discovered errors. The printer customizes which errors, if any, the program fixes automatically, and the customer can review these changes before final submission.

A job ticket form—with fields defined by the printer—lets the end-user include additional information as XMP metadata, guiding the file through the workflow. PrintSure logs when any file is preflighted or uploaded, and it can e-mail an administrator each time a new job is received. The system is also able to upload files to any FTP server.

All the client profile settings—including which file checks (up to 139) and corrections (up to 63) should be performed—are managed from the central server. Changes made by the administrator are automatically downloaded to the clients and installed when they next open the program.

PrintSure comes with Ghent PDF Workgroup-compliant profiles (developed by the best practices organization to meet file specifications unique to various markets); see www.gwg.org. Version 5 also now includes the ability to pre-flight files with embedded JPEG 2000 images, ensuring image area total ink coverage and suitable resolution.

Customers who prefer not to install any software can still preflight and upload files through a Web browser-based applet. DevZeroG estimates that a printer processing five PDFs a day will recoup its investment within six months.

The company offers downloadable demos (www.devzerog.com) for different aspects of PrintSure. Try it out as a customer with the preflight, upload and Web-based utilities, or experiment with profile management as an administrator.

DevZeroG is offering PrintSure in an increasingly crowded market of Web-to-print offerings: EFI Digital StoreFront, NowDocs NowPrint, Pageflex Storefront, Press-sense iWay and Printable PrintOne Store, among more than 50 others.

Last month, Kodak also released version 5 of its InSite Prepress Portal System, which lets print buyers submit jobs online. Its Web-based operation means a customer will not have to install any software. The system does not provide automatic preflighting, but prepress staff can revise files remotely, and clients can monitor these changes and request their own (triggering an e-mail notification). Job status is available in real-time both to print buyer and seller.

InSite 5 now lets printers implement visual themes into the interface to reinforce their own brand recognition. File revisions can be seen more easily using three different means of comparison (requiring Prinergy 4.0.2 or later): the image toggles between before and after versions; only the pixels that changed appear on the screen; or the unchanged pixels appear in white while the changed flash red and green. Also, new user role definitions give an administrator more control over who does what. See a Flash-based demo at www.graphics.kodak.com.