The new prepress workflow tool follows on the heels of new PitStop 7 and Instant Barcode, an Illustrator plug-in that beefs up PDFs destined for labels and packaging.Enfocus announced the release of its long-awaited PDF workflow server PitStop Automate 1.0 ($5,999, $3,299 upgrade form PitStop Server) in July, capping off a big year for the company that saw several major product upgrades as well as management changes.
Unlike its cousin PitStop Pro, which saw its 7.0 release earlier in 2006, PitStop Automate is not an Acrobat plug-in.
Rather, it's a stand-alone workflow tool for production departments to automatically perform many tasks they presently are doing manually.
According to Erik Cullins, North American director of sales and marketing for Enfocus, PitStop Automate addresses an emerging group of print production workers who need to automate repetitive tasks beyond that offered by PitStop Server, but aren't yet ready to invest tens of thousands of dollars in a full-fledged PDF print workflow.
Such tasks might include splitting files, more sophisticated PDF routing, or even error reports automatically e-mailed to clients who submitted PDFs for print production.
"[PitStop Automate] is for people who need an automated workflow beyond basic hot-folder integration, but maybe aren't quite ready to step up to a higher-end, full workflow solution from a Kodak or a Heidelberg," Cullins says.
"So the target market is the small to medium-sized printer or publisher or prepress shop that may be sitting on the fence waiting for an automation solution [on their smaller scale]."
Cullins also notes that one feature Enfocus built into PitStop Automate—AppleScript integration—tips its hat to the Mac-heavy production world.
While not every prepress shop or printer has an AppleScript guru, those that do can use PitStop Automate to drive other Apple-scriptable OS X applications (InDesign is one example) to complete tasks—such as exporting a PDF into their PitStop workflow.
Instant Barcode
Also new to the Enfocus product line is Instant Barcode, which technically is an Illustrator plug-in but has many implications for PDFs in production.
Enfocus created the plug-in for designers who have difficulties inserting EAN-8, ISSN and ISBN barcodes that end up in PDFs for labels or other packaging—the barcodes look fine on screen but hit snags in production workflows en route to the printing press.
The tool not only can create the codes, but it can "preflight" an existing barcode to ensure it's formatted properly before exporting to PDF and submitting to the printer.
Cullins says that companies who print packaging have expressed some interest in Instant Barcode, "but mainly, we're targeting creative professionals . . . they've been sending out their barcodes to third parties who create them and ship them back as EPS files they drop into their layouts. For a couple hundred bucks they can generate their own barcodes."
PitStop 7 and the new Acrobat
The PitStop 7 upgrade, released earlier in 2006, has been well received, Cullins says. With the impending release of a new version of Acrobat later this fall, Enfocus will likely work on two upgrades to its flagship product—now with 70,000-plus users.
Based on the company's previous development patterns, the first upgrade will probably be a "compatibility update," Cullins says, soon after the new Acrobat sees commercial release.
It will ensure the plug-in works in the new version but "might or might not support all the new features," as he puts it. A later, more complete update will support them all.
"We're usually pretty responsive when a new version of Acrobat comes out," he says. "We should be ready to support [the new] Acrobat, not immediately on launch, but shortly after launch."
Merger goes deeper
Cullins says that some of the new Enfocus products in 2006—and indeed, new software applications in development—arose from the further integration of Enfocus and Artwork Systems.
Artwork, a Belgian company, like Enfocus, bought Enfocus a few years ago. Cullins says that until recently, however, they remained separate entities.
In 2006, the two companies integrated further: They're sharing office space and engineering resources, and also are seeking ways to use each other's technologies in future products. The management tree has been streamlined and merged, too.
The flagship of Artwork's software line is Odystar, a PDF workflow incorporating JDF job ticketing.
PitStop Automate leverages some of Odystar's features, and represents one of the first cooperative efforts between the two companies' development staffs.
"We're now one company with two divisions under the parent," Cullins says, adding that there are no plans to do away with either the Enfocus or Artwork Systems brand for the foreseeable future.
"It's still the same company, the same people, but there's a lot more cross-pollination across the two different brands."
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