Prepress

Cacidi Systems releases the strongest tools for the automation of graphic production

Thursday 25. September 2008 - Today, Cacidi Systems - one of the world leaders in developing software for design-driven automated graphic production - releases a new generation of the company’s incredibly strong software packets.

The Danish software company Cacidi Systems today announces new versions of all of their software titles that are compatible with Adobe InDesign CS4.
All of Cacidis software titles, that are based on plug-in architecture, support Adobe InDesign CS4’s full set of features on both Windows and Macintosh computers and servers, and contain a wealth of new features. The focus in this significant upgrade is primarily on Cacidi Systems’ software flagships: Cacidi Extreme CS4, Cacidi LiveMerge CS4, and Cacidi Enterprise Server CS4.
“We are extremely excited and pleased with these high-end releases that all use our own proprietary Cacidi Extreme as the technological motor,” says Richard Andersen, CEO and founder of Cacidi Systems.

Cacidi Extreme CS4 – it has never been easier
The time saving for the advertising agencies, newspapers, public institutions, and the graphic in-house departments in the corporate world who use Cacidi products is dramatic. And at the same time, it gives a structure and an overview of the productions that is of great advantage for the Cacidi clients’ future maintenance of those productions.
Cacidi Extreme CS4 is the catalogue builder for those companies working with genuine Adobe InDesign CS4 documents that live up to the graphic standards, and that must be able to be easily passed on to automated construction and updating, which can be done with the help of Cacidi Extreme CS4.

Direct access to the database
With Cacidi Extreme CS4 a Live Feed from a mySQL data source can be created, and directly without any intermediary files, data can be pulled during the run of the catalogue. There is an built-in option to search directly with sql queries or with a full free text search directly in the database. Every project that is created can have its own rules for every hook-up and search.

In-built data grouping function
With an easily comprehensible user interface, rules can be set up for product groupings, direct in Cacidi Extreme CS4’s project settings. These give a simple option of creating price lists without it being necessary to get database expert help.

Custom Data Feed
The function Custom Data Feed gives a completely unique option to, with the help of scripts, influence import of data. It is easy to create a script, for example, which, with the help of the function XMLHttpRequest (a part of web 2.0 and AJAX) can pull data out from every type of web services. Custom Data supplies information about grouping and searching from InDesign/Cacidi Extreme CS4 to the script.

New, fantastic positioning motor
New and revolutionary approach to page construction: In the first process, build the desired number of pages, continue in the next process with additional pages, and/or built subsequent additional content on top of already automatically built content!

New disposition methods
They have been introduced with the new functions Chess Coord Placement and XY Placement which, besides the already exisiting 12 different production methods in earlier releases, now also gives the option of placement of automated designs in a new and data-driven way, with extreme accuracy and flexibility as the main bonuses.
Chess Coord Placement gives the option for the data source to contain information about which page the relevant record should be placed on, and in the best chess manner – jump to A3 and place the object in a system of coordinates, based on the chess principle.
The XY Placement likewise gives the option of indicating which page an object should be placed on, but the placement on the page is indicated in points instead of in tiles.

A bit more about the technical part
Cacidi Extreme CS4 contains many more validation functions, such as in-built formatting of numbers in text spaces, with a so-called “picture” of the formatting ###.###.,##.
In-built “IF” sentences that give a wealth of options for a “0” or a “1” in a column make sense.
Deletion of empty text lines with the number of minimum character, deletion of empty picture boxes, and new visual adjustment options for pictures.

Automatic pre- and post-treatment
The Pre-Script and Post-Script functions can “trick” a script that is working before or after the run of the catalogue, and it can be used to automatically change, for example, document layout or margins, based on, for example, the information in a data source. Post-Script can, for example, be used for automatic print of the document, or creation of an index or a table of contents.
It can also be used to export an automatically build InDesign production in one or more PDF qualities, and automatically dispatch it to any given person via email. These examples are merely a guide. Only the customer’s imagination sets the limit for the possibilities.

“We are expecting the Pre- and Post-Script functions to be used incredibly broadly in the future”, adds Richard Andersen. “A great part of our customers are already using our proprietary Object Script technology which allows an individual, customer-suited functionality, down to the smallest detail of an object that is part of the customer’s design. That could be, for example, a completely unique graphic styling of prices in a document reflecting a company’s identity. With the Cacidi Pre- and Post-Script technologies, we give – besides the Cacidi Object Scripting – the option of global adjustments of whole documents, or of the procedure surrounding the actual automated Cacidi production”, Richard Andersen concludes.

Large optimisings
With the CS4 releases, the speed of automatically produced jobs has simultaneously been lifted groundbreakingly. To put it in perspective, it can be mentioned that a typical 200 page price list production, with a large amount of column-based data can be produced in approximately 30 seconds with the new Cacidi Extreme CS4. That is nothing short of a landmark within automatic document building.

Cacidi LiveMerge CS4 – a complete sister product
Cacidi LiveMerge CS4 is the sister product to Cacidi Extreme CS4, and it basically works on the basis of a drag’n drop functionality, where the graphic designer has the option of easily pulling full product or article designs into a graphic layout, and where the content is based on genuine product or article information in a data source (a living database or export file), which is dynamically updated, and where Cacidi LiveMerge CS4 keeps track of the following automated update of the content in following designs.
Cacidi LiveMerge CS4 is especially targeted towards graphic working groups with a need to work page by page in any given production, with full control of where they wish to concentrate on the graphic structure, after which content for articles, product texts and pictures is placed automatically. At the same time, Cacidi LiveMerge is a palet tool, working synchronous with Cacidi Extreme CS4, and which for example allows a dynamic change and update of single design groups, which have been built collectively with Cacidi Extreme CS4.

Cacidi Enterprise Server CS4 – a more intelligent web-to-print solution
Cacidi’s market-leading Enterprise Server solution is also announced in a new version under the name Cacidi Enterprise Server CS4. Cacidi Enterprise Server is a widespread genuine web-to-print solution, with which people without graphic training can build and update graphic documents, via the internet, which are based on designs created by graphic layouters, and thereby appear professional.
This is a solution which with its automatic features is able to reduce production time to an average of 20% of the time graphic designers previously spent on manual work. It can simultaneously create structure in and overview of heavy graphics productions.

Cacidi Enterprise Server is used in many contexts. From simple self-service production of ads, through to self-service production of job ads, memos, posters, etc. in the public sector, and to advanced integration with companies’ databases, procurement systems and the likes, to streamlined and graphically correct online productions, according to the individual company’s corporate design guidelines.
All of the new automatic features in Cacidi Extreme CS4 and Cacidi LiveMerge CS4 are of course supported by Cacidi Enterprise Server CS4. Cacidi Systems has at the same time released all additional plug-in tools in new versions which are compatible with Adobe InDesign CS4: Cacidi Contact Sheet Pro CS4, Cacidi BarCodes CS4, Cacidi Batch CS4, Cacidi Cropmarks CS4 and Cacidi LiveBrowse CS4.