Workflow
Fujifilm launches v3.0 of its XMF cross-media workflow
Wednesday 10. February 2010 - Advanced functionality to meet the needs of todays integrated production - improved automation, 3D proofing, advanced web portal, web press support
FUJIFILM Europe today announces the launch of version 3.0 of its XMF cross-media workflow solution. This latest version features a raft of improvements designed to build on XMFs cross-media capability and take further advantage of the softwares Pure PDF architecture. In particular, v3.0 of XMF has been designed to give printers the flexibility to automate many production activities previously requiring manual intervention, as well as the ability to reduce costs by improving colour management and therefore extend the potential for ink savings.
In addition, XMF v3.0 features improvements to its XMF Remote web portal, allowing printers to achieve closer relationships with clients, and provides a more sophisticated range of proofing options. These include advancements to XMFs 3D proofing engine to enable the creation of more realistic virtual 3D proofs, and improvements to XMFs section proofing to allow complete job mock-ups to be produced on digital presses. Both these additions help printers offer their clients more effective ways of visualising the final printed product.
Finally, this latest version of XMF has been specifically designed to accommodate the more complex production demands associated with web presses, with a range of new options including advanced imposition and colour management.
i) Advanced 3D proofing capabilities
Version 3.0 of XMF provides a wide range of advanced proofing options, including the ability to produce virtual 3D proofs and complete job mock-ups via a digital press.
The new 3D proofing module gives printers the ability to create a 3D proof from the APPE rendered data in XMF by using the production JDF imposition scheme. In addition to booklet type work, there is also support for folding schemes such as gatefold and z-fold imposition. By creating the 3D proof from the actual high resolution production data, the proof or virtual printed product provides an extremely accurate representation of the final print job, allowing printers to offer a new complementary proofing service to customers.
John Davies, business strategy manager, workflow, Fujifilm Europe, comments: “XMF was the first pre-media workflow to offer 3D proofing when it was introduced in 2004. Since then weve worked with our customers to evolve this functionality, and XMF version 3.0 introduces a wide range of advanced capabilities to meet the needs of our customers.”
ii) Increased automation
To meet the demands of offset and digital print production, a workflow must be flexible enough to handle complex print jobs efficiently while enabling the simplest digital jobs to be automated and produced quickly. Due to its inherent Pure PDF architecture, based solely on the Adobe PDF Print Engine, XMF is already one of the fastest workflows around and so is ideal for digital production. Version 3.0 of XMF adds a variety of options allowing printers to automate more complex production decisions where necessary, improving print productivity.
iii) Improved printer/client production interface
Client facing web portals are becoming more and more important to print service providers. Alongside XMF workflow v3.0, Fujifilm is introducing version 5.0 of its XMF Remote module which offers many enhancements, including improvements to automation and job submission.
Previous versions of XMF Remote made it possible for printers clients to view the RIPped pages for approval in the web portal window. With version 5.0, the user interface has been upgraded to enable full screen proofing, annotation and approval. Users can scroll and zoom around the latest revision of a job, and the system now also shows the identical section from a previous revision alongside. In addition, 3D proofing is available within XMF Remote giving print customers yet another way of reviewing proofs.
“There have been many additions to how XMF Remote can be configured,” says John. “The system allows printers to work how they want to with their clients, and doesnt restrict them to working in a manner prescribed by their workflow. The advanced user administration tools in XMF Remote allow for even more types of users to be defined to create, comment on, approve or reject jobs, or allow jobs to move into production. This flexibility means that XMF Remote can be used in almost any print production environment.”
The way jobs are uploaded and approved in XMF Remote has also been updated, with approved pages being instantly prepared for CTP or digital print output. This change has enabled increased automation and productivity, with minimal delay between the last page being approved and the job actually being output.
iv) Improved support for web presses
Bringing a product to market that offers integrated web press imposition for large print companies has been a major focus in the development of this latest iteration of XMF. The imposition needs of web printers can be complex, with the need to manage such things as multi web imposition and ribbon work. To ensure the effortless creation of complex impositions, XMF version 3.0 includes a high pagination job builder which sits above the XMF imposition engine and manages the creation of the JDF impositions. This application enables jobs to be created easily and quickly in XMF, further automating the process and therefore significantly reducing production times.
v) Improved colour management
Version 3.0 of XMF also provides users with improved colour management capabilities: support for Device Link Profiles has been added, providing accurate colour management for proofing and print as well as allowing XMF to implement ink savings.