Yves De Vlieger, Enfocus Associate Director of Sales, Worldwide, says, "Since its introduction, our mission with PitStop Automate has been to provide professionals at all stages in the publishing supply chain with easy-to-use, low-cost automation tools to streamline production -- without the need for significant capital investment in high-end workflow management systems.

"We've been fortunate to have great technology partners sharing in the vision of PitStop Automate for customers, and now together we are pleased to have concrete results of these partner relationships."

Enfocus technology partners with released PitStop Automate plug-ins and solutions include: (See following addendum for more details.)

• New Alwan CMYK Optimizer Plug-In to PitStop Automate
• New Elpical Image Enhancement Module for PitStop Automate
• New ICS Remote Director Virtual Proofing Plug-in for PitStop Automate
• New PerfectProof ProofMaster v3 Integrated Plug-in for PitStop Automate
• New Ultimate Impostrip Plug-in for PitStop Automate

All of the details, including hot links for demo and trial copies for the aforementioned partner plug-ins and gateway solutions, are now available directly via the Enfocus PitStop Automate installer CD, available at www.enfocus.com.

About PitStop Automate
PitStop Automate is a task-based production automation tool that allows document printers and publishers to increase productivity and output consistency by introducing automation at an affordable price. An intuitive user interface makes it straightforward to design complete automation workflows. PitStop Automate's advanced routing capabilities enable it to intelligently guide files through the entire production process, avoiding the need for human intervention.

PitStop Automate closely integrates with Acrobat® Distiller® and includes Enfocus' renowned PDF editing, preflight, and auto-correction, as well as automation, functionality. A natural upgrade from Enfocus PitStop Server, PitStop Automate takes production automation to the next level.

Crucial to a fully automated production process, PitStop Automate incorporates Certified PDF®, Enfocus' award-winning technology that insures quality control in file exchange. Enfocus Certified PDF® makes PDF a more powerful production format by embedding the PDF profile originally used to preflight the file. A detailed preflight report and an audit trail of all edits made to the PDF are also created.

Enfocus' PitStop Automate SDK enables developers to plug-in their own solution(s) to this new automation platform.

Following is an overview of Enfocus' technology partners' new PitStop Automate plug-ins and gateway solutions:

Alwan CMYK Optimizer Plug-In to PitStop Automate Alwan Color Expertise's new CMYK Optimizer® solution is now fully integrated as a plug-in to PitStop Automate. With Alwan CMYK Optimizer plug-in, customers using PitStop Automate can now create PDF files that are not only fully checked, preflighted and certified, but are also compliant with chosen color and print standards specifications; ready for proof or print.

Alwan CMYK Optimizer is a tool for color preflighting, standardization and optimization for CMYK separations and data. It helps pre-media and prepress companies produce printable files, and allows printers to control and improve the printability of the files they receive by optimizing their separation for the destination process. The files made compliant using CMYK Optimizer® generate reproducible proofs as well as plates and cylinders with improved printability on the press. The integration with Enfocus PitStop Automate brings even more automation and PDF color consistency to graphic professionals worldwide.

Elpical Automatic Image Enhancement Module, based on Claro Premedia Server solution, for PitStop Automate New technology partner Elpical Software, specializing in asset management solutions, has developed an image enhancement module based on its Claro Premedia Server solution. The Elpical software within PitStop Automate enables users to automatically sharpen, enhance, contrast, resample, and color covert images. The Elpical solution is designed to help shorten prepress times, enhance proofing capabilities and deliver overall higher quality image production.

Elpical Software BV develops software for the fully automatic optimisation of digital images, based on an analysis of the digital image. Elpical also develops solutions for the receiving, storing, searching and processing of all kind of digital assets (images, (text) documents, video, etc.). Elpical is a former Hasselblad division, and since 1997 a privately owned company. Elpical is active in different countries in Europe, and has its own offices in Giesbeek (The Netherlands) and in Stein (Germany).

ICS Remote Director Virtual Proofing Plug-in for PitStop Automate ICS, a pioneer of color-accurate remote virtual proofing solutions since 2000, announces the availability of Remote Director virtual proofing plug-in to PitStop Automate.

The Remote Director gateway to PitStop Automate allows creative professionals to generate color-controlled, collaborative virtual proofs without leaving the PitStop Automate software environment. All parties in the approval cycle can be invited to view the proofs, and assigned permissions to comment, annotate and confirm sign-off. Remote Director ensures that all parties involved in the remote virtual proofing process are working with accurately and equally calibrated monitors, and notifies the generator of the proof of all responses via email.

This new solution resulting from the partnership between ICS and Enfocus is bringing brand owners, creatives, publishers and printers an even more compelling suite of automation tools, all accessible within the same simple and familiar user interface.

Dan Caldwell, VP Operations at ICS, Inc. explains: "Remote Director plug-in to PitStop Automate makes it possible to automate the creation and distribution of a virtual proof, and further plants the stake in the ground for our industry to eliminate the last vestige of the analog workflow in an otherwise digital world. The advantages are clear: by eliminating hard proofs, all parties in the production chain can benefit from greater consistency, improved efficiency, shorter cycle times and reduced administrative costs."

The Remote Director plug-in to PitStop Automate allows users to maximize the benefits of collaborative remote proofing. All the benefits - from consistency to efficiency, decreased cycle times and reduced costs -- are exponentially increased by managing remote proofing from within the Automate workflow. This gives professionals faster, easier access with the increased security of Enfocus' Certified Automation in PitStop Automate.

PerfectProof ProofMaster v3 Integrated Plug-in for PitStop Automate Technology partner PerfectProof, a global leader in digital proofing, is demonstrating its new ProofMaster v3 application -- now offering a fully integrated plug-in to PitStop Automate. ProofMaster v3 is a powerful software solution suite for color accurate digital proofing, printing and cutting, and already includes Certified PDF functionality for those not using PitStop Automate.

PerfectProof's ProofMaster v3 together with Enfocus PitStop Automate gives customers the combination of PDF Certification for content as well as assured color integrity -- all in a single automated and managed PDF workflow.

Enfocus is the leader in Certified PDF technology and PerfectProof solutions are FOGRA certified across all of the 4 main printing standards, enabling users to generate accurate color proofs that conform to the industry's most stringent standards.

ProofMaster v3 including its plug-in functionality for PitStop Automate is available today through distribution channels worldwide.

"PerfectProof and Enfocus offer a compelling partnership that brings added value to our customers. The effects of diversification in graphic arts have created the need for common solutions that are usable across the many different segments of our industry. By integrating ProofMaster 3 into PitStop Automate, we're offering a highly automated, easy to use, certified workflow from which users can effectively manage not only PDF file accuracy, but also color proofing and integrity, enabling them to scale new heights in productivity," says Jan Schoovaerts, Marketing Director for PerfectProof.

Ultimate's Impostrip On-Demand Digital Hot Folder Interface for PitStop Automate According to technology partner Ultimate Technographics, Enfocus PitStop Automate addresses the need to bring workflow automation to the graphic design production segment of the industry. Many printers are now re-organizing their production departments to merge design creation with prepress or with a new digital printing department. In this context, imposition and automation are the key words.

"The industry is changing and with it we must develop new access tools and workflows," explains Joanne David, Executive Vice President at Ultimate Technographics Inc. "Ultimate's dynamic imposition linked to a Hot Folder literarily means you can drop variable sizes brochures or books into the same hot folder. Thanks to our unique dynamic template technology now integrated with Enfocus PitStop Automate, designers can get into full workflow production right away, without creating many templates or folders. The intelligence behind Impostrip On-Demand takes care of adjusting templates on the fly to fit a digital printer or a CtP device. The low cost of Impostrip On-Demand is right in the price bracket Enfocus PitStop Automate customers are looking for. That is the true value Ultimate is bringing to Enfocus PitStop Automate customers today."