Enfocus has announced that the latest version of its PDF quality control software, PitStop 13 update 2 will include customer-driven enhancements that give users in a variety of markets the ability to preflight even the most complex PDFs.
The features in PitStop 13 update 2 will also include support for a new upcoming industry standard, new packaging preflight functionality, updated Pantone libraries and improvements to preflight restrictions. Demonstrations of PitStop 13 update 2 will be on display at the Enfocus stand (hall 8b, booth A23) at drupa 2016.
“Since its introduction, PitStop has supported PDF users in Graphic Arts by giving them the tools to detect and correct errors in their PDFs before they become big mistakes in production. The release of PitStop 13 update 2 will expand the benefits of this solution. By using new industry standards – and our own innovation – we can now offer extended preflight capabilities to handle even the most complex PDFs in markets such as Packaging, Large format and Labelling. We look forward to drupa and to showing attendees in all markets what the latest PitStop version can do for their operations,” says Andrew Bailes-Collins, Senior Product Manager at Enfocus.
Setting a new standard in preflight
The ISO/DIS 19593-1 Graphic Technology Standard originated with the Ghent PDF Workgroup, and is now on its way to becoming an international standard for the Graphic Arts industry.
The purpose of this standard is to bring conformity to how the layers and objects of a PDF should be managed or constructed. Ensuring consistency in these areas is critical for printers who do “extra” work on printed content, such as complex finishing, varnishing, embossing, braille or barcodes to name a few examples.
PitStop 13 update 2 will include several new Actions and default Action Lists that introduce users to this new standard and provide details on the benefits that this standard can bring to printers in all of these markets. These new Actions can be used in conjunction with existing PitStop preflight and correction functionality, to really extend the Preflight possibilities when creating or using an ISO 19593-1 based workflow.
These Actions will include:
Action to select layers by ISO 19593-1 processing steps – This lets the user select certain layers that have processing step metadata attached to them.
Action to change layers to ISO 19593-1 processing steps – This action enables the user to make a layer in a PDF file into one that conforms to the ISO 19593-1 standard.
Action to check layers for ISO 19593-1 processing steps – It checks if specific layers conforming to ISO 19593-1 are present in a PDF file. If the layers are not present, a warning or error can be generated.
New Packaging Preflight functionally
Using PitStop 13 update 2, users can perform packaging-specific preflight checks on PDF files created with Esko applications. When Esko PDF files are created, they include metadata that describes some of the attributes of objects and inks within the PDF file. Using this Esko-generated metadata, Enfocus has added some specific Actions and standard Action Lists that can check barcodes and inks.
Updated Pantone libraries
This new release of PitStop will support the updated Pantone libraries, including the 112 latest colours. In addition, to help overcome issues that are created by changes to the Pantone Libraries within Adobe InDesign regarding alternate colour spaces, the Pantone Plus Solid Coated and Uncoated libraries will also be available with both LAB and CMYK alternate colours, allowing users to decide which alternate colour space they would prefer to use.
Icon support for Retina displays in Acrobat DC
Users of Acrobat DC will be familiar with the yellow and red Lego blocks that appear when using PitStop Pro with a Retina display. Adobe has now released support for third party plugin icons for in Adobe Acrobat DC update 3 or higher, and Enfocus is pleased to include them in this release. The PitStop icons have also been updated within Acrobat DC to reflect the new ‘flat’ design style.
Improvements to Preflight Restrictions
To give users a more focused and accurate preflight routine, Enfocus introduced Preflight Restrictions in PitStop 13. In PitStop 13 update 2, Enfocus will speed up this process by allowing a restriction to be remembered, which means it does not have to be re-calculated every time it is needed. This provides a significant increase in performance when using Restrictions.
PitStop 13 update 2 also includes these additional new features:
New Action Lists can now be created directly within the Preflight Profile editor
Improved usability when assigning objects to layers and showing image resolution in the Preflight Navigator
Improvements to the PitStop rasterizing engine, with particular functionality for conversion of PDF files with ‘white lines’ caused by transparency flattening
New Actions for reducing PDF file size by removing attachments and metadata
New Action to convert shadings to images to reduce the complexity of PDF files
New Action to insert N’th pages (2nd, 3rd, 4th etc.)
The latest Ghent PDF Workgroup 2015 Preflight Profiles
PitStop Server now available by subscription
When PitStop 13 update 2 is released, PitStop Server will be made available with a monthly or yearly subscription option. This new pricing alternative gives users greater flexibility and lets them better manage the seasonality of their businesses. PitStop Server Subscriptions are available through Enfocus Channel Partners.