Imposition Software Poll

[Lammy]

I have an idea and if there's enough interest I may pursue some engineers and see about getting it made up.

[Ultimate]

Hi,

I am with Ultimate Technographics and we have been developing new and innovative imposition solutions for the last 24 years. Our most recent solutions are providing advanced automation for both imposition and for finishing. With the ability to automate dynamic marks, bar codes, banner sheets, XML/JDF/JMF integration and more, we keep on developing new solutions and new versions.

It would be beneficial to all members to give their opinions on what they use (or been using), to give a more complete perspective of "what's out there". Between all imposition software developers and all RIP/DFE software developers, there are lots of choices, lots of features, lots lots...

Perhaps one of us has THE features your are thinking about and want.

Ray Duval
Ultimate Technographics
www . imposition . com

[minch]

I temp for a number of small printers doing prepress and finishing here in the UK and have come across:

Manually in QuarkXPress and InDesign having set up templates for this purpose.

Farukh imposition is a stand alone third party product I have also come across

Xerox EFI RIP with Adobe Acrobat Pro with the Enfocus Pit Stop Professional plug-in.

Heidelberg shops tend to use Heidelberg's Prinect system.

Hope this helps

[Lukas Engqvist]

Better doesn't really tell me in what way. I am assuming better also includes compatible and easily integrated into workflow? Many systems use preps templates, and operators may have spent much time perfecting and customising templates.

[rich apollo]

Maybe I lack vision, but I think one would have a difficult time unseating Preps. There are some tweaks I'd like to see, but it does about everything.Then again, the lack of innovation from Preps leaves them vulnerable. The tweaks I'd like to see are the same tweaks I wanted to see 15 years ago.

I've run Context, InPosition, Preps, TrueFlow (FlatRunner) and I've played with Agfa's new imposition software. Preps beats anything I've worked with - FlatRunner was my second choice, though it was a bit incomplete back then.

[Munsell]

We're already using a 3rd party. Since our die shop uses Esko Artios to make the layouts, we use the Power Stepper module in ArtPro. We already use ArtPro for 1 up work, so its easy to just pop in links to the layouts and finish building our sheet there. We are sheetfed offset, and run many items on one sheet a lot of the time. That doesn't really allow us to evenly step out an item.

The narrow web flexo shop I used to work at just used the RIP since all we had to specify was the number of teeth on the cylinder, and number across. It would just automatically step everything out accordingly. I cannot see a place like that going to anything other that that.

[misterdavo]

Rich, I read with interest your comment about difficulty 'unseating Preps'. I don't think you lack vision, just data.

Last Friday a press release went out explaining that we've just sold the 1,000th license of Metrix, our job planning & imposition system. About 90% of those Metrix customers replaced Preps with Metrix.

If you look on the main page of our website you'll see a list of customers that we've published profiles on. Most of them were using Preps before purchasing Metrix and they haven't turned back. Download a few and have a quick read - very compelling. Japs-Olson is one example of a very long-time Preps user - they said their only regret in the decision to drop Preps for Metrix is that they hadn't done it sooner!

We have customers with Rampage, Prinergy, Apogee, Nexus, and many others. Metrix works wonderfully with pretty much any prepress system, connecting either via JDF or imposed-PDF.

I worked for many years on the Preps team at ScenicSoft, Creo & Kodak, I can attest to what a great piece of electronic stripping software it was, but, as you've said, it's about on-going innovation. Metrix is what people graduate to when they've run their course with Preps ;-)

[zoran]

We ditched Preps in a weekend for Signa Station from Heidelberg and never looked back.
Before that I thought Preps was the best of the best.
As Davo pointed already, I was missing data too about other systems out there
Signa is much more powerful software than Preps and you can do much more with it.
Don't get me wrong, I can not tell you if it is the best since I have not tried all imposition software out there but I did try several.

Again, your milage may vary depending what you consider to be the most compelling feature for you, maybe you need integration with workflow, maybe you need speed, maybe you need native interface which is the only wish I have for Signa and other Heidelberg products side they use Java which I dislike visually, etc...

For quick digital impositions, I would always grab Quite Imposing over any other software, quick and simple.

[seejay]

Used Preps, & Signa. Recently switched across to Apogee impose. Once its configured correctly, by far it is the most intuitive, visual and user friendly imposition tool I've used and wouldn't go back. Been using it for 6 months, we kept preps 'just in case' but so far not had to bring it out of mothballs.
This is not to say that impose doesn't have its weaknesses - there are some features that are missing or just a plain pain in the ass. But on the whole, its strengths outweigh its few weaknesses.

[Fatboysmart]

Use Signa and love it.... i feel no need for a different imposition program.