Alternatives to Pitstop?

[BSantos]

Does anyone know about/use programs other than Pitstop to preflight (and more importantly) edit PDFs? I recently came across a product called Speedflow from onevision. Does anyone have any knowledge about how it compares to Pitstop?

 

[Marko]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

There is Neo from EskoArtworks that is really good and fast. I believe the new version can also use Action list and profiles from Pitstop.

http://www.esko.com/web/site.aspx?p=2273

 

[almaink]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

Any reason why you don't like Pit Stop?

 

[couriergraphics]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

I would agree NEO is very robust. It is owned by artwork systems which also owns Pitstop.

 

[qaos]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

Hi, Enfocus PitStop is fine. Anyway, CGS-Oris can help you too: http://www.cgsusa.com/products/software/PDFTuner/info/

Carlos

 

[BSantos]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

Actually, I like Pitstop very much. However, the "powers that be" here believe the upgrade is wonky and that tech support isn't what it should be. I've researched Neo (which sounds excellent), but to my knowledge, it isn't available on the Windows platform.

 

[bharatk]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

Esko owns artworks and enfocus. PitStop is so embedded as the pdf editor that till this query did not think that might be an alternative. What are the alternatives? Maybe they might be better !

 

[PDL]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

If you are looking for a PDF editor on a Windows platform take a look at EskoArtwork's PackEdge application. A full and very powerful editor. : http://www.esko.com/web/site.aspx?p=824

 

[Purple Cat]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

Bob,

I stumbled over this thread way to late, but I would still be interested in knowing what the problems are you are running into. I believe the upgrade to PitStop Professional 08 is actually quite good - if there are issues you are running into I'd very much like the opportunity to fix them.

To comment on Neo: as a standalone editor it is available from EskoArtwork and Enfocus both, but currently only on the Mac - a Windows version is in the works. if you are interest in playing with the Windows version, let me know and I'll happily have you added to the beta list.

As far as tech support goes, once again if you can let me know what problems you are experiencing it would be very helpful to know. Rest assured that our focus on product quality and tech support in general has shifted (in the good direction) substantially in the last couple of months.

Kind regards,
David.

 

[LauraMinter]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

I also believe that PDF Tuner from CGS is an awesome PDF editing tool. Anything that you can do in Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Pitstop etc.etc. is available in this package. And it is available on both Mac and Windows platforms.

 

[ezprint]

Re: Alternatives to Pitstop?

Mark Oglesby already posted that link above

 

[jschrieber]

Can't give you any info regarding Speedflow .... haven't needed it here .... but we've used OneVision's Asura product for about 5 years here and absolutely love it....have no problem recommending it for pre-flight. And OneVision's support is terrific.

 

[PrepressDan]

CGS is good, but it does convert objects into its proprietary format

 

[Criminy]

I downloaded the trial version of Esko Artworks' "Neo" and I'm trying it out. Will post results...

...Well, a day has gone by and I really must say I'm happy with some of the bells and whistles Neo offers, which I'm uncertain as to whether Pitstop can replicate. However, it does seem that Pitstop is far more robust in some ways.

I was impressed that in Neo, I could apply gradient fills to type (and I imagine to other fills as well). More to come.

More still...

I am still testing out Neo's capabilities. Their GUI isn't as intuitive as I would like, but it's simple enough to find your way around. Having the luxury of experimenting has definitely proven useful.

 

[trondello]

Speeflow and Asura

Speeflow and Asura

Hi Forum!

Speedflow Check is OneVisions PDF based Preflight and Normalization tool. Not only will SF Check Preflight the files you send in, it will make corrections and repairs so that the file will image correctly.
Speedflow Check is hot folder based and can import PS, EPS, PDF, XPS, TIFF, Jpg and Speedflow Check will output a standardized PDF. The settings for output are flexible to fit any environment.

Asura is OneVision's most powerful file normalization tool! While it has the ability to import the same files, the output is much greater. You have the choice of PS, EPS, PDF, XPS, TIFF, JPG on output as well.

I hope this clears up any questions about these great tools