Automated Trapping Solution

[Tim-Ellis]

Can anyone recommend an automated Trapping Solution for both HP Indigo and Offset Presses?

I need to be able to Trap PDFs without opening them in Illustrator. (Yes! he can be taught)

Even better, with no one having to open anything.

 

[Al Ferrari]

Here is a word of warning about using Illustrator to edit pdf files.

Al Ferrari

 

[dabob]

Tim . .. with out Indigo and Xerox digital presses we never bothered trapping 99% of the time its not needed. As for conventional presses most modern rip/plate setter solutions have integrated trapping . . .

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Tim, why do you need this for a digital device such as an Indigo?

It is hard to get trapping these days outside of complete PDF workflow software solutions or hardware specific RIPs.

Are you using a PDF workflow such as Kodak Prinergy? Can your workflow software trap? If so you can use different settings for automated processing for digital vs. offset output.

Heidelberg offer Prinect PDF toolbox which has a trap editor, however this is a stand alone plug-in to Acrobat Pro.


Stephen Marsh

 

[PrepressDan]

I have been using Packz lately. Its a native PDF editor with a fantastic auto trapper. Very fast software (64bit and multi threaded). Not cheap but its speed has helped us justify the purchase vs. trapping in Illustrator or something else.

http://packz.com/

 

[Tim-Ellis]

Right… Thanks everyone for you comments.

Al - I once was lost but now am found. I have seen the light … and it is not Illustrator.

Dabob - Yes. Been working with Indigo for 10 years now and the number of jobs we trap must be about 5% or less. But, get a guy from HP quite drunk and he'll confess that every Indigo needs a trapped job every once in a while.

Stephen - The weird thing is, it is the boys in PrePress who are asking for the Trap to be applied first.

It's a fully automated system. There is a single template that takes the variable data for the job and the artwork. The system then creates the final PDF artwork. It is stepped up and has tick marks, gripper mark colour bar etc. The PDF is downloaded by our local print shops all ready to go. But it might be for Indigo, Konica, OKI or any Offset press. The local factory decides what press they are using. They don't want to use their RIPs to do the trapping. They are asking for it to be trapped in advance. It's a tall order and it might not even be possible.

Jeffkin - Thank you. I'll check that one out.

 

[dabob]

Tim . . from what i understand on digital presses and we've been running digital now for 15+ years they only time you would need to trap joining colors would be when you have 100% C butting up to 100%M or 100% Yellow or 100% black or there are no common colors in the abutting colors . . . very very rare - and as to the "boys from pre-press" tell them to use the tools they have - its way better and faster than manual trapping - the new software can do sliding traps and other really cool things - but if you really want a solution I got an old copy of Luminous Trapwise if you can find the hardware to run it . . . Mac version 2.3 . . I think it takes a box like a IIFx or that generation . . . it uses an ADB dongle and I got the book and the CD also . ..

 

[Stephen Marsh]

and as to the "boys from pre-press" tell them to use the tools they have

Agreed!

The prepress guys have the trapping tools in their workflow software (come on, they must use some sort of workflow software if they do offset as well as digital). This can all be automated using either native automation tools in the workflow (hot folders) or using third party software such as Enfocus Switch to route and or process files. The guys in prepress should not have to manually touch the job, it just should flow through their system, receiving trapping and then being passed on - all automated. Even if they would be forced to manually apply auto trapping, it should only take a minute or two of their time, what is the volume of extra work that this would add to their workload?

Trapping is usually not a part of web to print software (unless traps are first applied to the template before the variable data is added and then the new variable content may be untrapped anyway).

Sounds like these prepress guys are prime candidates for losing their jobs, they should not be putting up road blocks to production.


Stephen Marsh

 

[Tim-Ellis]

Thank you for your wise words Dabob and Stephen,

I suspect that one of the regional Pre-Press teams is keen to shift the jobs they don't like upstream. Your comments seem to confirm that.

Dabob - On our HP Indigo we use IMS (CMYK and three custom mixed spot channels) so 100% K trapping against 100%-something-else-entirely crops up more with us than with most.

 

[dabob]

Tim . . . yupp . .. we never had the spot color options and it kinda left my thought process . . . . I would think that Indigo would have a solution for that but its been a few years since I dealt with them and they were always behind the curve on rip software . . . I remember having transparency issues all the time with pdfs . . . . good luck and make those boys from pre-press do the work they were hired to do!!!

 

[marktonk]

Tim, why do you need this for a digital device such as an Indigo?

It is hard to get trapping these days outside of complete PDF workflow software solutions or hardware specific RIPs.

Are you using a PDF workflow such as Kodak Prinergy? Can your workflow software trap? If so you can use different settings for automated processing for digital vs. offset output.

Heidelberg offer Prinect PDF toolbox which has a trap editor, however this is a stand alone plug-in to Acrobat Pro.


Stephen Marsh

Hi Stephen,

Yes, Heidelberg does offer a standalone Acrobat plugin, Prinect Trap Editor but we also off our automated PDF workflow, Prinect Prepress Manager. This has an automated PDF trapping engine. The PDF traps can be edited in either case.

Best,

Mark Tonkovich
Heidelberg USA

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Hi Stephen,

Yes, Heidelberg does offer a standalone Acrobat plugin, Prinect Trap Editor but we also off our automated PDF workflow, Prinect Prepress Manager. This has an automated PDF trapping engine. The PDF traps can be edited in either case.

Best,

Mark Tonkovich
Heidelberg USA

Thansk Mark, so to clarify…

1) Prinect Trap Editor plugin can be purchased separately from the entire Prinect PDF Toolbox plugin? The trapping engine is auto/manual, however it only works on PDF files opened into Acrobat Pro (not an automated solution).

2) If one is wishing to have an automated PDF trapping solution, then there is Prinect Prepress Manager, which is a full blown PDF workflow tool.


Stephen Marsh

 

[marktonk]

Thansk Mark, so to clarify…

1) Prinect Trap Editor plugin can be purchased separately from the entire Prinect PDF Toolbox plugin? The trapping engine is auto/manual, however it only works on PDF files opened into Acrobat Pro (not an automated solution).

2) If one is wishing to have an automated PDF trapping solution, then there is Prinect Prepress Manager, which is a full blown PDF workflow tool.


Stephen Marsh

HI Stephen,

PDF Toolbox is a suite of 8 Acrobat plug ins that can be purchased separately. Prinect PDF Assistant, Prinect Trap Editor, Prinect Color Editor, Prinect Coating Editor, Prinect Bar Code Editor, Prinect Imposition Editor, Prinect Object Editor and Prinect Screening Selector. More details can be found at our website. Prinect Trap Editor is an Acrobat Plug in. You launch Acrobat, open Trap Editor and open PDF document. Tell it to trap and when done, all traps are a layer in the PDF. The document can be one or multiple pages, whatever is in the document will be analyzed and trapped.

If you desire an automated solution, Prinect Presspress Manager will automate it as part of the workflow. Drop in a PDF, it will normalize, preflight, color manage and trap. Can also be set up to automatically email proofs with preflight to client, impose, hardcopy proof, plate, etc. You set up the degree of automation that makes sense for your production needs. It is a full blown workflow. If you have a modern Heidelberg press, it can provide up to 28 presettings on the press, considerably more then job name, number and ink zone presettings. Thanks.

Best,

Mark

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Thank you for the clarification Mark, good to know that PDF Toolbox is a suite plugs that can be purchased separately.


Stephen Marsh

HI Stephen,

PDF Toolbox is a suite of 8 Acrobat plug ins that can be purchased separately. Prinect PDF Assistant, Prinect Trap Editor, Prinect Color Editor, Prinect Coating Editor, Prinect Bar Code Editor, Prinect Imposition Editor, Prinect Object Editor and Prinect Screening Selector. More details can be found at our website. Prinect Trap Editor is an Acrobat Plug in. You launch Acrobat, open Trap Editor and open PDF document. Tell it to trap and when done, all traps are a layer in the PDF. The document can be one or multiple pages, whatever is in the document will be analyzed and trapped.

If you desire an automated solution, Prinect Presspress Manager will automate it as part of the workflow. Drop in a PDF, it will normalize, preflight, color manage and trap. Can also be set up to automatically email proofs with preflight to client, impose, hardcopy proof, plate, etc. You set up the degree of automation that makes sense for your production needs. It is a full blown workflow. If you have a modern Heidelberg press, it can provide up to 28 presettings on the press, considerably more then job name, number and ink zone presettings. Thanks.

Best,

Mark

 

[[email protected]]

Mark,
I would like to no more about the trapping component. About how much does it cost for the trapping piece alone, and where to buy it?

 

[Tommyjt]

There are two products from Esko that will do what you want. Odystar is an automated PDF workflow solution (probably too expensive) and Neo, the best PDF editor on the market IMO. It also has trapping capabilities.