Esko Deskpack 10.1 and DCS

[Polyprintgirl]

Anyone had any experience using Esko 10.1 with single DCS files out of Illustrator? We're going to upgrade to 10.1 (currently at v7). Usually I place the DCS file into AI and export as an EPF (Esko Prep File), but this feature will be gone once we upgrade.

Any ideas or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Nick Blakey]

You can export to Normalised PDF

You can export to Normalised PDF

Firstly I should download the latest, free, Esko Data Exchange Plug-In. This will allow you to export to Normalised PDF, rather than the stop-gap filetype EPF.

Not currently at work so I can't check, but I'm fairly certain that DCS files are not a problem but, as the file will be embedded anyway, is there a specific reason why you require it to be DCS?

 

[Doh]

On a related topic, Esko have released a "Deskpack PDF import" plugin that maintains layers etc.

NEW! DeskPack PDF Import - Esko

• The layer names are preserved, the locked status is preserved and the printability flag is preserved.
• Named objects: the names of artwork are preserved.
• Inks: EskoArtwork screenings, ink types, ink books, and ink order as shown in Ink Manager are preserved.
• For each object, the EskoArtwork screening is preserved and shown in InkManager. The Screening plug-in is not necessary for this functionality.
• All Structural design layers (from the CAD file) are imported.
• Page boxes: the Media Box and the Trim Box are imported and shown by the Trim Box and Media Box plug-in.
• Text is handled in a better way, text is kept live as much as possible
• Linework with mixed (DeviceN) colors will be converted into multiple appearances instead of resulting in an ‘unknown imaging construct’.
• Linked images: PDF Import supports links to external images. All links are preserved.
• Channel mapped images are recognized and remain their mapping, even on linked images.


Not free though... €400 / seat...

 

[Polyprintgirl]

DCS files

DCS files

We use DCS files because that's the file format the prep house releases to us for some of our national brands. They also release 1 bit tifs, but we like to apply our cutback curve, and you can't apply that to tif images.

Thanks for your input, Nick and DOH. I have a slew of questions to ask Esko before we upgrade, this helps.