How to supply Prinergy/Trendsetter user with 1-bit TIFFs

[William Campbell]

I need to pick the brain of Prinergy/Creo/Trendsetter experts in the group.

A client of ours uses Prinergy feeding a Trendsetter. They need us to provide back-up services, which we could do all the way to plates, but both we and the client feel it would be even better if we could do the up-front work and proofs, and provide them 1-bit TIFFs for the plate data, so they can keep the platemaking in house and minimize outsourced costs.

Since we are Agfa users, we are used to doing this with similar clients (various print shops) that have PrintDrive as we have. We print a TIFF of each plate (or export, essentially the same) and send that to our clients. They import the TIFFs, which requires no processing, really nothing more than copying the file into their PrintDrive, and they are ready to start imaging plates immediately.

I want to do the same thing with a Prinergy/Trendsetter user. I have the means to feed any workflow thanks to a deep bag of tricks, but I really want to by-pass any renderer or other time-consuming process at the receiving end, and instead drop the TIFFs into the workflow as close to the "end of the line" as possible, just before the imager, as we do with Agfa PrintDrive users.

I do not (yet) have exact versions, options, etc. of my client's equipment/software, but will obtain that information as needed. The goal of this message is to launch the topic, and discover if there is either a commonly accepted and direct method to accomplish what I seek, or if not, a few savvy users have some tricks they might share. It would greatly benefit both my client and I if we could accomplish a smooth means to exchange plate data in this manner.

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

William Campbell

http://www.deadforever.com

 

[james.bredenhof]

Hi, William,

Prinergy can certainly take 1-bit TIFFs, convert them to PDF, and then RIP and output them as it would any separated multifile flat.
If you can generate 1-bit PDF from Apogee, that would save you the "convert to PDF" overhead on Prinergy.

If you're interested in minimizing processing time on the Trendsetter site (which is a good idea if you intend to do this frequently), then they'll likely want to purchase the TIFF Downloader option for the Trendsetter.

2 cents.
James

 

[meddington]

They need us to provide back-up services, which we could do all the way to plates, but both we and the client feel it would be even better if we could do the up-front work and proofs, and provide them 1-bit TIFFs for the plate data, so they can keep the platemaking in house and minimize outsourced costs.

Just curious William, does your client run linear plates, or are you provided compensation info to curve your 1-bits?

 

[prepressing]

Creating TIFFs and then using the TIFF files throughout the entire process would be the way to go. You would have full control over what is being sent to them. With a 1-bit TIFF RIP you would be able to output screened 1-bit TIFF files that could then passed along to them for processing.

 

[William Campbell]

Prinergy can certainly take 1-bit TIFFs, convert them to PDF, and then RIP...

That's what I am trying to avoid -- extra (and unnecessary) processing time. TIFF out and TIFF in is like handing over film and they burn plates in their frame, just now it's all digital. That's the scenario I do with Agfa users for years and also Xitron pushing a Presstek Dimension, but not yet with a Trendsetter/Prinergy combo.

If you can generate 1-bit PDF from Apogee, that would save you the "convert to PDF" overhead on Prinergy.

Exactly my goal, and yes, I can generate 1-bit TIFF at any resolution I desire, to match the resolution of any destination imaging device. The problem isn't getting the TIFF out, or having it be right. It's getting the foreign system to consume it.

...they'll likely want to purchase the TIFF Downloader option for the Trendsetter.

Is this the key? This is what I'm trying to find out: with Agfa we have PrintDrive, which can send out TIFFs and likewise take them in with the ease of simply copying files around, no processing of anything involved. I need an equivalent solution for the Trendsetter. I will see if the client has this option, though I doubt they do, and further doubt they'll spend a dime on expensive upgrades (I can just imagine the price now...)

Providing the TIFF downloader isn't the most viable solution, while it might be the best, in what other means can this be accomplished with a minimum of overhead added to processing an already rendered job?

http://www.deadforever.com

 

[William Campbell]

Just curious William, does your client run linear plates, or are you provided compensation info to curve your 1-bits?

This particular client does not run linear, though some do, in most cases users of thermal plates. Violet plates are rarely acceptable at linear, except for uncoated jobs or the few clients who can't manage dot gain to save their life.

Half the time I use provided curves, the other half build my own to match their press, or if the same plate we use here (LAP-V), I'll assign our house curves developed from an average of dozens of other plate clients over the years.

At this point curves are not the challenge, it's getting the other end to take a raw TIFF. I've done plenty of jobs that wrap ripped data in EPS and PDFs, but damn, then it has to go through the RIP at the other end. I want it like my Agfa clients -- hand them a DVD with 8 flats and 10 minutes later they're imaging plates. None of this wasteful reprocessing.

http://www.deadforever.com

 

[TRYYZ]

I agree with James, purchase the tiff downloader license from Kodak. It works
seamlessy with Prinergy. You can drop the tiffs in a hot folder on your server, they will appear in the cue on your renderstation in Print Console, approve and image. The hot folders are pre
configured for plate size, material and any shifts required.

Cheers

Tom R

 

[james.bredenhof]

If the Trendsetter doesn't have TIFF Downloader, and they don't want to purchase it, then processing the 1-bit through Prinergy is the only way to do it on the cheap.

You can minimize the "wasteful reprocessing" by providing 1-bit PDF rather than TIFF. The Trendsetter site can then use a Bypass Refine to get the file registered in the job (zero processing), and use the CPSI RIP to render to plate (I'd suggest CPSI because a) APPE is slow with copydot b) there are some excellent speed enhancements Prinergy has made to CPSI to handle copydot effectively).
Though it's "wasteful processing" from an absolute point of view, you might find that in practice, it's not too bad.

 

[William Campbell]

If the Trendsetter doesn't have TIFF Downloader... <snip>

Thank you. That is just the sort of information from a user that is helpful, since additional expenses at either end of this exercise are not likely. If I can get anywhere with this, I'll report the results and any other useful information learned along the way. Thanks again.

 

[sgirard]

I am somewhat surprised to hear that a tiff downloader is even optional for the Trendsetter. From what I have seen of Print Console it seems like an application designed exclusively around 1-bit tiff input. From what others are saying though I am obviously wrong about that. If your customer's setup is like ours then you will be able to bypass their Prinergy completely and just feed tiffs to Print Console.

 

[Rick@IPCO]

I am somewhat surprised to hear that a tiff downloader is even optional for the Trendsetter.

It's Kodak; everything is optional.

 

[i8080]

i'm a bit late in this thread, but i'm interested too in bypassing a stupid thing called delta "technology" driving another creepy thing named delta tower for a creo3244 and using tiff downloader to achieve this. i've heard that sometime in their early history creo used not to "license" downloader, as it would be normal, has someone something like this? sgirard, you've mentioned "a setup like ours", may you, please, describe it? (with "unlicensed" stuff, it prints some text over the image). it may help, thank you.

 

[Angie]

As long as the 1-bit TIFF you supply your customer with is the same size, resolution and orientation there should be no processing through Prinergy at all. All they have to do is copy the TIFFs into their PrintConsole hotfolders and make the plates. I do this all the time for a customer that insists on ONLY sending us TIFFs.

 

[SilvaJr]

Angie could you please supply the path of the hotfolder? Thank you.

 

[Angie]

Everyone has their systems set up differently. In our case when we send 1-bit Tiffs to the Print Counsel they all go into a folder we have named "Tiffs In" Then we manually move the files to the different press hot folders. All you have to do is move the supplied Tiffs to the same folder your in house Tiffs get sent to.