Prepress Upgrade Direction Advice for Packaging/Publication Sheetfed

[VTMPRINT]

Our Work:
4-5-6 color packaging/comm print (print, cut, fold, glue, die-cut etc, half size press)
4-5 color magazine like work (print, fold, stitch)
About 60% of our work we control the whole process (native Indesign etc.. to PDF )
About 40% we are dealing with client supplied files...but not an awful lot of "design" issues that one reads about
Press sheet fed Heid XL75, SM74
Say 80-100-120 plates a day
We are rural
Each day, two people run graphics, one person jumps between Preps, RIP/TRAP and Metashooter.


Current Setup
Three MAC graphics stations
One Preps work station (have to sit and work here to flow jobs)
One Xitron Harlequin RIP/TRAP (have to sit and work here to get jobs to flow)
One Heid Metashooter (feeds the Heid Suprasetter, have to sit here to push work)
One Xitron Keysetter Station
(legacy CIP box that must be used to feed Heid XL press, could spend $ with Xitron to upgrade past this box)
One ORIS Color Rip Box that drives Epson 4880 proofer

PAIN POINTS

1) Too many work stations, I would like to "do all the work/workflow stuff" at graphics stations and have the job then show up in ready to plate queue
2) Too many work stations, I do not want separate RIP for plates and another machine for Color
3) Too many computers to keep updated and supported with maint etc.
4) Have this outlier Keysetter box that I could upgrade past, but want to establish 3-5 year direction instead of fixing for today


Perfect World

1) Would like to have everything run from graphics work stations, combine the elements, PDF, put in template, RIP/Trap, check and send to plate
2) Would like to have the RIP/Trap device also drive the color proofer
3) Would like to eliminate expense of Keysetter box, ORIS Rip box and Preps box.


Comments

We are going to need to invest in proofer.
And we would like to streamline a bit.
We have looked at Xitron Sierra, Heidelberg and Agfa Apogee. (webinars)
All seem "fine" and reading these forums I do group Heid and Agfa on one level and Xitron a bit below.
I do not see a bunch of "labor savings", rather I see some ease of use and speed of throughput.
We have not looked at others, with all the turmoil in industry, I think these folks (Agfa and Heid) will be around and it is what the folks that call on us sell.

So I am leaning toward Agfa of Heid unless . . . ?

Hied will talk to our press really well.
Strength of Heid is that they are Heid, weakness of Heid is that they are Heid.
Agfa has nice stuff.

Xitron Sierra is nice, but I have to buy another Xitron XPR rip to drive a proof printer.

I guess I am just trying to "write it out" and ask if I missed something.

Thank you
Chris

 

[DCurry]

I know what you mean - I hate having a bunch of different shooters for every little step along the way.

If you go with Apogee, you can get their new Impose module. It's still new and may have some limitations until they update it, but I've heard good things about it. Or, you can get the Preps module for Apogee that will use your Preps templates. Then, you only use Preps to create templates - all your Run List operations are handled in Apogee. You can also have Apogee handle the color and connect directly to your proofer (don't know if the other solutions you are looking at can do that, but I would think they could.)

If you're looking in that price range, have you looked at Prinergy Evo? I prefer the way Prinergy works to how Apogee does. You could also upgrade to a floating license for Preps so either operator could use it at his own workstation (just not concurrently unless you buy more seats.)

 

[EZPower]

Try Rampage. You can Rip, Trap, and edit on your Mac, with their Client. Use Preps on the same Workstation. Send the Imposed file and image Plates from the same machine. Each work station can have the free client which can run the job through the rip, view and edit traps, send to proofer, and image plates.

 

[akalaray]

Heidelberg all the way! Few boxes - Rip, Proof,color all the same box, fast - Signa for imposition - simple cip conections for color, cutting,folding - Great phone support!