Adobe’s PDF Print Engine is receiving a magnificent seven upgrade to address scalability, skills shortages, variable data, automation and support for extended colour gamut printing.
Version 7 of the APPE has been shipped to OEM customers for evaluation and debugging before the Gold Master is struck in August. This returns to the OEMs to finish formulating their own products which should start to reach the market in around 12 months time according to Adobe product manager Mark Lewiecki.
The key move has been to bring functionality back into the Rip and to take advantage of the scaleable Mercury Rip architecture to bring more performance to bear on rendering, so delivering enhanced throughput. This applies to continuous feed inkjet, web to print, variable data print, applications in textiles and packaging.
Online job submission is improved with the automatic generation of missing bleeds from submitted files, which might otherwise have to be returned to the originator for correction. It uses an AI routine to increase the image area, so is suited to simple colours and shapes; patterns and diagonals may not work as well Lewiecki warns.
Likewise the inRip handling of variable data is not intended to replace the likes of XMPie or Fusion Pro with sophisticated on the fly personalisation, but to handle the generation of barcode and QR codes for product identification and interaction. The static elements of the file become a fixed template and are Ripped once, the dynamic elements, which apply to only part of image, can be Ripped on the fly without slowing the print engine. This delivers a huge leap in performance thanks to a much reduced final file size which will mean no waiting at the print engine. Previous versions of APPE have needed to treat each repeat as a separate frame, resulting in a large file that needs to Ripped in its entirety regardless of how little of the job changes.
The old style would generate a file of say 20+Mb, taking say 20 minutes to process, the new a file less than 2Mb for the same content and accordingly cuts processing time to 3 minutes.
Variable QR codes are going to be needed to track packaging to meet the new regulations about traceability and waste reduction. The code can identify the product while also acing was a doorway to more comprehensive information held online for product validation and logistics.
APPE7 will process Photoshop and Illustrator files inside the Rip, helping printers that receive such formats across online portals. They will no longer need to open the native application to view these files, something that can happen 20-30 times a day says Lewiecki. Large format printers are used to receiving Photoshop files, while Illustrator is the core application for much packaging design.
Like bleeds for commercial print, cutlines for large format cutting tables, will also be generated automatically. White mask generation, used on metallic papers as a opaque layer under four colour process printing, becomes an inRip function. This expands on white ink capability introduced in APPE6, and both saves on volumes of white ink needed and on the time needed to process the extra layer after rendering.
The biggest impact will be in the expansion of colour colour handling beyond four colours. Currently a file needs to be converted to CMYK, compressing its gamut, before adding additional colours, but from that constrained gamut. Transparency for multicolour printing is not supported by PDF which has led to workarounds to achieve a seven colour file with blended colours. APPE7 allows an RGB file to be treated as seven transparent inks (CMYKOGV) without compressing the gamut and so exploiting the maximum gamut of the press. Now the device profile of the press can be used within prepress or a reference colour space like Fogra 55 can be used.
This is expanded colour gamut and is of increasing interest to packaging printers because it can eliminate the need for spot colours, consequently the time and waste associated with washing up spot colours.
“For digital presses, ECG is critical because spot colours are not available,” says Lewiecki, “and we are seeing traction in offset, flexo and gravure printing.” The feature will accelerate adoption of ECG printing says Adobe.
The new APPE addresses other key issues raised by widespread industry trends. “Companies need to handle more jobs in less time, each with a reduced run length, meaning that there is a need to accelerate prepress. There is also a reduction in traditional prepress skills, so we have to put more intelligence into the process and with the growth in online orders, we have to automate the process,” says Lewiecki.
Adobe will ship the technology to its OEMs with a white label GUI that technology providers can choose to use. There are 48 companies using APPE 6, the latest being Kornit showing the direction to use printing in textiles. The expanded feature set with the new version is already resulting in discussions with additional prospects says Lewiecki. Any outcome though will nor be known until products reach the market next year.
