Archived V.I.P. Content
2008
InPreflight vs. FlightCheck Test — Buying advice
To see how well InPreflight and FlightCheck Professional 6.x actually are, I ran a test on one InDesign file. As InPreflight is not available for QuarkXPress, the application’s value for QuarkXPress workflows could not be determined.
The file I tested contained a trapping error, several font errors, colour space errors and several linked images that were no longer available. I exported this file to a Certifed PDF (PDF/x-1a:2001). Then, as a reference, I ran this PDF file through PitStop Professional 08.
When do you need a Font Server?
Market size: Font servers can be useful for workgroups as small as 5 people, but in such small workgroups individual, desktop-based font management may suffice. The decision to implement a font server will depend on the workgroup’s workflow.
Matching atomic content structures to a system
The AP report of June 2008 starts from the axiom that you already have an online presence that is well-established, which probably also means you will have a system in place that you can manage your content and design with. Since making sure the content becomes more palatable and attractive entails both design and content, the first thing to do is to examine whether your system is up to the challenge.
With many small to medium-sized publishers using a custom-developed system that bolts the layout and editing application to the online Content Management System (CMS), chances are most of these publishers will have to re-think their technology strategy because a loosely integrated system may not be flexible enough to accommodate for the new model.
Five rules to migrate a printed publication to an online one
Rule #1: You can simply migrate your printed publication-wide architecture and structure but you shouldn’t do that with the in-depth structure.
What this means is that you can use your main sections the way they are presented in the printed magazine --e.g. “News”, “Editorial"-- but you should seriously think over the use of vertical sections. Vertical sections are what bloggers call “categories”, and categories --or a taxonomy of topics if you will-- are very important to organise and manage atomic topics.
For example, you could have a “Lifestyle” section in your printed publication where you start with news on its first page, intermingled with an opinion piece and a start of a background article. On the web, you can re-use this visual structure, but your news item should be a category with background information on the new item created and stored in a separate category that the news story can relate to.
How Medium-sized Publishers See Publishing Evolve
Cross-media and dynamic publishing are two growth markets identified by Frost & Sullivan as well as other analysts. Many large companies and publishers are already turning towards technologies which support cross-media and dynamic publishing. They are buying or are planning to buy systems that integrate the complete workflow from concept over authoring to output into different channels.
Archived Public Content
2008
Setting White Balance on a dSLR
On any decent dSLR camera you can set a custom white balance to neutralise the colours under different lighting circumstances. Every dSLR brand comes with its own methodology and approach to neutralising the camera, but they all share in common that the colour temperature can be compensated for by taking a snapshot of a grey object as its foundation. Some high-end cameras such as the Nikon D2X and the Sony Alpha 700 approach neutralisation with a finer, more granular attitude. They also allow you to set up a digital colour compensation filter.
Review: WireTap Studio 1.0.4
Ambrosia Software is probably best known for its Mac OS X games, and its professional screeenshot recording utility, Snapz Pro. WireTap Studio used to be called WireTap Pro, but that first shot at audio recording wasn’t too successful, mainly because it offered too little in the area of podcasting capabilities. That has changed dramatically with WireTap Studio, which has everything a podcasting pro may ever need, and more. The only thing I didn’t applaud was the bundling of sound effects: I would have liked to have more of those, but to be honest: the one that comes with the application is of a rare quality (Camel Audio) --almost on par with what Apple cooks up with Logic Studio.
2007
Atomik Dynamic Publisher: A Real-Time Cross-Media Publishing System
With Easypress’ deep XML knowledge, a robust document management system (Alfresco) as its backbone, and a lot of sound business logic behind it, Atomik Dynamic Publisher is the first of a new breed of publishing workflow systems. Easypress literally re-invented the traditional publishing workflow system, based on complaints it overheard from users of those systems. It built a true cross-media publishing system that is layout application agnostic.
They created an installer that is as simple to use as a desktop software installer for the Mac, and XML-functionality to support simultaneous publishing to various media, including print. Atomik Dynamic Publisher is scalable from 10 to at least 1000 users with one QuarkXPress 7 or InDesign CS3 server. It separates content from form, and shows none of the typical problems that are related with traditional publishing workflows.
IT Enquirer Awards of Excellence 2007
In 2007, we were once again treated to a large number of new applications and hardware that allows us to perform our creative tasks with more pleasure, and above all: easier and faster. We composed the list of Award-winning products based on our reviews and how the market reacted to them. Sit back, and enjoy IT Enquirer Awards 2007.
Spotlights on, please! And don’t forget to chill the champagne. This year, we are awarding products in over a dozen categories.
Sandvox Still Outperforms iWeb
Sandvox 1.2.5 has two competitors: iWeb and RapidWeaver. Dreamweaver isn’t really competition, as it’s more aimed at professionals who don’t mind playing with HTML and Javascript code. And Coda is in a league of its own: it’s a coders’ delight, but you won’t find pre-defined design templates in Coda. You will learn how to code properly, though, given that Coda comes with books built-in. However, Coda is for people who like to keep full control over the look-and-feel of their web site and the way their pages will interact with visitors.
Sandvox is for people who like to rapidly move on with design --and who care more about adapting some pre-existing templates than to come up with something totally original. That doesn’t mean Sandvox is not powerful. In fact, after briefly having gone through the program again 3 years after my first review, I can only say the application has become so much better, I would be tempted to recommend it as a quick prototyping application, even to seasoned web designers. Especially the “Pro” version seems to be worth its money. It has the capability to inject code and to add your own HTML snippets.
Badia Tools for InDesign CS3 and QuarkXPress 7
InDesign and QuarkXPress each come with a large set of tools and utilities, but firms like Badia can make it just a bit better or at least different. Some of Badia’s tools offer a different approach to what InDesign and QuarkXPress come with by default. Other tools, such as Big Picture and Exportools deliver new ways of doing things that you can only accomplish after some effort.
Lafot Monitor Control LMC 03: Monitor Calibration With Superior Jenoptik/MAZET Sensor
Poland isn’t exactly known for its elegant design, but it is well-known for its equipment robustness and above all: accuracy. We don’t readily associate precision instruments with robustness, but in the case of Lafot, the monitor calibration instrument that is commercialised under the totally not-sexy name of “Lafot Monitor Control LMC 03”, is certainly a precision instrument worthy of that name. Lafot’s core business not being monitor calibration, the software that goes with the LMC 03 was still in beta when I last saw it, but it was stable and feature-complete, and running fine on Tiger (I am waiting for the Leopard version). After having tested the LMC 03 for some months, my conclusion is that it is better than the best monitor measuring instrument X-Rite has ever made --the DTP94.
Atomik RoundTrip XML Publishing
British EasyPress Technologies’ Atomik RoundTrip is an XML to QuarkXPress and vice versa conversion system. It allows you to import XML into QuarkXPress documents and export QuarkXPress documents into XML format. Atomik RoundTrip makes itself known to QuarkXPress 7 users as two palettes with a third that becomes visible when doing some more complex XML coding. We found Atomik RoundTrip to be both extremely powerful and yet easy enough to understand relatively quickly. It is a must-have if you want to integrate QuarkXPress 7 with an existing XML-capable Content Management System, and it can even be more than that.
Report Analyses Smart Connection Enterprise 5
IT-Enquirer just released the results of an in-depth report comparing Smart Connection Enterprise version 4.x to the new version 5, which is a completely new system. The aim of the report was to ascertain how the versions compare, and what sets Smart Connection Enterprise 5 apart from the competition.
The report is available as a free PDF download to Subscribers. Registration is free.
The report finds that Smart Connection Enterprise 5 has become a true publishing platform, offering Blended Media publishing capabilities while keeping all the advantages we found in version 4.x, and which we discussed in our report on Editorial Workflow Systems in general.
Leopard Users Attention: CandyBar 3 Changes Icons and Dock
IconFactory and Panic Software joined forces again, and started developing CandyBar 3 long before Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard hit the streets. And now, a good month after Leopard has been released, CandyBar 3 has too. Much to my surprise, CandyBar 3 is a replacement for CandyBar 2 and for Pixadex. It looks like Panic and IconFactory have another winner on their hand with this icon management/replacement tool. CandyBar 3 doesn’t just look right, it also replaces the Leopard Dock if you so wish.
Final Cut Studio 2: Color for Professional Colorists
Color is Apple’s newest addition to the Final Cut “Pro” software suite. Color is a professional video and film grading and manipulation tool. It is an environment with the look and feel of Shake, with different “rooms”. Color can colour correct video and film projects coming from Final Cut Pro or an EDL (Edit Decision List) for another editing environment. Control surfaces from JLCooper and Tangent Devices are compatible with Color.
Colour correcting is not the only trick up Color’s sleeve; you can also create colour effects with a node-based system, pan and scan effects, and apply colour effects to restricted --and if needed, moving-- zones in a project. I tested Color after having tried most of its features a couple of times. Color isn’t easy when you first start using it, but it rapidly grows on you.
SOHO Labels 3 Now Also for DVDs
Version 3 of Chronos’ labelling software is a hit. SOHO Labels replaces Labels and Envelopes and for a good reason; SOHO Labels doesn’t just do labels and envelopes. It now also does DVDs and jewel boxes. I was wary of this new capability, with Disc Cover and discLabel being long-time values in this market, but SOHO Labels fares well, very well indeed.
Leopard’s Font Book Makes Third-Party Tools Obsolete For Some
Font Book has long been Mac OS X’s least attractive application. It made a market for third party developers such as Extensis and Insider Software. Even Linotype released its own excellent font organiser and offers it for free. But Leopard’s Font Book is no longer the weakest link in the font management chain. It has been updated with features such as Auto-Activation. Throw away those third-party font organisers!
Leopard’s Preview: Can You Throw Away Your Copy of Acrobat Yet?
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard has a completely new Preview application, and many of us have been reading about it, and some of us have actually used it. To graphic designers, publishers and document managers, the most interesting about the new Preview is its behaviour. Will its behaviour with images and PDFs let you use it without having to resort to Adobe Acrobat CS3? And the answer is that it may well do, if your needs are modest.
Sony Gets Closer to “Pro” With The Alpha 700
I have been the proud and enthusiastic owner of a Sony Alpha 700 --at least for two weeks. This new digital SLR camera by Sony is a 12.2 megapixel dSLR which has the power, quality of build, and feature set, to compete with the Canon EOS 30D heads-on. The Sony Alpha 700 is somewhat bigger in size than its predecessor, and a good deal heavier, but those are good things. The camera feels more stable, more robust, and is all those things. The only downside I could find: less battery stamina.
Digital ColourAtlas 3.0 Compares, Converts and Harmonises Colours Usefully
When I reviewed Genopal Pro the other day, my colleague Henk Gianotten pointed me to a software that he said I should definitely review. It was ColourAtlas 3.0, a German colour tool that can compare colours and create harmonies. When I saw the application’s interface I wasn’t too impressed, to be honest. Wen I first ran the application, the feeling remained until I started to explore more deeply into the program. After half an hour, I was more than impressed. I was completely convinced.
Here is a developer who knows colour and why people use colour comparison and colour harmony creation tools. Graphic designers, architects, layout designers, and basically everybody who has to take into consideration some form of colour management workflow --currently only excluding web designers-- can’t do much with Genopal or Color Schemer Studio. The reason is that those programs don’t tell you which colour space or system you’re working with. ColourAtlas 3.0 does, and t does a lot more.
15TH ANNUAL EUROPEAN INK JET CONFERENCE STARTING IN A WEEK
IMI Europe announced that on Wednesday 7 until Friday 9 November 2007, in the Sheraton Lisboa Hotel & Spa, Lisbon, Portugal, the European Ink Jet Conference will take place. VP’s, Directors, Business Development Managers, Sales Managers, Project Managers, and Engineers from Europe, Asia and North America are already registered for this event.
GridIron Nucleo Pro 2 Speeds Up Rendering Cinema 4D, Shake and Other Formats
Nucleo Pro 2 is an evolutionary upgrade from the previous version, but it’s an important one. Version 2 adds pre-composition proxies and the ability to manage the rendering of projects from 3D applications such as Maya, Cinema 4D, LightWave, Apple Shake, and After Effects CS3 of course.
After Effects users will have to render 3D scenes often when working on a project and they will now be able to set the scene rendering and go back to work in After Effects CS3. I immediately wondered why GridIron hasn’t added e-on Software’s Vue 6 Infinite to the list --Vue being used in motion pictures such as Pirates of the Carribean and all, but then again, you can use Vue from within the supported applications, so indrectly, Nucleo Pro 2 supports rendering Vue scenes as well.
ProofMaster, Your Best RIP For Proofing
ProofMaster isn’t just a RIP for photographers who like to save money when printing to fine art papers or photo papers. It’s first and above all one of the most powerful proofing RIPs available in the market. ProofMaster is based on open standards, supports thermal, inkjet and virtual proofing devices, and can create FOGRA-certified and contract proofs. Proofing today happens primarily to confirm the colour accuracy of a file --PDF, image, or other-- and often also the imposition characteristics.
ExpoImaging Release New Depth-of-Field Guide
IT Enquirer discussed the ExpoAperture Depth-of-Field Guide, a unique tool which instantly shows you the relationships between focal length, focus distance, aperture and resulting depth-of-field. ExpoImaging released the follow-up to the original DoF Guide, the ExpoAperture2 Guide. A photographer using the ExpoAperture2 Depth-of-Field Guide simply selects the camera’s sensor or film size and desired focal length for a given shot. The Guide quickly provides the resulting depth-of-field for a given aperture, or, alternatively, determines the aperture necessary to achieve a desired depth-of-field.
PDF tools from callas software are ready for “Leopard”
callas software PDF tools for professional colour conversion, correction of typical errors while printing and for optimizing PDF files for prepress, printing and long-term archiving with PDF/A already support the new operating system Mac OS X v10.5 “Leopard”.
Users of earlier Apple operating systems, Adobe Acrobat Professional and Standard and callas software plug-ins as well as the command line modules can switch to the new operating system without problems. Extensive series of tests at callas software in the last few weeks showed that callas software products ran even under Leopard.
