At the Seybold PDF Shootout seminar in San Francisco earlier last month, :ApogeeX, Agfa’s PDF-based workflow, received a perfect score in the Technical Accuracy Challenge. Additionally, Agfa ranked second in overall system performance.
To judge the entrants, the PDF Shootout used test files from the European Colour Initiative consortium called the "Altona Suite". This Suite offers a consistent method to test components and systems in digital prepress workflows for their capability to process PDF/X-3. Originally designed for testing proofing solutions, this Suite is also used by prospects to benchmark digital workflow solutions.
The PDF Shootout focused on two test pages from the "Altona Suite." The first page, the "Altona Visual" page, included numerous elements that make it possible to quickly judge the reproduction of the page in terms of colour fidelity and correct imaging. The second page, the "Altona Technical" page, addressed overprint simulation as well as the handling of all font types allowed in PDF 1.3 – and thus PDF/X-3 – files. For each page, participants had to submit a colour proof and a set of separation films.
Winners were chosen by a panel of three experienced PDF users, who based their decisions on the contestants’ submissions.
"These extremely good results are proof of Agfa’s commitment to providing users with an easy-to-use solution that can take on the most complex and technically high demanding content files, without excuse, and deliver results in the shortest time possible," said Jef Mertens, worldwide marketing manager :ApogeeX. ":ApogeeX was developed from the ground up to anticipate any market trend and customer requirement, and its modular design approach has given Agfa the edge over others."
The final rankings were OpenRIP by RipIt, Trueflow by Dainnipon Screen,
FlowDrive 5.0 by Esko Graphics, ApogeeX by Agfa, and MetaDimension 3.5 by Heidelberg. These were followed by Twist by Dalim, Nexus by Artwork Systems, Prinergy and Brisque by Creo, and Celebrant by FujiFilm. In the event of a draw, the cheapest solution was given the higher ranking.
