Agfa unveils its newest version of workflow software for newspaper printers, Arkitex Production v4.0. This latest version enables tighter integration with press management systems for just-in-time plate delivery. It also integrates multi-tenant capabilities and planning and tracking have been improved. In addition, its deployment in the cloud offers business continuity across multiple media.
"More than ever, a streamlined, reliable and automated workflow is absolutely crucial for newspaper printing sites to meet daily challenges and maintain their competitive position, says Rainer Kirschke, Agfa's Head of Newspaper Market. Arkitex Production v4.0 contains many features that will increase operational efficiency and reduce costs."
The possibility to have several tenants on a single server
Arkitex Production 4.0 supports multiple tenants on a single server, allowing them to access and benefit from the same modules (such as RIPs, imposition, ink pre-selection, etc.), both with their own users and authorizations.
For faster plate delivery
As a result of shorter print runs, consolidation of printing plants and an increase in outside work, the number of plates and the frequency of plate exchanges are increasing.
Agfa therefore worked on the integration of Arkitex Production 4.0 into the printer's press management and plate stacking systems. As a result, plates can be produced in a shorter timeframe and arrive at the right press tower at the right time.
Often responsible for both prepress and press, the press operator can manage the entire workflow from a single location, such as automatically unblocking plates as soon as the stacker bins for the next run are available.
Improved production plan entry, monitoring and fan-out compensation tools
The Arkitex Production user interface has also been improved.
With a single click, prepress operators can use an existing template in the planning editor to instantly create a new publishing plan.
In addition, the production tracking and control functionality has been enhanced: tasks to be performed are clearly visible, such as plate approval, and it is now also possible to filter queues according to various criteria such as pagination, page version or job status.
Agfa also made changes to the fan-out feature that moves and adjusts the separations by press position to allow more precise image adjustment.
Arkitex Production v4.0 available in the cloud to ensure business continuity
Arkitex Production is available as an on-premise or cloud-based solution.
Cloud-based services offer huge advantages, according to Jeff Cord, product manager for newspaper software. "Newspaper printers don't need to spend time or money on IT infrastructure, server maintenance or software upgrades. The systems are monitored and optimized 24/7 by experienced IT and Agfa's newspaper workflow experts. (...) In fact, Agfa's cloud infrastructure is also used to host all our hospital software solutions around the world"
