Many workflows have operators monitoring email and FTP
sites. Phone calls are made to confirm FTP file receipt or emails are sent. The
files are downloaded, unstuffed, unzipped, put into standard folder structures
and sent to preflight.
The SWITCH products from Gradual Software in Belgium have
surfaced. They automate these tasks and integrate them into existing workflows.
The first of these is the entry-level version LightSWITCH.
LightSWITCH has tools available to allow FTP sites and
e-mail addresses to be monitored and automatically download files and/or
attachments. There are features to: automate decompression of files, copy
files, change folder structures by sorting file types or names, rename files
and add Type/Creator. The program’s workflow can then redirect files to another
server, compress files, upload them to another FTP site, attach them to an
e-mail, and also provide e-mail notifications to the parties involved. The mail
tools remember the e-mail address for each job/file and jobs/files can also
pick them up in the flow.
The software is easy to use and there’s a wizard for
creating flows to get you started. There are also pre-made flows available for
download on the Gradual Software website.
A sample LightSwitch Workflow: The files are downloaded,
decompressed and filed in the department’s choice of folder structure. Email is
sent to notify that the job is ready for preflight.
The more advanced FullSWITCH product adds tools that allow
links to Adobe Acrobat and Distiller, Creative Suites 2, Apago PDF Enhancer,
Enfocus PitStop Server and callas PDF Software.
Possibilities abound. Some examples:
- PDF Enhancer – you can create your own automated
softproofing workflow. - You can have a workflow that distills postscript files
from an FTP site. - Print customer-supplied low-resolution PDF files to your
proofer while the rest of the job is preflighting. - High resolution PDFs can be automatically downloaded and
sent to PitStop Server. E-mails sent from the workflow will notify a pass or a
fail.
For the Adobe CS2 Products, the workflow tools accept both
actions and scripts created for Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator. An
Automator tool is available when running the program on Mac OS X for
Applescripts.
Each workflow has its own log and statistics. When
monitoring your customers FTP site or even your own, you’ll have information
showing the speed of your file processes and any downtime, should it occur.
This information can be sorted and filtered as you wish. The statistics view in
FullSWITCH makes it easy to keep an eye on crucial folders in your flows. This
window will help pinpoint any bottlenecks in your workflow.
Load Balancing is another tool. Flows can be set to upload
or download at specific times. Files can wait in the workflow during the day
and be released after hours. The Load Balancer could have several jobs
downloading to different servers at the same time in a busy department.
The built-in XSLT tool is ideal to generate custom HTML
preflight reports from the Enfocus PitStop Server. The PitStop Server
configurator in FullSWITCH also offers XML and textual formats for the
preflight errors as well as warnings that would be handy to log preflight
problems in a database or spreadsheet for tracking or analysis.
Both products are available for Windows 2000 and 2000
Server, Windows 2003 Server, Windows XP Professional and Mac OS X 10.4 or
higher. The Mac version is Universal Binary, so it runs on both PowerPC and
Intel-based Macs.
The third version of the software to come out is
PowerSWITCH, available this summer. It comes bundled with a workgroup client
and has the scripting capabilities to integrate with your third-party
technology.
Entry-level version LightSWITCH starts at $900 U.S. and
FullSWITCH is listed at $3,000
U.S. Trials (15-day) are available for download at www.gradual.com.
Andrea MahoneyTriBay Enterprise
T: 416.72939687E:
andrea@autoflowforprepress.ca