Summit Print Corp. Slashes Prepress Errors with Esko Automation Engine
Summit Print Corp., a digital label printer that had previously faced tedious and time consuming prepress issues, has reduced preproduction errors by more than 75 percent after implementing Esko Automation Engine. Automation Engine is Esko's modular workflow server for automating and controlling prepress, which delivers a powerful solution for label and packaging workflows. By implementing this engine, it automates Summit Print's prepress functions, which increases job output and decreases the possibility of mistakes.
Summit Print, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, is a custom digital label manufacturer specializing in digital label production and other printed packaging solutions. It has worked with companies in the craft beer, grocery, cosmetics, sports nutrition, nutraceutical and wine industries.
Summit Print prints up to 600 different SKUs daily in run lengths averaging between 200-1,500 impressions. Its team handles every detail of the label ordering and production process, helping customers with prototyping, design, and printing of the final product. Summit Print operates two digital presses — an HP Indigo WS6000 digital press and a new HP Indigo WS6600 digital press.
"There are many brands who prefer to have short run jobs so that they do not have to sit on a lot of inventory or stock," Lees acknowledges.
The decision to invest in Automation Engine was an easy one, Lees says, "especially once we knew that the Digital Front End (DFE) and RIP were from Esko. It made sense. We still use the color profile we built with the front end we originally had."
Automation Engine was purchased directly through Esko. "The installation was easy, quick and efficient," Lees says. There was a lot of information to take in within two weeks, especially when we were working on jobs. It was like 'drinking water from a fire hose.' However, even to this day, the Esko tech support team continues to offer its support. I still send them emails if I need help. They want us to succeed."
Automation Engine is helping the company dramatically save time, reduce errors and eliminate waste. Lees and the prepress team meticulously create each of the company's different workflows, taking the time to make sure each is set up correctly before he allows it to go to production. "Automation Engine is a huge asset that delivers as much as you put into it," Lees says. "It takes time to set it up because it is very customizable and you can have it do exactly what you want."
Consistent files, correct revisions
With job reprints, Lees is able to capture the data within Automation Engine to ensure consistent files and proper revisions are sent to press. He doesn't have to waste time checking files to see which one was used the last time they printed the job.
The MIS interface within Automation Engine works seamlessly with Summit's MIS solution from Label Traxx. The data is easily acquired from the Label Traxx system to further streamline and automate overall job processing. Jobs and the necessary data, entered into the Label Traxx MIS, are launched through Automation Engine with the workflow automatically pulling the correct files -even if a job has over 100 SKUs. "We don't have to spend time searching for files, so we are saving a lot of time when making reprints," Lees says. There are also no errors when pulling files for reprints. It is the right file every time.
MIS integration with Automation Engine also allows for automated step-and-repeat or imposition to generate gang runs effectively. For jobs with multiple SKUs, this feature provides unparalleled operational ease. A recent job producing honey labels required 175 SKUs, which were ganged up automatically using Automation Engine. "Before, we had to pick through the graphic files and choose which ones would fit into a gang print run," Lees says. "It was extremely time consuming. Now, it's all done automatically. Instead of taking between one to 1.5 hours to get on press, the labels took only 10 minutes and were done accurately."
