The firm's next generation of software V8, which will be available at the end of this year, was shown as a beta using APPE at SGIA in New Orleans earlier this month.

"With APPE, ripping speed is not only increased for all PDF files, but the output is much more consistent," said Caldera R&D director Guillaume Muller.

The richer design features in the PDFs produced using Adobe Creative Suite led Caldera to find a way to improve the robustness of its PDF handling. Adopting APPE has also opened the door to simple variable data workflows for personalisation using Adobe's PDF/VT file format.

Ripping speed is at least doubled according to the firm.

With Flow+ Mobility it is possible to remotely access the firm's dedicated wide-format MIS/ERP system. It enables users to check sales, production, finishing, logistics and accounting while out of the office. Initially it is supported on an Archos internet tablet, a Google Android-powered portable device that can use Wi-Fi and 3G to access the internet. Caldera is also working on an iPhone App.

Flow+ was first announced last year and has just started to ship.

"Customers asked us for an ERP system that was an extension of the RIP," said vice president of marketing & communication Sébastien Hannsens. "We've developed it from scratch with a wide-format focus."

The software costs €10,000-€30,000 depending on the size and complexity of the configuration.