PitStop Pro 2018, which is commercially available as of this week as an Adobe Acrobat plugin, has been created to save users time and provides additional advanced editing functionality for images, graphics, text and shadings, the Belgian developer said.
PitStop Server 2018 has also been released this week. The hot-folder based server product automatically checks and fixes PDF files, without the need for human intervention.
The release of the 2018 version follows an extensive beta testing period, during which more than 163,000 pages were processed by over 150 international beta testers.
“These are major releases that will greatly improve the pre-press process. The beta testing has been so impressive and the feedback we have received tells us that this is our strongest launch ever,” said Enfocus senior product manager Andrew Bailes-Collins.
“There are several unique features and improvements that will make life a lot easier, save time and ultimately enable a much smoother pre-press department.”
New features include Action List Visualizer, which Enfocus said lets users easily see what an Action List is doing as it is being created, enabling them to swiftly identify problems within an Action List. In visualizer mode, users can edit as they go, resolving problems on the spot.
“This feature really helps users to unlock the power of the product, especially new users – there’s quite a steep learning curve to the particular functionality of Action Lists, so to be able to make that more of a visual feature will be a benefit and was very well received in beta testing,” said Bailes-Collins.
The new Hard Crop Line Art tool cleans up complex files to improve rendering and output performance. Available in both PitStop Pro and PitStop Server, the feature crops unnecessary clipped content within the PDF file to reduce the complexity of files whilst still preserving its visual appearance.
Also new is the ability to generate barcodes manually or automatically in a PDF file without the need for any third-party applications. PitStop Pro and PitStop Server users can choose from over 100 types of barcodes and generate 1D, 2D, international postal barcodes and GS1 compliant barcodes.
Users of PitStop Pro can also now opt in to have their own online dashboard, which visually shows their use of PitStop features and provides information on the type of PDF files they are receiving.
Enfocus said the main benefit of this new feature is giving users more insight into the way they use PitStop and the problems encountered. For example, they can see how many pages are processed each day and identify the type and quantity of errors in each job.
Other key new features include better integration with Enfocus’ new Switch 2018 workflow, improved line art editing tools, and a new Pantone functionality that enables spot colours to be checked and corrected against the correct Pantone colours and colour breakdowns in PitStop.
The software is available on a subscription basis for £286 on an annual contract or £33 per month on a monthly contract, with a perpetual license for £640, or on a maintenance contract, which includes all upgrades and support for a year from purchase, for £733.
Enfocus is holding a free workflow productivity seminar at The Goldsmiths’ Centre in London next Tuesday (1 May). Topics will include PitStop 2018 and Switch 2018 while Bluetree Design and Print will provide a customer testimonial. For more information, and to register, visit: bit.ly/enfocus-seminar.
