With v11 Apogee becomes a production hub for offset and digital print  

 

Agfa has released version 11 of its Apogee workflow software, bringing production efficiency improvements and support for PDF 2.0 and APPE 5.

 

Support for hybrid litho and digital print environments (both sheet-fed and wide-format) is part of the ‘production hub’ focus of the new release, with the addition of auto-imposition for either press type enabling hand-off of fully imposed and colour managed PDFs to digital front ends driving digital presses as well as CtP plate output for offset work. Creation of the necessary PDF files for either route is achieved via a drag and drop hot folder/hot ticket approach.

Apogee now handles job preparation functions including finishing options such as cut and stack or booklet printing. AutoImpose simplifies workflow for digital print, allowing operators to focus on managing the presses and output quality.

‘The automatic imposition feature in Apogee v11 is a key feature for digital print production,’ said Erik Peeters, global marketing manager, Software Solutions. ‘Combined with Agfa’s cloud-based automation solution, PrintSphere AutoPilot, which uses XML or JDF information to intelligently route orders to the appropriate output device, it becomes a very powerful tool to increase the overall efficiency of a printing company.’

Order combination or ganging is also offered in the new release. While mostly applicable to B2 or larger offset presses, the functionality will equally support digital press alternatives, and is said to be particularly useful for handling bound and unbound jobs on the same sheet. 

Apogee 11 is the first implementation of Adobe’s PDF Print Engine (APPE) 5 and thus provides support for PDF 2.0 files which Agfa’s Barbara Cooper told Digital Printer are now starting to appear in web-to-print customers’ job input. ‘We’ve done a lot of testing. Every customer is going to be affected, and some have been getting PDF 2.0 files since June,’ she said. ‘APPE 5 gives us PDF 2.0 compliance and improves workflow efficiency.’