Packaging software developer Esko has entered a partnership with fellow Belgian developer Chili Publish, to integrate the Chili Publisher online editing software with the Esko WebCenter web-based packaging design program.
Esko will also develop a plug-in for Adobe Illustrator, enabling users to open packaging designs in WebCenter to create, edit and modify the packaging content.
With this new integration, a designer or artwork creator will be able to publish an Illustrator document to a WebCenter project. Content such as barcodes, nutrition facts, or regulatory compliance data can then be provided by the brand owner by going online, opening and editing the document using the Chili Editor within the WebCenter browser window.
Bjorn Willems, product manager for interactive applications at Esko, said: ‘There is a trend in the packaging industry for prepress companies to move upstream in the supply chain toward packaging artwork design and creation. Now, thanks to Chili Publish, we are the first to make available a robust platform for content collation of packaging designs. This further complements our portfolio of WebCenter applications that manage the approval, collaboration, project management and planning for the packaging life cycle.’
‘We experience a huge interest in online document editing, and users also ask us for packaging functionality,’ adds Kevin Goeminne, CFO and managing partner of Chili Publish. ‘Working with Esko, the technology leader in this domain, is a logical and important strategic step that helps us launch our technology into a new market.’
The new online packaging editing functionality will be available through Esko channels by the end of 2012.
The first public demonstration will be at Graph Expo 2012 in Chicago from October 7 to 10.
Contact: www.esko.com
