Esko India organized a webinar on 23 June to talk about its new Share & Approve software tool along with Studio tool and how a packaging customer can benefit from the digital process. Also, the benefits of streamlining the approval process was also discussed. The webinar was hosted by Ravi Vaitiyanathan, application sales manager at Esko India. He trains customer on Esko software, implementing color management, Equinox and proofing solutions. Vaitiyanathan is G7 certified CMP professional.
The webinar was attended by brand owners, premedia companies, designers, converters – label, flexible, folding carton, corrugated, commercial printers. The attendees also included business owners, designers and prepress professionals, marketing professionals.
Vaitiyanathan talked in details about both Studio and Share & Approve tools and their salient points and how these solutions can be used by packaging convertors.
Better artwork with Studio
According to Vaitiyanathan, Studio helps to produce better artwork and also works as a powerful communication tool. Customers can create 3D visuals, ranging from PDF files with 3D content, to movies, to a virtual pack shot or to a shopping shelf.
Key features of the technology include fast and easy integration with existing tools like Adobe Illustrator; patented print modelling technology to visualize print & finishing effects in real-time; possibility of making 3D shapes with one or more labels to visualize; possibility of making conical labels with the non-destructive warp tool for conical labels in AI; and availability of stimulation material shrink properties and pre-distort artwork to compensate for shrink distortion.
Fastening approval process with Share & Approve
Share & Approve helps to shorten the packaging approval process by three times, using the cloud-based tool to upload, share, annotate and approve packaging and labels, in hyper realistic 3D, Vaitiyanathan said.
Key features of the technology include ease of usage – no user training required; existence of state of the art viewer for accurate approval management; possibility to review packaging in 3D using the actual production data; centralized comments & feedback and tracked with version control which helps avoid confusion and mistakes with a complete audit trail; and option to measure overprint & trapping, check colour separation, density, viewing special finishing effects like embossing, foiling, among others.
Solutions for everyone in the packaging supply chain
With these solutions, Esko is looking to service the complete supply chain. These technologies can help brands, trade shops, packaging convertors, and packaging designers, Vaitiyanathan said.
For brands, Studio can help the way they handle packaging and point of sale development. It can help shorten the artwork approval cycle with interactive 3D visuals using Share & Approval technology from Esko. They can save time and money by reducing mock-up and studio photography costs. Brands can increase the success rate of product launches, by seeing upfront how your brand will look in the store next to the competition.
For trade shops, Studio offers a way to add value-added 3D services. By using Studio as internal quality assurance tool they can check for panel misalignments and spot structural mistakes in time. Trade shops can create the back-match, perform advanced shrink sleeve distortions and save hours of time performing shrink tests. Also, they can optimize approval process, and track approval cycles by using Share & Approve.
Converters can check for mistakes before the expense of making printing plates, embossing dies or varnish blankets. Avoid rejects by showing their client up-front an accurate virtual mock-up. Or take Studio on the road and show prospects what your specialty print and finishing could mean for his brand. Share & Approve helps to centralize comment and feedback system instead of data scattered across department.
Finally, for packaging designers, Studio can help turn ideas into 3D images. There is no need to cut, fold and glue print-outs. With Studio they can see the package on the screen as they design. This means that they do not have to make design compromises during production.
“You might still make conventional mock-ups, but with Studio you have a new option: fast, inexpensive and beautiful virtual mock-ups. Share & Approve can be customized to fit the customer’s branding and the intuitive user interface reduces the amount of training users need. It can be easily integrated into the existing workflow. Accurate approval management with a state-of-the-art viewer to communicate your creativity,” Vaitiyanathan said.
