ArtPrep®: Artwork Preparation Software

ArtPrep® is an ideal solution for those companies who handle a large quantity of artworks for their daily production.  To achieve high-quality digitally printed images with tight registration and accurate color, artwork needs to be prepared properly.  This is especially true for fades, gradients, and highlights.  Typically, artwork needs to be prepared with specific layers: one for primer (optional), one for white, one for color and one for varnish.  When the image is ripped these layers tell the printer where and how each print head should lay down the ink.

Currently, there are a few different ways this process is being completed:

1. Outsourcing– each artwork is sent to an external agency where the layers are manually created
2. Art Departments– each artwork is manually manipulated by an internal art or graphics department
3. Operator– sometimes, even the machine operator gets involved in the preparation process

While all of these processes have worked for some time, the shift from mass printing the same artwork hundreds or thousands of times has clearly moved to print on demand, one-offs and personalization. This new era has made the need for an automated process even more imperative.