Prinergy
Encyclopedia
Prinergy is a prepress workflow system created by Creo
in 1999 and currently maintained and sold through Kodak . It is a client/server system that integrates PDF creation, job proofing, imposition, and a Raster Image Processor (RIP)
into one unified workflow.
Prinergy was code-named Araxi (a restaurant in Whistler
, BC
) when it was conceived of in 1995, on a train trip returning from Düsseldorf after Drupa
1995. The Prinergy product name was chosen a few months before the product was launched. The name was created by namebase, based on a fusion of "Print" and "Energy."
In 1997 Creo and Heidelberg
formed a joint venture
to cooperate in the sales of Computer-to-plate (CTP)
systems. The software groups aligned to bring their previous workflow products together under a common development, and included components including color management and trapping derived from the DaVinci
product line. The joint venture was dissolved in 2000.
Prinergy 1.0 was introduced at Seybold in 1999. Version 5.1 is currently in production. Prinergy 5.0 was demonstrated at Drupa
2008 .
, gravure, or flexo. The PDF is first processed (normalized) with sanity checks to ensure it will not cause the RIP to fail at later stages. Then it is color-managed, meaning that the necessary color management and ICC profiles are attached to images and text. Then it is "trapped"; where colors join in a document, a slight overlap is created so that white space does not show on printing due to minute registration
errors.
After the PDF is processed (refined) into the system, the operator has the option of a number of choices including sending single pages out to a proofer or impose the pages into a signature for platemaking.
Virtually all the large web offset printers of the world (e.g. R.R.Donnelley, Quebecor
, Mohn
Media, Quad Graphics) use Prinergy as their central workflow management system, as well as thousands of smaller sheetfed offset printers.
All job information and file metadata are stored in an Oracle
database, while content is stored as Adobe
PDF
or PDFX, and production control is stored as Adobe Portable Job Ticket Format, or Job Definition Format
(JDF). Prinergy also has archival and retrieval capabilities.
Creo
Creo, now part of Eastman Kodak Company, was a Burnaby, British Columbia Canada-based company involved in imaging and software technology for computer to plate and digital printing. The name derives from the Latin creo, "I create."...
in 1999 and currently maintained and sold through Kodak . It is a client/server system that integrates PDF creation, job proofing, imposition, and a Raster Image Processor (RIP)
Raster image processor
A raster image processor is a component used in a printing system which produces a raster image also known as a bitmap. The bitmap is then sent to a printing device for output. The input may be a page description in a high-level page description language such as PostScript, Portable Document...
into one unified workflow.
History of Prinergy
Creo was the leading manufacturer of computer-to-plate technology in the 1990s, using thermal laser technology to capture a significant market share of the offset prepress industry. Because computer to plate technology allowed printers to image large numbers of plates at great speed, there arose a corresponding need to engineer a workflow that could process large amounts of data to feed the platemakers and ultimately the offset presses.Prinergy was code-named Araxi (a restaurant in Whistler
Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...
, BC
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
) when it was conceived of in 1995, on a train trip returning from Düsseldorf after Drupa
Drupa
Drupa is the largest printing equipment exhibition in the world, held every four years at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, City of Düsseldorf, Germany....
1995. The Prinergy product name was chosen a few months before the product was launched. The name was created by namebase, based on a fusion of "Print" and "Energy."
In 1997 Creo and Heidelberg
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG is a German precision mechanical engineering company with head offices in Heidelberg . It is a manufacturer of offset printing presses sold globally. The company has a worldwide market share of more than 47% in this area and is the largest global manufacturer of...
formed a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
to cooperate in the sales of Computer-to-plate (CTP)
Computer to plate
Computer to plate is an imaging technology used in modern printing processes. In this technology, an image created in a Desktop Publishing application is output directly to a printing plate....
systems. The software groups aligned to bring their previous workflow products together under a common development, and included components including color management and trapping derived from the DaVinci
Linotype-Hell DaVinci
Linotype-Hell DaVinci was an image manipulation program targeted at the repro and print shop markets. It originally ran on proprietary hardware, but was later ported to Silicon Graphics workstations. The first version was released in 1993, and it continued to see regular releases until Heidelberg...
product line. The joint venture was dissolved in 2000.
Prinergy 1.0 was introduced at Seybold in 1999. Version 5.1 is currently in production. Prinergy 5.0 was demonstrated at Drupa
Drupa
Drupa is the largest printing equipment exhibition in the world, held every four years at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, City of Düsseldorf, Germany....
2008 .
Prinergy Function
The Prinergy system was designed from the ground up to automatically perform all functions on the data that are necessary to take a digital file through a series of workflow steps to produce a master plate, any one of offsetOffset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
, gravure, or flexo. The PDF is first processed (normalized) with sanity checks to ensure it will not cause the RIP to fail at later stages. Then it is color-managed, meaning that the necessary color management and ICC profiles are attached to images and text. Then it is "trapped"; where colors join in a document, a slight overlap is created so that white space does not show on printing due to minute registration
Printing registration
In color printing, registration is the method of correlating overlapping colors on one single image. There are many different styles and types of registration, many of which employ the alignment of specific marks.-Purpose:...
errors.
After the PDF is processed (refined) into the system, the operator has the option of a number of choices including sending single pages out to a proofer or impose the pages into a signature for platemaking.
Virtually all the large web offset printers of the world (e.g. R.R.Donnelley, Quebecor
Quebecor
Quebecor Inc. is a communications company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded by Pierre Péladeau, and remains run by his family. Quebecor Inc. owns 55% of Quebecor Media Inc...
, Mohn
Reinhard Mohn
Reinhard Mohn was a German businessman who turned Bertelsmann, a "provincial, war-shattered German publisher", into the sixth largest media conglomerate in the world.-Early life:...
Media, Quad Graphics) use Prinergy as their central workflow management system, as well as thousands of smaller sheetfed offset printers.
All job information and file metadata are stored in an Oracle
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
database, while content is stored as Adobe
Adobe Systems
Adobe Systems Incorporated is an American computer software company founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose, California, United States...
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
or PDFX, and production control is stored as Adobe Portable Job Ticket Format, or Job Definition Format
Job Definition Format
Job Definition Format is a technical standard being developed by the graphic arts industry to facilitate cross-vendor workflow implementations of the application domain. It is an XML format about job ticket, message description, and message interchange...
(JDF). Prinergy also has archival and retrieval capabilities.