SANTA ANA, California – October 11, 2006 – Markzware, the leading developer of preflighting, data extraction and conversion software, and Gradual Software, specialists in software solutions for automating the publishing process, announces a partnership with Markzware, developer of the award-winning patented preflighting technology, FlightCheck series of pre-flight software.
The partnership allows Markzware‘s pre-flight tools to seamlessly integrate with Gradual’s SWITCH product line:
* PowerSWITCH accepts jobs that have been submitted through FlightCheck Online, and automatically processes those jobs based on the contents of FlightCheck Online’s job ticket and pre-flight results.
* FullSWITCH (and PowerSWITCH) feature a built-in configurator for FlightCheck Professional, which allows to set-up and perform automated pre-flight on virtually any desktop or server at minimal expense.
As a result of this partnership, users will gain the ultimate level of efficiency in professional publishing, combining accurate pre-flighting of various file formats with robust automation capabilities. SWITCH offers the capability to easily design and edit document flows. The new configurator allows adding FlightCheck Professional to the flow via a simple drag-and-drop process. FlightCheck Professional is a powerful quality control application for pre-flighting PDF and source files. It can inspect over 45 layout application formats and many image formats.
Patrick Marchese, president of Markzware, says: “Gradual Software has a great market potential for their advanced publishing automation tools. This is in part due to the 100% focus on automation and their quick development turn-around in adding new features to their SWITCH software line, such as the integration with Markzware FlightCheck Online and Professional.”
Peter Camps, CEO of Gradual Software, comments on the new Partnership: “Markzware has a leading position in pre-flight tools for all file formats. The combination of FlightCheck and SWITCH technologies provides users with an integrated solution, automating even more tasks and creating a single streamlined flow for checking, submitting and processing jobs.”
PowerSWITCH and FlightCheck Online: FlightCheck Online checks native application and PDF files against customized preflight rules sets defined by the receiving side (printers, publishers, etc.). The checking is performed on the sender’s desktop before the job is transmitted. When preflight is completed, FlightCheck Online automatically collects all relevant files, including fonts and images, and the collected job is compressed and uploaded to the receiver’s FTP server.
At the receiver’s end, PowerSWITCH automatically detects and decompresses incoming jobs. It also picks up the job ticket information entered by the sender using FlightCheck Online and the pre-flight results generated by FlightCheck Online. PowerSWITCH then sorts and processes jobs based on this”metadata”, allowing users to establish intelligent job flows. For example, if requested by the sender, a job may be automatically taken through correction or conversion processes (using third-party applications controlled by PowerSWITCH), and placed in the appropriate folder for manual review.
FullSWITCH and FlightCheck Professional FullSWITCH (and PowerSWITCH) feature a built-in configurator for FlightCheck Professional. This allows setting up FlightCheck Professional easily from within SWITCH, and it turns the FlightCheck desktop tool into a fully automated application.
Bundle promotion
Gradual Software and Markzware have created a bundle promotion that will be available until the end of 2006 through the Gradual distributor in the US, Tools4Media:
* FullSWITCH and FlightCheck Pro are offered at a special bundle price of $3375.00 (compared to the normal combined price of $3749.00)
* Registered users of FlightCheck Professional are offered a free upgrade to the latest version of this application when they purchase FullSWITCH at the special price of $3250.00
About Gradual Software
Gradual Software was established in November 2004 to develop and deliver software for full automation across the numerous stages of professional publishing. Gradual’s automation solutions are designed to benefit all participants in the publishing workflow, including content originators (authors and designers), content processors (editors, designers and layout artists), brand owners (publishers and marketing departments) and service providers (printers).
Gradual offers the SWITCH family of workflow automation software consisting of three modules: LightSWITCH, an entry-level tool for automation of file reception through FTP; FullSWITCH, a mid-range product that adds configurators to allow third-party applications to be integrated seamlessly in the workflow; and PowerSWITCH, the top-of-the-line package offering extensive scripting and metadata tools to build smart workflows, together with a bundled workgroup client. Gradual Software is privately held by its management team, and is located in Ghent, Belgium. For more information, please visit http://www.gradual.com
About Tools4Media, Inc.
Tools4Media is a Distributor, Value Added Reseller and Agent of and for companies that provide tools that benefit publishers and their partners. Tools4Media understands that the publishing landscape will continue to become more competitive, that publishers workloads will continue to increase and that publishers and their partners will need to produce more content while fighting to keep revenues from falling – all with the same or fewer personnel. Tools4Media is dedicated to provide the tools and services to help publishers overcome these obstacles.
Tools4Media is the North American Distributor of Gradual’s SWITCH product line and a recognized Markzware trainer. For additional information, please contact sales@tools4media.com.
About Markzware
Markzware is the leading developer of quality assurance, data conversion and workflow solutions for the international graphic arts, printing, publishing and digital multimedia industries. Markzware is a privately-held company based in Santa Ana, California. Markzware B.V., located in Rijswijk, the Netherlands, is the company’s headquarters for activities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. http://www.markzware.com
© 2006 Markzware. All rights reserved. Covered by U.S. Patent # 5,963,641
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Gradual Software Announces Partnership With Markzware Gradual’s SWITCH Automates Markzware FlightCheck Professional & FlightCheck Online
