One way Stora Enso is stepping up to help their customers is with an update to soft proofing. By making the service cloud-based instead of relying on a specially-installed terminal, Stora Enso has made pre-press quality checks easier and possible from anywhere with an internet connection.
Streamlining the pre-press process
Already available for several years, the soft proofing technique has found a foothold especially in the packaging and catalog printing industries. By digitising pre-press processes that had previously demanded quite a bit of back and forth, soft proofing streamlines the quality checks, making it easier to do from anywhere.“Even before the pandemic, the digital development in the proofing process was very fast-paced,” says Tobias Gronemann, Sales Manager at Stora Enso’s Paper Division. “When compared to the conventional paths for quality checks that we have been using for the last 20 to 30 years, it’s much faster. Now we’re trying to go one step further by expanding the soft proofing service.”
Big changes, bigger benefits
Although using the service may feel like a big shift for those accustomed to the previous way of doing things, soft proofing adds value through time and money savings. Print approvals which might normally require a trip to the printers or several rounds of physical posts for review have been replaced by a digital service that allows for immediate access to the pre-press runs.“By using soft proofing, our customers not only save on delivery costs and business trips but they can also save anywhere from two to five weeks by noting changes on the materials that can be seen by the printer right away,” says Gronemann.
By offering an in-depth look at a print job before it hits the presses, printers benefit as well through a reduction in lead times. Users at agencies or within companies can select paper types or simulate different materials to get an accurate view of the printing results and adjust any pre-press files accordingly. The tool also allows for error correction or changes to saturation and color to ensure the printing is in line with expectations.
“It’s a really great product,” says Gronemann. “Once we’ve introduced Softproofing to our customers, they don’t look back.”
Get a firsthand look at Stora Enso’s Softproofing service at the virtual edition of Drupa, the world’s leading conference for printing technology, held April 20-23, 2021.
