Category Archives: Image optimization

Elpical Claro Premedia

claropremedia

Save time with intelligent and fully automated high-quality image enhancement!

Elpical Claro Premedia is an image-processing server for individual image analysis and enhancements.

Claro Premedia provides printers, publishers and online communication companies with a complete image processing workflow for fast processing of high volumes of images, ensuring improved quality and cost reduction.

Individual Image Analysis

Claro Premedia has embraced that every image is different – image enhancement needs an individual approach to ensure best possible quality. That is why the Claro engine analyses each image individually for sharpness, brightness, contrast, color balance, skintones, EXIF data and more.

Each image is enhanced individually so even when dealing with original images of different origin and quality the results are consistent and high quality. Claro Premedia even includes local contrast enhancement to preserve details in both dark and brighter areas without affecting the overall brightness of the image.

Result: each individual image is enhanced to perfection – providing for consistency in your publications!

Workflow:

Claro Premedia runs automatic processing from hot folders – and you can create as many folders (channels) as you need. Images can be routed to the correct Claro channel based on metadata. Plugins make Claro Premedia easy to use:

Claro JobClient for InDesign: seamless integration of the Claro Premedia workflow in InDesign, with automated cropping and resizing.
Claro Inspector for Photoshop: side-by-side comparison of original and processed images in Photoshop.
Claro Settings Assistant: user-friendly desktop application for creating and adjusting settings.

Claro Premedia can be seamlessly integrated with workflow solutions like CCI, K4, Enfocus Switch, WoodWing, EIDOS Media, InDesign & Protec.

Image Enhancement highlights:

Batch image enhancements inside PDF files
Resampling and resizing
Dynamic optimization of sharpness, brightness, saturation, noise, black point/white point, and color balance
Red eye reduction and optimization of natural greens, blues & skin tones
Reduce JPEG artifacts
Local contrast enhancement
Consistent image enhancement across a wide range of file types

Newspapers: Optimized Images in Print production

12/03/2014Image optimization, WorkflowPressIT Team

PressIT can help you optimize images for best possible result in print.

The newspaper Nationen has a modern flow of production where printed images pass many technical production stages. The amount of manual image treatment is kept at a minimum, to assure optimal results in print.

Desk- and presentation-manager Erik Vestgård was not satisfied with the quality of the images in print, and asked PressIT to investigate the technical routines in their image production. The images appeared grey and lacking contrast, and they found it hard to pinpoint the reason – which created insecurity in the whole production.

PressITs investigations showed that minor adjustments in the configuration of several production stages resulted in a distinctive improvement of the quality of the printed images.

“Now we can feel safe that the printed result is close to what we see when editing the images in Photoshop. With the help of PressIT we have instantly achieved a striking improvement in the quality of the images we print. We now also know how to continue our work, in order to improve the quality even more.”

Erik Vestgård
Desk- and presentation-manager at Nationen

The problems faced by Nationen is known from several newspapers, and can be experienced regardless of which technical and editorial soulutions are used. Often the lack of overview of the production as a whole leads to faulty settings in software and workflow, resulting in printed images of poor quality .

PressIT has experience from similar projects in different production environments, with different technical and editorial solutions. With our independent eyes, we can help with selecting solutions as well as assess the production process as a whole, with optimized quality as our goal.

Customized Workflows

Customization, Image optimization, Workflow

Tailored workflow solutions is the best way to ensure efficiency and accuracy in every day tasks, since every business and organization have different needs. Repetitive tasks can be automized and best practice routines can be systemized to the detail. Customized workflow solutions provides the users with good usability and saves time & money.

What is workflow?

Usability, efficiency and routines

The best possible workflow, whether you are dealing with text, images, video or a combination of various media files, depends on optimal use of available tools. An increasing degree of automation and a decline in the number of staff trained in specialized traditional professions, sets new demands on information-intensive businesses:

What controls image quality?
How can automated routines be utilized the best possible way?
Which competence should the employees have?
How to distinguish between media files for presentations, web and print publication?
How to achieve printed images with the best possible quality?
What should we place in the archives?

There is no absolute answer to these questions; a solution ideal for one business might prove unproductive for another. The answer depends on the business’ objectives and access to resources.

Example: Quality of printed images

Printed newspapers and magazines depend on good routines and correctly configured tools for optimal image quality in the printed product. The production often consists of several stages with several technical and editorial solutions. Minor adjustments in the configuration of each of the production stages can result in a distinctive improvement of the quality of the printed images. Read more about such a project…

How can we help?

By discussing customized workflow solutions with PressIT you draw on the advantages of access to the right tools of cost-effective production and archiving, as well as access to expertise in customization of solutions. We can also assist in fine tuning of existing solutions, looking at each stage of the production process to assess the production process as a whole, with optimized quality as our goal.

Where the software “out-of-the-box” does not provide a solution, we can contribute by developing the missing module between available standard solutions.

How Our Products can provide you
with a customized workflow

The products we offer have a strong ability to adjust to different organizations and user groups. They offer many tools which have been specifically developed in order to provide your asset management solution with the functionality you need. Some selected highlights;

MediaFiler is a modular and flexible digital asset system which can be configured to support different user groups, offering a tailored user experience. Some of the possibilities include:

rights management; configure who sees which archives and files, and which actions they are given rights to (modify, workflow, download, order etc.)
upload with automated routing and filters
customizable metadata templates
configureable w/different search and text entry options
support of OBDC and API connections
automation of repetitive tasks

LaidBack Solutions’ products all focus on workflow and automated tasks. The solutions are tailor made for newspapers, magazines, print houses and corporate publishing.
The highly customizable workflow tools include:

File Train: transportation of files with automated actions
Sherpa: productive plugin for InDesign w/metadata & image adjustment
Cargo: online preflight system w/customizable web forms

Elpical Claro Premedia provides a complete image processing workflow for fast processing of high volumes of images. The image-processing server analyzes and enhances each image individually. Workflow highlights:

runs automatically from hot folders
routing to correct folder/channel based on metadata
plugins for Photoshop and InDesign

ViArchive is our own video archiving solution. It is focused on user friendly preparing and uploading of video files. The result is an archive with consistent metadata content. Workflow highlights:

customizable application layout
customizable metadata templates w/required fields
batch actions (import, add metadata, cut, upload, etc.)
supports ODBC
multiple streams in server archives

Plugins and tools

We also offer a range of other plugins and tools which can be good aids in creating a custom workflow for your specific needs. Read more…