The 2011 InterTech Winner is fostering new and efficient automation functions and connections in every direction, moving into an increasingly central position within organisations’ publishing production and supply chain systems with the important release of Switch 10 Update 1 and the optional Database Module.
Switch’s ability to help inter-connected systems exchange, modify, and utilise different types of data automatically, has resulted in its organic growth in many directions, said Elli Cloots, Enfocus Director of Product Management.
Switch’s capabilities are not exclusive to graphic arts, Cloots said, and in many cases our Switch customers are showing us exciting applications they’ve conceived of, themselves. Some of the most immediately apparent and effective uses of Switch across different operations tie production data such as job ticket information, to inventory, shipping, and billing databases.
The highly powerful Database Module for PowerSwitch sites brings unprecedented automation to often cumbersome and expensive database-related applications. The module makes it possible for Switch to immediately utilise existing databases for automated processing; handling jobs differently based on information stored in the database. Examples include preflighting files based on the actual order and archiving based on the customer information or job ID. Enfocus has also added the ability to update, add or remove records through SQL without the need for scripting thereby keeping databases synchronised and up-to-date with anything that transpired during file processing in Switch.
These benefits are made even more appealing by Switch 10, Update 1’s increased support for XMP. The new ability to embed Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) provides a common way for design applications, workflow systems, and backend publishing systems to capture, share and process metadata. Switch previously supported use of jobs’ existing XMP data, but now professionals can, for instance, insert a complete job ticket. They can also update existing XMP information with, for example, job information gathered while processing the file.
Support for XMP becomes even more advantageous when PowerSwitch professionals choose to purchase the Database Module. The combination of these allows users even better tracking, accessibility and application use of the XMP data that becomes available.
SwitchClient for iPad is the one of numerous product deployments Enfocus is developing to accommodate iPad, and other tablet users. While SwitchClient for iPad is a convenience product, allowing professionals to monitor and manage their Switch jobs via iPad, Enfocus is also developing solutions to assist publishers and other stakeholders in simplifying cross media workflow processes for legacy, as well as new content. One of the first examples is a PDF cross media conversion feature in the latest version of Enfocus PitStop Server, which can be used in Switch through the PitStop configurator.
The new CS5 Switch Configurators for InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop have been enhanced, allowing for more and expanded automation and support for CS5.5, which is also one of the hot cross-media growth applications that Enfocus is watching closely. The configurator now allows exports directly to the ePub format.
Switch increases the functionality of the Suite modules by making it possible for any kind of file type to be sent to InDesign or Illustrator making it possible to automatically use XML data to fill out templates.
