Glossary

Digital finishing must be able to handle various job orders, ranging from very short print runs to complex variable output, which may also require different finishing tools.

The demanding of shorter production runs and delivery times, finishing is a becoming a key factor in post-production. There has been a substantial increase in demands for differentiation of product that require cuts in many different shapes or even contours.

(2) In client/server applications, the client part of the program is often called the front end and the server part is called the back end.

Front-end and back-end are terms used to characterize program interfaces and services relative to the initial user of these interfaces and services. ('user' may be a human being or a program.) A 'front-end' application is one that application users interact with directly. A 'back-end' application or program serves indirectly in support of the front-end services, usually by being closer to the required resource or having the capability to communicate with the required resource. The back-end application may interact directly with the front-end or, perhaps more typically, is a program called from an intermediate program that mediates front-end and back-end activities.

Macro means any sequence of program functions and instructions, which are summarized under a certain name. With such a technology production workflows can be automated completely.

Advantage: For the operator complexity of tasks is reduced, sources of error will become minimized and the operating time drops - usually significantly.

Maximum yield and efficiency requires a cutting design that places different pieces as close together as possible.

It takes a lot of experience to figure out the optimal way to arrange parts on a single sheet in order to get the highest yield and rite lowest waste in a nesting operation. Efficient nesting software can make all the difference.

It was used initially in order to describe the capabilities of hybrid plotters, such as Roland PC60, which merges print and contour cut tools in one device. Nowadays this item is used for work processes, where prints are contoured or processed using so called register or video marks. These marks are detected from CCD cameras from the plotter and are used for accurate cutting of the contour lines

OptiScout supports hybrid plotters with optical sensors as well as mixed printer/plotter environments in industrial workflows.

Short: RIP - Software, which rasters vector data and controls output on a Large-Format-Printers

Advantage: The print quality is controllable and the total printing time (rastering + output) is shortened using parallel processes.

„Touch & Go” is OptiScout's so-called touchscreen-capable user interface, with which the machine operator, step by step, is led through the application. All options are displayed as graphical buttons. The touchscreen surface can be customized, following accurately to the customer requirements.

Advantage: Only the functions needed for the process are indicated and executed (Go) simply by the touching on the monitor button (Touch). The operation is very easy, because no steps can be forgotten and the error rate can be reduced noticeably.

Simply put, workflow is about getting the right work to the right people at the right time – time after time. The defined series of tasks within a company to produce a final outcome.

Workflow then, is about using software tools as part of a broader workflow system (or technical architecture) to improve the way processes (or workflows) are organized and managed. Workflow tools (e. g. Macros) allow rules related to these processes to be ‘written’ in to the new flow.

Because workflow involves electronic systems of support, it has two advantages over manual methods. First, it allows work tasks to be carried out in parallel. Secondly, it makes processes more transparent. As a result, it is much easier to know where a job ‘is’ and who is working on it.