Esko's flagship pre-press workflow for packaging, commercial and display printers has received a significant update. Suite 14 will be available from July this year, featuring advances in automation, connectivity and visualisation; users will be able to access the upgrade according to the pathway laid out by their individual contract.

Interoperability with both proprietary and non-Esko software is the focus of the WebCenter 14 module; newly 64-bit, this module promises 'seamless data transfer' with, for example, ArtiosCAD and Illustrator, providing improved server interaction and asset sharing. The viewer now supports HTML5, reflecting a broad acknowledgment from industry software developers that this is now vital to the interconnectivity sought by printers in the trade.

Integration opportunities are also extended by an updated Connect kit. Web or cloud applications, MIS and other management systems can be joined into an end-to-end workflow, helping to eliminate manual processes; meanwhile, the new Automation Engine improves colour management by automating certain tasks. Esko explains how specific brand colours, usually treated as spots, can now be translated into a fixed ink setting using its Equinox profiles, which it claims will also reduce ink lay-down.

Although Esko claims that Suite 14's developments will suit a range of print environments, most seem to be aimed at packaging workflows. Integration with Chili Publish offers devolved brand management via its in-browser interface, while a number of 3D visualisation tools have also emerged. Studio Designer – which lets users preview creative and generate 3D PDF files, or pack shots as TIFFs, from within Illustrator, ArtPro and PackEdge – now benefits from special effects and finishing representations, promising to streamline further the design and review process.

Store Visualizer is not new to Suite 14 but has been updated, in partnership with VTales Graphics, improving processing speed and adding 'three hyper-realistic environments'. Studio has added new bag types – including the quattro seal – plus an AR viewer for mobiles, while ArtiosCAD's handling of corrugated media and paperboards will lead to more accurate visual representations, according to Esko. This latter module has also been streamlined to reduce time spent generating, for example, bills of materials (BOM).

Recognising the increasing trend of digital technology across the print sphere, Esko has ameliorated its handling of visual inspection within Suite 14. Shorter runs and more jobs create possible bottlenecks; Suite 14 can set up its inspection systems automatically, potentially saving between three and five minutes per job and promising a significant impact for work using VDP.

In this release, Esko is squaring up to a number of realities and anticipating a few others. Most importantly, it brings designers, brand owners and pre-press specialists closer together with interactive working and visualisation. By making it easier for non-technical professionals to exert meaningful influence at the pre-production stage, packaging producers should find it easier to push jobs through faster. It's also conceivable that the ludic element of seeing packages better made-up and in situ will help clients enjoy the approval process more, while also reducing the 'leap of faith' element when signing off on special effects or unusual materials.

While it's not making much of the cloud element of this – say, in the way that GMG has – it is keen to emphasise how it has identified common problems and sought to eliminate them. Now, Esko must work to explain how these benefits have commonalities applicable to other types of print producer. Specifically, commercial digital and wide-format printers have reasonable need for pre-press automation and integrated software environments, but many remain unconvinced, in financial terms, by the need to adopt. The Belgian manufacturer must now build on the fulsome arsenal of future-thinking functionality exemplified by Suite 14 to dig deeper into new print environments and prove its relevance to them.