Rhein-Zeitung

Hamburg, 25 July 2008 – The publishing house Mittelrhein-Verlag in Koblenz has taken the decision to use SmartColor software for its automated image optimisation work. The use of SmartColor results in a significantly higher efficiency level in terms of automated image optimisation.

Thanks to the intelligent adjustment of brightness, colour tones and picture sharpness, the quality of the image is significantly improved. Apart from its image optimisation functions, the software also handles software sorting tasks, quality control, automatic format conversion tasks and the generation of variants, while at the same time managing the monitoring and administration of the data inventory, based on the criteria of age, quantity and volume. The advantages for the user are found in distinct savings in time and costs when processing thousands of pictorial data sets. Compared with manual processing, standardised data of consistent quality is made available. 

Color Factory and SmartColor can be integrated into an existing workflow in practically no time. The basis for this is provided by Hotfolder technology and what are termed Job Request Files (JRF), as generated by the most commonly used page layout programmes and editing systems, for example. An intuitive, hierarchical tree structure helps with administration and setting up processing channels.

The software can be used in either fully automatic or partially automatic mode. In the latter case, Color Factory and Smart Color works in conjunction with the front end application FotoStation Pro from FotoWare. This software allows processing channels to be monitored, processed images to be compared with the originals and accepted or rejected accordingly, among other features. If the image should require any additional manual processing, then FotoStation Pro makes it possible to open images in external programmes such as Adobe Photoshop or in its own picture editor. 

According to Achim Leimig, Rheinzeitung’s Head of IT: “Many publishers are faced every day with a huge mountain of pictures which all have to be viewed, selected and produced for the newspapers and magazines in a very short time. A large proportion of this pictorial data does not meet the set quality requirements. These pictures have to be optimised prior to the production of the various editions. Using the new SmartColor greatly reduces the time between receiving and publishing a picture. Integration into the existing workflow using what are termed Hotfolders is a simple matter. Color Factory and SmartColor are now a central components of our newspaper production. Around 85% of the pictures we need every day are fed into production without any manual processing.

FotoWare products used by Rhein-Zeitung:

• FotoStation Pro
• Color Factory Enterprise
• SmartColor

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