Xitron Introduces Navigator Flexo Suite

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Sept. 25, 2018 - PRLog -- Xitron, the leading independent developer of RIP and workflow products for commercial, digital, flexo, and high-speed inkjet printing has introduced Navigator Flexo Suite at LabelExpo. Comprised of several productivity tools designed specifically for flexo imaging, the modular workflow is fully compatible with any flexo CTP engine that accepts one-bit TIFF files, such as Amsky, Cron, Xeikon, and others.

Conceptualized in meetings with several flexo CTP vendors at last year's LabelExpo in Brussels, the package was developed, tested, and sent to beta accounts around the world in the span of nine months. "We had a very specific list of requirements with which to work," said Karen Crews, president of Xitron. "Besides our meetings with Flexo CTP manufacturers, we also worked with distributors and dealers before building the product roadmap. This gave us a short list of 'must-have's' in terms of functionality. All of our CTP partners wanted a competitive price point, productivity beyond existing systems on the market, and the option of high fidelity screening for applications that require it," she continued.

Navigator Flexo Suite starts with the ubiquitous Navigator RIP platform, of which more than 35,000 have been sold in commercial, in-plant, digital, screen printing, inkjet, and flexo markets around the world. Notably, Navigator Flexo Suite makes its debut being PDF 2.0 compliant right out of the box, as Xitron began shipping Navigator 12 on September 24th.

It's coupled with the Client-Server properties of the Navigator workflow, which gives all prepress operators and artists independent submission, modification, pixel-level preview, and throughput control of jobs from their own workstations. This allows them to work independently and without interruption from anywhere on the network. Finally, all the color separated job plates are collected by Navigator Plate Controller, which helps the operator assemble the final flexo plate for output with as little material waste as possible.

The optional high-fidelity screening engine gives users the ability to specify FM to AM crossover points between highlights/shadows and mid-tones while also letting them determine minimum dot size through nine levels of sustainable "smart dots." Users are able to customize the screening based on platesetter exposure accuracy and the print results of each individual press. Those customized setups are retained as screening templates for repeated use.

"From day one, our goal was to develop a product that could hit the market at a price point under $15,000 to stay in line with the decreasing cost of flexo CTP engines," said Crews. "It was an intense development and testing cycle, but we brought it to the finish line without compromising the original requirements list."

From the end user's perspective, one thing that rated high on the list was annual maintenance costs; something they see as out of control in software and not always accounted for when considering a purchase. "We addressed the maintenance issue head on," said Crews. Annual support for Navigator Flexo Suite is an affordable $1,495 per year, and that includes minor upgrades."

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About Xitron

Xitron develops advanced workflow systems and interfaces to drive the prepress industry's most popular new, and legacy output devices, prolonging our customers' investments. In addition, Xitron's pressroom workflow solutions extend the functionality of press consoles from a number of industry-leading press manufacturers. Xitron's Navigator RIP, Raster Blaster TIFF Catcher, and Sierra Workflow solutions are recognized as prepress standards. Built around the Harlequin RIP core technology from Global Graphics and the Adobe PDF Print Engine from Adobe Systems, Xitron engineers continue to develop solutions for the graphic arts market, driving hundreds of different models of imagesetters, proofers, platesetters, inkjet printers, and digital presses. With shipments of more than 35,000 RIPs, Xitron is the largest independent provider in the market.  For more information about Xitron, visit us at www.xitron.com.

Xitron and the Xitron logo are registered trademarks of Xitron. Other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

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