Blackmagic FlipBook opens new chapter in proofing

One of the most innovative features is the new 3D FlipBook which enables complete publications to be assembled and viewed in page sequence as if reading a virtual book on screen. The FlipBook takes page data from imposed sections and presents them on screen as they would appear in a finished book. Users can then simply flick through the book or select individual pages to check for imposition errors or missing pages.

“This is a great way of checking to see if a finished imposition is working properly without having to print out and fold double-sided proofs,” said Terry Crawford, business manager for electronic products at Graphic Systems Australasia (GSA) the local distributor. “This feature has a definite ‘wow’ factor when customers see it in action but it also offers great productivity and ease-of-use benefits.”

Virtual books assembled by FlipBook can be exported to PDF, displaying either single pages or spreads, and they can even be compiled as QuickTime movies for viewing at remote locations.

Further enhancements to V3.1 include more convenient viewing of publications using the improved SoftProof tool.
Using SoftProof, publications can now be viewed as full-page previews with a publication navigator displaying thumbnails of the pages. For a more detailed look, a single click loads a full resolution version of the page into the viewer and, for even closer scrutiny, the virtual loupe tool can be used to magnify a specific part of the page.

Also in the SoftProof application, plates can be reordered, turned on or off and a paper background selected for better proofing simulation. Page areas can also be cropped and re-submitted for processing.

A new MonitorCalibrator tool, used in conjunction with any supported spectrophotometer, also enables the calibration of monitors and the creation of ICC profiles that dramatically improve the colour accurate viewing of soft proofs.

“The Blackmagic proofing solution is well-known worldwide as a high quality, high performance system for producing digital proofs from RIP’d data,” said Crawford. “The latest version continues to build on the improvements introduced with Version 3 last year and confirms its status as the industry’s leading digital proofing solution