Prepress plugins for

Adobe Creative Cloud

DeskPack
Why work with
DeskPack plugins?

Deskpack is a collection of packaging prepress plugins for Adobe®

Illustrator ® and Adobe ® Photoshop ®. With the DeskPack plugins
Illustrator and Photoshop become full-fledged packaging prepress
applications.
These plugins fit any prepress environment. From importing structural design files (CAD
data), over trapping production files, all the way up to creating repetitions of print-ready pro-
duction files, DeskPack offers the best packaging solution to get the job done.

Shorter lead times! Very low learning curve

Prepress operators can pro- All plugins have the Adobe
duce higher quality jobs in a look and feel, there is a short
shorter time. learning curve and low training
cost.

Error reduction
Errors are detected as early as Absolute integration
possible, reducing the cost to a DeskPack plugins are tightly
minimum. integrated with other Esko
solutions: structural design,
3D visualization, Automation
Engine.
Selection & alignment Barcode generation
These dedicated tools to accelerate fre- Generate dynamic barcode with assured
quently used selection and alignment printability. This plug-in contains a wide
operations, and to add new ways to handle range of industry standard barcodes and
spot colors and special inks beyond has advanced features such as barcode
Illustrator’s powerful capabilities. recognition, automatic box generation,
bar width reduction and output resolution
dependent scaling. Never was generating
barcodes in Adobe Illustrator easier and
more professional.

Viewer Import PDF

A correct visualization of your packaging Secure file round-tripping between
design is crucial in a professional envi- Illustrator, ArtPro+, ArtPro, and PackEdge.
ronment. Catch errors early on with the Import PDFs with Esko specific information
Viewer. It is the perfect tool for packaging in Adobe Illustrator without losing layer, sep-
quality control. arations, screening information…!

With the Viewer, you can work with pre- The PDF Import functionality improves the
defined Press Settings to detect first way PDF files are converted into Adobe
printable dots, to simulate dot gain and Illustrator format. In addition to converting
registration errors, and to calculate the all PDF graphics to native AI objects, Esko
total area coverage in your file. specific information is passed to Illustrator
to keep the file editable. The text box recog-
nition functionality, for instance, composes
meaningful text boxes from PDF text.
 Packaging Preflight
Check your incoming files as early as
possible. Minimize the cost of errors
or validate your designs before you
send them off to the printer. The
Packaging Preflight plugin is based on
the latest PitStop 2019 technology.

Channel Mapping Image extraction

Remap channels of embedded or linked Embedded images in Adobe Illustrator
images into any used ink in the document. files cannot be edited. This makes last
The channel mapping functionality remaps minute revisions impossible. With Image
the inks of all commonly used images for- Extractor, you can convert embedded
mats (TIFF, JPEG, PSD, Adobe Photoshop images into externally linked images,
DCS, Adobe Photoshop EPS, PNG, GIF...). a l l ow i n g yo u to e d i t t h e m i n Ad o b e
Photoshop.
Instant Trapper White Underprint
The Instant Trapper functionality is by far Add a white underprint to your file in a few
the easiest interactive trapping solution on clicks. Choose an ink name and a choke-
the market. Trapping becomes a matter of distance and automatically the correct
clicking the 2 elements you want to trap. object will be created in a separate layer
All traps are placed on a separate layer and based on the selected artwork. This tool
centerlines are automatically calculated. can also be used to quickly create finishing
layers (varnishes, embossing...)

PowerTrapper Classic PowerLayout

The ‘PowerTrapper for Illustrator’ bundle The ‘PowerLayout for Illustrator ’ bundle
offers very powerful trapping and white offers dedicated step and repeat function-
underprinting functionality. ality, combined with PDF import and the
ability to add dynamic marks.
 Dynamic Marks
Dynamic Marks help you generate proofing
marks, print marks and registration marks in
Illustrator in the most intuitive way.

Upgrade Illustrator art to a Dynamic Mark and

reuse it on all your files. The color and posi-
tions of the Dynamic Marks will adapt to the
characteristics of the file. Add text marks
that display separation, user, file or job infor-
mation. Add gradation strips, bearer bars and
cut marks from a list of Standard Marks.

The marks will stay fully editable to fit

your production variables. After applying
a Dynamic Mark Set on a single file or step
and repeat, all marks remain dynamic which
means you can load these at any time.

Using DeskPack is a
great step forward; it
gives us better quality
control and greater
operator productivity.
−− Patrick Autechaud, Owner,
GABR Clichés, France
Text Recognition Dynamic VDP
Making small text changes in vectorized Dynamic VDP for Illustrator enables you to
artwork is a no-brainer! Text Recognition easily create Variable Data Printing jobs
is the only OCR tool that converts outlined (VDP) on a digital printing press. Create
text in artwork to editable text directly in variable data designs directly in Illustrator.
Illustrator. Automated preflighting guarantees first
time right printing. The VDP functionality
allows for fast expansion in your press’ DFE
or Automation Engine.

Flexo Tools Ink Tools

Add Esko’s flexo exper tise to Adobe For preparing images with spot color sep-
Photoshop. Flexo Tools resolve flexo spe- arations. See how spot colors and CMYK
cific printing issues. Novice flexo opera- colors look in overprint, without having to
tors will develop images ready for flexo, make intermediate hardcopy proofs. The
while experienced retouchers will appre- Inkswitch filter can automatically calcu-
ciate how the flexo tools improve the late special ink separations to match the
quality and productivity of work. appearance of a CMYK target.
DeskPack editions

G2558678 _US - DEC20 - Copyright © 2020 Esko. All rights reserved. All specifications are subject to alteration.
Essentials Advanced Single

Barcode Generation

Selection and Alignment -

Preflight

Visualize Packaging Design -

Import PDF -

White Underprint -

Channel Mapping - -

Image Extraction - -

Instant Trapper - -

Dynamic Marks - -

Text Recognition - -

PowerLayout - -

PowerTrapper - -

Dynamic VDP - -

Flexo Tools - -

Ink Tools - -

Try the DeskPack plugins for free at

esko.com/deskpack

Belgium Kortrijksesteenweg 1095, 9051 Gent | Tel. +32 9 216 92 11 | [email protected]

USA 8535 Gander Creek Drive, Miamisburg, OH 45342 | Tel. +1 937 454 1721 | [email protected]

Brasil Rua Professor Aprígio Gonzaga, 78, 10° andar - Conjunto 113/114, 04303-000 - São Paulo | Tel. +55 11 5078 1311 | [email protected]

Singapore 8 Changi Business Park Ave 1, UE BizHub East #07–51, South Tower, 486018 | Tel. +65 6420 0399 | [email protected]

Japan Telecom Center Building, West Wing 6F, 2-5-10, Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 135-0064 | Tel. +81 (3) 5979 6086

China Floor 1, #2 Building, 1528 Gu Mei Road, 200233 Shanghai | Tel. +86 21 60576565 | [email protected]

esko.com